Help With Rotten Dog!!!!

OK well this is it, pretty self explainatory. I actually left my g/f and got my own place because she wouldn't get rid of this dog. I would work for 2 weeks and in that 2 weeks the whole paycheck would go to what the dog has recently destroyed in those 2 weeks!!! We didn't have enough to pay the rent and lost our apartment for fuck's sake! And worst of all he does not listen to a ___ ______ ___ _____THING!!!! I love all creatures, but I LOATHE this dog.....

Here is a list (I swear on my mother's life) of the ALLLL the things he has torn apart/destroyed in the past 6 months.......

(2) Couches
Loveseat
(2) Mattreses
chaise lounge
Boxspring
Air Mattress
6 pairs of flip flops!!!
9 pairs of shoes!!!
the carpet in 2 rooms
uncountable amount of panties, shorts, jeans, shirts, socks
my birthday presents!!
wires (tv, fan, lamps, window a/c)
3 cell phone chargers
my 420 box (it took me 3 weeks to carve it out of solid cherry wood )
small bookshelf
God knows how many books
dresser
and that's all I can think of off the top of my head.

It is so bad she has no bed to sleep on, no couch to sit on, not many clothes to wear, and no shoes!!

Anyone got any ideas on what the FUCK is wrong with this thing!?!?!?!?!

 

sounds like hes bored,and is obviously left alone a lot..

thats not a good combination.

if hes not left alone,, then how did all this shit get tore up? the only way to break a dog of bad habits is to catch them in the act.

even a good dog when left alone to much without anything to do will find something to destroy..

i assume its not a real old dog..

 

Well,I may catch some shit for this,but every female that had a dog or dogs,I ever roomed with, did not discipline or even attempt to discipline their dog/s.Even females and their dog/s that I casually come across seem to be the same way.Sure,if they were doing something obnoxious they will say their name and then let the dog carry on with their behaviour.Am I the only person that has noticed/been thru this?Can this be true?

 

That's true, after I left it's gotten a WHOLE lot worse. She works 4pm-2am and he's always alone. She doesn't nurture him, discipline him, or even have the time to PAY ATTENTION to him, yet she's wayy too attatched to get rid of him, it ruins her life and it runs her life....

And scratcho I agree with you. you need to be dominant, assertive, and in charge with a dog and women (99.99999%) just.....aren't.

I agree with you and see it all the time. If you say "brownie stop....knock it off" he doesn't and you just blow it off cuz he don't listen. He's the one doing his own thing. so it's like a child getting away with whatever he wants with no consequence and it's not healthy for either of them.

For me when a dog is doing something bad and I want him to stop it I speak LOUDLY and sternly like as if i'm saying (im in charge, knock it off, or else) ya feel me??

 

^^ And no he's only a year old...

 

we have a 4 month old great Pyrenees, they are known for there stubbornness.

they are also known to not respond to ,,stern discipline..

his worst habit at the moment,the he just wont stop is dragging a cat around like a rag doll.

all i can say is if shes not willing to put forth the effort,which doesnt have to be dominant ,there are many ways to break a dog,then the dog will only get worse.

what kind of dog is it??

 

there are alternatives,, she could put it in a kennel while shes gone,, or muzzle it.. neither is very humane for such long periods of time,,but then again neither is leaving a dog alone in a apartment (IMO)...

 

Does she give the dog toys at all. they can be trained to learn what they can and can't chew on. I had a dog with a chewing problem and it didn't take long to break the habit with reinforcement rewards and toys that it could chew on.

 

He is a German Sheppard/Rotweiler mix. And as far as the kennel idea goes she won't put him in one. We believe it to be wrong, I mean who are we to cage another living being?? But in reality there's really not many options left for what she can do.

The fact of the matter IMO is she can't afford to raise this dog, She isn't THERE for this dog, IE she is never home to be with him, he destroys everything, and there's no discipline....now that's a wretched combination.

My dog ivy is the same way, she's a 5yo Sharpee/Pit mix. It's like they are chew toys to her or something, lol it's so cute though

The problem is whether she gets plush toys, rubber toys, bones, whatever, his teeth/jaws are already so strong he destroys them in no time at all. And she really can't afford them all the time ya know??

