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Ask the Pet Coach

Dear Pet Coach,
My eight month old miniature schnauzer has started chewing rugs, the carpet where it joins the tile, etc. She did not do this as a younger
puppy. We go for a walk every morning before I go to work and every evening when I return. We also have play time and she has plenty of
toys and rawhides to chew on. Why has she started and how do I get her to stop? Many thanks for your assistance!

What's Happening?

Dear What's Happening--

Unless your dog has developed an unusual medical condition (for example, some Siamese cats develop a propensity for eating wool)I
suspect that she is chewing on the carpet simply because it's fun and she is bored. Remember that anything that is on the floor is,
according to the Rules of Dogs, the property of the dog. Rugs and carpets shred nicely (especially Berber!) and satisfy a dog's evisceration
instinct.

Because your dog has had so many opportunities to learn how much fun chewing on carpets can be, it will not be easy to "untrain" this
behavior. When you catch her doing it, immediately distract her with another chew toy. Knotted rope toys might be a good alternative as
long as you are there to supervise her while she is playing. Do not leave a dog alone with a rope toy. However, the most effective way to
change this behavior is to change the environment-- that is, to make sure she does not have access to the carpets and rugs while you are
not at home. Most dogs are not ready to have the run of the house without supervision until they are well over a year old, and your pup is a
good example of this. I suggest confining her to a room without carpet, or put her in an indoor exercise pen with plenty of safe chew toys
while you are away. Once she has redirected her chewing instinct to the proper toys (this may take several weeks or months)
can try her around carpet again..

Dear Pet Coach,
My husband's 7 year sheltie seems to have a jealousy problem. He lived with my husband for 4 years before we met. As long as only one
person is in the house, this dog is almost perfect. However, when others are in the house (like myself or my in-laws) he barks and barks
(even if we're just walking down the hallway to the bathroom!)He goes nuts running in circles & barking when anyone sneezes, and he has
even gotten angry and bitten me on a few occasions when my husband and I were laughing together. It has gotten to the point that I would
like to find this dog another home, however my husband refuses. Is there any help for this psyco dog?

Thanks!
Sincerely,
Going Crazy in Peachtree City!

Dear Going Crazy:
    Don’t despair! And please don’t even think about asking your 7 year old dog to find another home. Most rescue groups will tell you that,
at that age, a dog is very difficult to place, and the separation would break his heart. Besides, he was there first!
    I don’t think your dog is psycho. From your description, he is displaying perfectly normal herding breed behavior–circling, barking and
nipping, trying to keep his “flock” under control. If he lived a quiet life with your husband before your marriage, he likely finds his new
environment a bit overwhelming, and is trying, in his own sheltie way, to manage everyone for whom he feels responsible. Shelties are
high-energy working breeds who take their “ jobs” very seriously, and it would appear your dog has decided his “job” is to keep everyone in
the household quiet and still.
    This dog definitely needs more exercise, but keep in mind that mental exercise is just as important as physical. Take him on a long
walk morning and night, and don’t let him pull you! Make him watch you and stay beside you as you’re walking. If you need to, see a
qualified obedience trainer for help with this. Also, try feeding all of his meals out of your hand for a couple of weeks, and make him do
something– like sit, or watch you– before you give him the first morsel. We want him to learn to bond with and to respect you, not just your
husband, so it’s important that you ask him to “earn” the good things that he gets from you, like walks and food.
    These are just a few hints to get you started; I urge you to follow through with a trainer who specializes in behavior problems, not just
obedience classes. The APDT web site should have a list of qualified trainers in your area. You might also speak with your vet about the
situation; it’s possible that, since many of the episodes seem to be triggered by noise, your dog has developed a sensitivity to sound.
    Good luck and thanks for writing!
The Pet Coach

Dear Pet Coach:

I adopted my one year old collie/shepherd mix from the Shelter a couple of weeks ago. She’s a great dog, except for one thing: she is not
house trained! One reason I went to the shelter to get an older dog was so that I wouldn’t have to go through all that housetraining
business, but the first thing this dog did when I brought her home was to pee on the carpet. Now, no matter how long I leave her outside,
she always comes back inside to do her business—on the carpet! Please help. I don’t want to return my dog to the shelter, but I can’t live
like this.
Desperate in Duluth