 

Honestly, people ruin dogs. Dogs are not rotten from the get go.

 

I would have to actually meet the dog in order to give you half decent diagnosis. but from the info given:
a) it's a puppy in it's adolescence. this is the time when they are going to test absolutely every thing, your only way to deal with this is consistency. never let him chew on one thing one day, and not the other.
b) he sounds like he's bored, how often is he walked? powerful breed dogs (a shepard/rot would certainly fit into this catergory) needs at least an hours walk a day, preferably more.
c) his gums are probably still tender. since he destroys all plush toys/rubber toys in short order, you'll need something long lasting. my dog has this teething bone, i forget the brand name (dente-bone or something along those lines), they're pretty much indestructable.
d) try to get your girlfriend to see the dog as that, a dog. women more than men tend to believe that their dogs are children and treat them as such. this is pretty toxic as far as developement goes. (when a child is crying you pick it up, when a puppy is throwing a tantrum, you put it into a submissive position until it calms down)
e) you need to 'claim' the stuff he isn't allowed to chew on. this doesn't mean simply wrestling it from his jaws and putting it somewhere else. try to ge the dog to drop whatever it is on his own, and if that doesn't work take it from him. place the object near you and order the dog to go away. once the dog has submitted (and walked away from the object), give them a chew toy. work on an 'avoid' command, i use the word mine or 'getouttathere'.
f) discipline doesn't mean simply punishment. it's the whole of how you raise the dog. this means that you have to give encouragement at the right times, and punishment when they misbehave. you need to be 100% consistent on both. When you reward the dog, be calm about it (some people flip their lid and act like their pet cured cancer when it simply sat when asked((saying things like "GOOD BOY GOOD BOY OH YES OH YES OH WHO'S MY GOOOOOOOD BOY GOOD BOY YES!" freak the dog out or make it hyper, a simple "yes" or "good boy" works a lot better. inversely don't
go batshit when it disobeys (("YOU ROTTEN SHIT I SHOULD'VE LEFT YOU ON THE DOORSTEP! I'M GOING TO SELL YOU TO THE CHINESE BUTCHER YOU LITTLE SON OF A BITCH NO!")), when a simple 'no' works better.)
g) Shepards/rots are smart dogs that need challanged. work on tricks with it several times a day. they also have a calmer nature that allows you to train them with (relative) ease.
and last but most importantly:
H) ESTABLISH DOMINANCE. don't free-feed, but rather hand feed at this time in their lives (the person who provides food is probably the most crucial link in thier minds). when you walk, work on the heel position (it will be a pain in the ass with a large breed, but well worth it). do not allow the dog to jump on you, rub it's ass on you, or hump you. if you want the dog to sit on your lap, make sure it's in a submissive position (sitting/laying down) and calm, and invite it up. if it comes on it's own push it down. if you choose to feed it people food (a bad idea, but it's your own life), make sure it gets the last bite and not the first (leave the rest of the food somewhere it can reach it and walk away.) do not feed it if it's 'begging'.

 

"There are no bad dogs, just bad owners." I believe this is true in MOST cases (I have seen a few dogs with something seriously wrong with them). The problem is people think they can just get a dog but not put any actual work into helping it learn to get along in "our" world and coexist peacefully. It sounds like that the dog is young, lonely, bored and frustrated, through no fault of it's own. And yes, some breeds are harder to work with than others, some are more active than others, and so on. People need to do research before they get a dog instead of thinking "Oh I'll just go get a puppy and it will all work out on it's own". Since this particular dog is young, it CAN be trained still, it just needs someone with it or another dog and it needs to be taken to obedience classes that use positive reinforcement methods. If this is done now, it will make both the dog's life and the life of anyone who has the dog much much easier and less stressful.

 

She's never home and he just chews on whatever he wants, when she gets home, she cleans everything up smacks him on the nose, and then he jumps on the bed all excited to see her and pushes her to the edge while he cleans himself.....He runs her house.

When I lived at the old house I walked brownie(the dog in question) and Ivy (our sharpee/pit) twice a day for about 30-45 mins each time. There was an elementary school down the road and I would throw the frisbee with them, the kids would pet and play with them, and they would get out ALOT of energy and were calmer at home. But now brownie is lucky to get a 30 min walk every couple of days

If you could find out the name for me or where you got it from I would greatly appreciate it.

Ive tried for the past year, the dog is just "her baby" and I know it should not be that way, it's not healthy for either of them.

the problem is he will chew on stuff when she's not there. When she is there he's fine, but when left alone he destructs everything in sight..

1.She is not consistent, when it comes to disciplining a dog she is a push over. 2. If he DOESN'T destroy something and she comes home she is like "OMG WHOS A GOOD DOG WHOS A GOOD DOG OMG YOU WERE SOOOO GOOD!!!! HERES A TREAT HERES SOME LOVE HERES SOME AFFECTION OMG OMG OMG!!!" and in my opinion after the first 2 or 3 seconds he doesnt understand what all the praise and affection is about?? 3.Nothing is done when he is bad.

I taught him to sit and lay down when I lived there but he doesnt anymore, well for her at least. If i'm over there and he tries to jump on the bed and his tail knocks shit off the nightstand I knock him off and say 'go lay down' he'll walk over and lay down. If she say brownie get off get of BROWNIE move, then after 3 seconds he doesnt, she just takes it, and he wins, or that's how I see it.

What is the heel position?? If you mean having the dog at your heel or side that's what I do. It's a strain on my arm trying to keep him next/behind me but he learns and walks "with" me. When she walks him he just pulls her all over the place, he is dominant because he is leading the walk...not her. She lets him jump on her lap, sit on her (even though he is already huge) and whatever just because he is hyper as shit! She feeds him people food while she's eating (BECAUSE he's begging), and if she gets up to get a drink, the foods gone because he ATE IT (and of course nothing is done about it)!!!


In point, she is not fit to raise a dog! She knows nothing, she's a pushover, she sees the dog as a child, and is never home!! Why can't she see that??

Her excuse...........I can't afford obedience school. Even though she could, if she didn't spend $50 on a new pair of shoes every couple days (cuz he destroys em) and buying new clothes all the time (since he tore up the old ones)!

 

okay, i think that the lack of exercise is probably the biggest issue here.
30-45 minutes a day is pretty lacking for a large breed (i prefer at least an hour, maybe two, go until the dog actually gets tired), let alone 30 minutes a week.

Maybe the best bet is to remind her that she has a very large dog that is very capable of killing another dog or even a human. ask her if she could live with herself if her dog killed someone's kid.
if she doesn't understand that, she shouldn't have a dog, and i'd start working on trying to find a better house for it (be quick, they're much easier to adopt out when they're younger).

EDIT: I looked around on the web and this: http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?pcatid=340&N=2001+113238 is pretty close to what i was describing.

 

That's what I figured. Cuz if you yourself were cooped up in a small apt. all the time you'd be destructive too. you get all this built up energy and have no way of releasing it.....As far as adoption she won't. I've talked to her numerous times and she won't she is toooooo attatched. Plus she's afraid that she'll put him up, no one will want him, and they'll kill him. But the fact that she's afraid no one will want him because he is mean, barks and bites at everyone, destructive, and out of control should tell her something......

PS Thanks for the link, i'ma order one for him when I get my next check.

~PeAcE~

 

I got my bone at the local grocery store, so they probably have one at a pet store near you (ask for hardened bones), if you don't want to pay for shipping.

have you considered a dog walker?

 

A dog walker?? I've never heard of that??

 

look on craigslist (is your part of maryland near dc?), most of 'em are pretty cheap, about the cost of a pair of shoes a week (she'll save money on shoes and can buy more!)

 

I'm in East Baltimore (Unfortunately<~~Shithole) but DC is only 30 mins south of here.

Dog WALKERS... Like people who walk your dog for you lol that went totaly over my head bro. But yeah I checked craigslist and didn't find anything in DC or maryland.

But I did find this site http://www.petsitusa.com/ that has dog wlking, training, obedience training, and all sorts of stuff. I'm going to call tomorow to see $$$

And I checked 2 grocery stores and no one has those bones you were talking about

 

Shoot it.