Dear Desperate,
Congratulations on adopting a very smart dog! Your dog learned exactly where the toilet was the minute she walked into your house, and
she has remembered to return to the same spot every time, no matter how great the temptation was to relieve herself outside. It is
extremely important, however, that when you first bring your adopted dog to her new home, you show her where you would like for her to
eliminate, instead of allowing her to pick her own spot—which will very likely be inside the house. Dogs habitually designate a “latrine”
area the first time they eliminate in a new place, and will return to it over and over again. In their culture, this is just good doggie manners.
In our culture, it’s usually better if the dog latrine is outside.
Don’t despair, however; it’s not too late to change the rules.    First, clean your carpet with a good enzymatic cleaner. A product called
Nature’s Miracle is sold at most pet stores, and is guaranteed to do the job. Secondly, for the next two weeks, your dog should be on a
leash, at your side (yes, inside the house!) every minute she is not outside or resting in her crate. The point is to never give her an
opportunity to make a mistake. Take her out fifteen minutes after each meal and every two hours during the day. Stay with her until she
eliminates.     When she does, praise her happily and take her back inside. Because you will be watching her every minute, there will be no
chance for accidents, but should one happen remember it is pointless to scold a dog after the fact. If you can catch her in the act you may
express your disapproval by taking her quickly and firmly by the collar and escorting her outside. If she finishes her toilet outside, make a
big deal out of praising her and telling her what a good dog she is. Clean up the accident with an enzymatic cleaner before you let her back
inside.
For more information on housetraining your new dog, go to www.thepetcoach.net and click on “articles”.    I know that you’ll have your new
dog housetrained in no time. After all, she has already proven how smart she is!

Dear Pet Coach:

When I adopted Pansy from the shelter about three months ago all she wanted to do was to follow me around. Now when I call her she
just looks at me. If I try to catch her, she runs the other way.   I can call her until I’m blue in the face but she ignores me until she’s good and
ready to come, and by that time I’m so mad I just want to scold her.   How can I teach my dog to come when I call her?
Frustrated in Lakemont

Dear Frustrated,
I’m so glad you sought help. Teaching your dog to come when called is the single most important thing you can do for your pet; it may one
day save her life.
Most dogs, when they first go to their new homes, will stay close to their owners until they feel confident. As they grow more comfortable in
their new environment, however, they will start to assert their independence, and test the boundaries of their relationship with their new
owners.
Unfortunately, your dog has learned that “Come” means “Continue what you were doing until you feel like doing something else, but be
careful not to get to close to the human because that makes him really mad! ”
You need to choose a new word that your dog does not associate with disobeying you, like “here” or “front”, or even “cookie”. From now on,
you will only use this word when a) your dog is on a leash and you can make sure she comes when you call her b) your dog is already in
the process or coming to you. Every single time your dog comes to you, you will give her a treat. Never scold your dog when she reaches
you, no matter how bad she has been, because that only teaches her that bad things happen when she comes to you. Never call your dog
for something unpleasant, like a bath or medication, or a trip to the vet. Go and get your dog for these purposes. Never chase your dog:
trust me, you’ll only catch her if she wants you to. Instead, turn the tables and make your dog chase you! Run backwards away from your
dog , calling her as you do, and when she catches you, praise her, treat her, play with her and tell her what a good dog she is for coming.
“Come” is the first thing we teach at The Pet Coach basic obedience course. Have you signed up yet?

Dear Pet Coach:

My six month old yellow lab won’t stop jumping up on people! He already weighs forty pounds and he’s going to get bigger. Is there any
way to stop this obnoxious habit before he does serious damage to somebody?

Curious in Clayton

Dear Curious,
In dog language, jumping up is a perfectly acceptable form of greeting. They are saying, “Hi, how are you! I like you, do you like me? “
Imagine how confused they must be when all they get from us is shouts, scowls and pushes. It’s obvious to the dog that we don’t
understand what he is saying, so he says it louder: “Hi, how are you!! I like you, do you like me?” More shouts, more pushing. So he tries
it again…
The key is to learn to speak a little Dog. Fold your arms across your chest, tuck your chin, lower your eyes, and turn your back on your dog.
This says, in dog language, “I do not respond to pushy canines.”   Eventually, your dog will tire of trying to get your attention since you are
absolutely refusing to give it to him. This is the important part: the minute your dog puts four feet on the floor—or better yet, sits—praise him
to the skies, whip a treat out of your pocket and give it to him while telling him what a great dog he is. If he gets excited and starts jumping
again, fold your arms, turn your back, and start all over again. Remember to praise and treat him when he stops jumping: how else will he
know what you want him to do?

Dear Pet Coach:

We adopted a two year old hound mix from the Boggs Mountain Humane Shelter last week. The poor thing had been in the shelter for three
months, but he had such a sweet personality we fell in love with him the first time we saw him. They told me he was the friendliest dog in
the shelter, and he certainly was happy and friendly when we first played with him there. But since we got him home he is a different dog.
He cowers under the porch and won’t even come inside. Every time he hears a noise he runs and hides. He’s terrified of strangers and
he won’t even eat while we’re around. What did we do wrong? We feel like such failures!   This is not the dog we thought we were
adopting, and we don’t know what to do.
Disappointed in Dillard

Dear Disappointed,
I think your sweet, friendly dog is still inside that cowering hound somewhere; you just have to give him time to gain his confidence. Please
keep in mind that three months, to a dog, is a lifetime. The shelter had become his home; he was accustomed to the sounds and smells
and the routine “on the inside”, as it were.   Suddenly, on the outside, the world is a big and scary place. He doesn’t know where his bed is,
where the toilet is, where or when his next meal is coming, or which of the thousands of new smells could be the sign of a predator coming
to get him. He used to have a pack of dozens of dogs at the shelter, and there is safety in numbers. Now he is all alone. He has a lot of
things to figure out in a very short time, and a lot of adjusting to do.
You can help him by trying to keep his routine as close as possible to what it was in the shelter. Find out from shelter personnel what time
the dogs were fed, and continue to feed at those times. Give him the same diet he had at the shelter, and try feeding him his meals from
your hand while you talk to him quietly for awhile. He may prefer the coziness of a dog house or a crate, which will remind him of the
security he felt in his kennel. By no means should you give your new dog the run of the yard or the house when you first bring him home; all
that freedom at once can be overwhelming for a shelter dog. Show him around his new environment on a leash, and offer him treats at
frequent intervals so that everything he encounters has a positive association for him. Introduce him to one new thing at a time, and wait
until he is comfortable with that before moving on. Remember, your shelter dog may never have heard a vacuum cleaner or a blender, and
the last time he rode in a car was probably when he was taken to the shelter. Be patient. Your cowardly hound will turn into your perfect
pet before you know it.

Dear Pet Coach:

I am a cat. I have had a perfectly lovely life with my human for eight and a half years in our quiet mountain home, watching sunsets from
the windowsill , sitting in the rocker by the fire, chasing the occasional mouse.   Then suddenly, from out of nowhere and without even
consulting me, my human brought home a – I can hardly say the word—puppy!    I’ve barely had a moment’s rest since the horrid little thing
entered the house. It pounces on me and tries to chew my fur, it chases me everywhere I go, it even eats my food! I’ve tried swatting it
across the face to teach it some manners, but guess who got yelled at for that? Me! All I want is my happy home back. I don’t know why we
have to have a puppy anyway. How can I make my human understand how unhappy I am? I thought about peeing on her bed, but rather
hated to see it come to that. Can you help?

Furious in Fargo

Dear Furious,
First of all, you are exactly right about peeing on the bed. Please don’t let it come to that. I’m so sorry you have been tormented by the
newcomer, and I understand why you feel you should have been consulted before the puppy joined the family. After all, you were there first.
However, it’s not too late to save your happy home.    Until it learns some manners, the puppy should be on leash inside the house
whenever it is not asleep or resting in its crate. No puppy should ever be allowed to run around unsupervised inside the house—there is
far too much trouble for it to get into! Your human should introduce the puppy to you while it is on leash, and let you sniff it if you want to. If
the puppy lunges or tries to pounce on you, the human should reprimand it with a sharp word and walk it away from you, then try again in
another minute. If the puppy greets you politely, she should praise it and give both of you a treat. Every time the puppy is quiet and polite
around you, it should get a treat. Every time it lunges or tries to chase, it should be taken away. I know this will be hard for you to believe,
but dogs really can be educated!
  Most of all, your human should remember that in dog/cat relationships, cats make the rules.   A puppy should learn very early that if it is
too forward with a strange cat, a swipe across the nose may be its reward. And puppies should be stopped from chasing cats at the very
first sign of that extremely dangerous activity… after all, who knows what might happen if the next cat he chases runs into the street?
I’m sure that, once the rules are established and your human takes charge of teaching the puppy a few manners, your peaceful family will
soon be restored.   Have a long and happy life!

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