A red heeler in an apartment is not an easy feat. We live in an apartment that is part of a house so we have the backyard and luckily don't need to fly down a whole bunch of stairs every time he needs to go eliminate. Still, our living quarters is small--under 700 square feet and that poses some issues with an energetic, working herding dog. And no, Benji is not the calm, sweet exception---he's the rule.
Good thing for Benji and our sanity, we live near 5 parks and I have decided he will need 3 hours of exercise a day to cope with living in a small space plus a "job" like agility when he is 6 months old. Until then, 2 walks a day should suffice plus "fetch". Benji is a serious barker and his bark is unusually high pitched and extremely loud. At only 10 weeks, he sounds like any full grown retriever in the neighbourhood! I have a devilish alpha dog and keeping him in an apartment won't be easy but I will try it.
I'm pretty sure Benji could and would easily ruin everything in the apartment including the walls, sofa, chairs, TV and tables. While he's a puppy, my solution is to spray Bitter Apple on alll the furniture where he usually chews and the sides of walls he's bitten. When he's older and trained, he'll be allowed to be in the house for say, 40 minutes, while we grocery shop with a muzzle on so he is unable to destroy everything but still enjoy freedom.
I don't crate Benji much. He is in the crate while I sweep and mop, while he sleeps at night (which helps with house training him) and when he does something bad or he won't stop jumping while we're eating. Unless, he's sleeping, he's in his crate for up to a half hour. He usualy sleeps for 6-8 hours straight and wakes up between 4:30-5:00am. The crate is wonderful but he's not a "Crate" dog. I hope exercising him will help calm him down a lot.
Unfortunately, i cannot show any love to Benji. Everything I do has to be a command to be answered to immediately---from fetch, to eating, to eliminating, to getting a treat. NO KISSES, COOING OR PETTING. Benji takes this as a sign of weakness and manipulates you immediately.
I have no solution to his barking problem or his biting problem Telling him "no", holding his snout and leaving him alone does not help. When I return, he WILL bite, and if I leave to another room, he WILL continue barking. I need new solutions to the B&B problem.
1. How can I get my puppy to stop barking excessively?
2. How can I get my puppy to stop barking excessively when nobody is home?
3. How can I get my puppy to stop biting me aggressively?
4. How can I get my puppy to stop nipping me playfully when I show/tell him "no"?
Seriously, a little puppy shouldn't be so difficult to train. Tomorrow is a new day and I'm going to do two things.
Number one: puppyproof the house (and buy Bitter Apple). This helps eliminate a lot of stress.
Number two: leave him alone in the house and get him to be used to it.
I won't show him any affection tomorrow. It's all "alpha dog". I am not going to show any emotion, raise my voice, reprimand him or anything. I will just prevent him from doing the behaviours that I want to discourage. For jumping on furniture and us, I will leash him to a chair away from us. This way he cannot bite either. I won't even tell him "No jumping" or "Off" which I usually do and then shove him off after he ignores me.. I will simply tie him up, all business-like no anger, no frustration, no eye contact. He will work for his toys--if he wants a toy, he will have to sit/stay. If he wants food, he will have to do a proper down. If he wants to go outside, he will have to sit at the door and wait until I go through the doorway first--each and every time. I guess it's my fault for slacking.
Has anyone else had a difficult puppy to train?
Showing posts with label puppy proof. Show all posts
Showing posts with label puppy proof. Show all posts
Friday, March 11, 2011
Puppy Proofing the Apartment
My puppy gets into everything--shoes, stain remover powder, garbage--you name it and he'll shred it, eat it or chew it. I realized I never even bothered to puppy-proof the house before we got Benji so if he is finding things and ruining them (like our boots) then it's my fault. I should have a lid on all garbages and keep the shoes out of sight and it'll be easier to manage him. And above all--never let the dog out of my sight!
.
* 1
Unplug or wrap up electrical cords that are exposed. Move lighting around so that the cord is running behind a piece of furniture that the puppy cannot get to. Where there is a lot of cords such as your television or computer, either block access to the cords or duct tape the cords out of reach. Also, you can use a ceramic planter to put the excess cord inside of and to block access to the plug going into the wall.
* 2
Remove throw rugs that have fringe. It is better just to remove the rug for awhile until the puppy gets older.
* 3
Get in a habit of putting your shoes out of reach. If a shoe does get chewed, do not just give it to the puppy as they cannot tell the difference between a shoe they can chew and one they cannot. It's better to make all shoes off limits.
* 4
Use Bitter Apple spray on furniture legs, woodwork and other immovable items to keep the puppy from chewing on them.
* 5
Close doors or install a baby gate to keep the puppy out of rooms that they don't need to be in. This can include your child's room as they will chew and possible swallow children's toys and crayons.
* 6
Install baby gates on the bottom and tops of stairs (if the puppy goes upstairs with you.)
* 7
Check your back yard for any dangerous plants (check with your vet for a list) that the puppy may chew and any holes in your fence that the puppy could get through.
* 8
Keep your puppy away from a location where you have used fertilizers, pesticides or herbicides for 48 hours.
* 9
Keep your garbage can locked up or up off the floor, or purchase a heavy duty one. A puppy will be attracted to the smell and if they manage to knock it over will chew or swallow what was in the garbage.
* 10
Keep hamsters or other small caged animals off of the floor until the puppy gets older.
* 11
Remove tablecloths and runners as a quick pull on one of these can bring everything from the table down on your puppy. Also, check any long cords from window shades that a puppy may be able to reach.
* 12
Use a baby latch on your bottom cubbards, particularly any that may have cleaning products or just temporarily remove the products.
Read more: How to Puppy Proof your Home | eHow.com http://www.ehow.com/how_2321033_puppy-proof-home.html#ixzz1GGw66C7W
.
* 1
Unplug or wrap up electrical cords that are exposed. Move lighting around so that the cord is running behind a piece of furniture that the puppy cannot get to. Where there is a lot of cords such as your television or computer, either block access to the cords or duct tape the cords out of reach. Also, you can use a ceramic planter to put the excess cord inside of and to block access to the plug going into the wall.
* 2
Remove throw rugs that have fringe. It is better just to remove the rug for awhile until the puppy gets older.
* 3
Get in a habit of putting your shoes out of reach. If a shoe does get chewed, do not just give it to the puppy as they cannot tell the difference between a shoe they can chew and one they cannot. It's better to make all shoes off limits.
* 4
Use Bitter Apple spray on furniture legs, woodwork and other immovable items to keep the puppy from chewing on them.
* 5
Close doors or install a baby gate to keep the puppy out of rooms that they don't need to be in. This can include your child's room as they will chew and possible swallow children's toys and crayons.
* 6
Install baby gates on the bottom and tops of stairs (if the puppy goes upstairs with you.)
* 7
Check your back yard for any dangerous plants (check with your vet for a list) that the puppy may chew and any holes in your fence that the puppy could get through.
* 8
Keep your puppy away from a location where you have used fertilizers, pesticides or herbicides for 48 hours.
* 9
Keep your garbage can locked up or up off the floor, or purchase a heavy duty one. A puppy will be attracted to the smell and if they manage to knock it over will chew or swallow what was in the garbage.
* 10
Keep hamsters or other small caged animals off of the floor until the puppy gets older.
* 11
Remove tablecloths and runners as a quick pull on one of these can bring everything from the table down on your puppy. Also, check any long cords from window shades that a puppy may be able to reach.
* 12
Use a baby latch on your bottom cubbards, particularly any that may have cleaning products or just temporarily remove the products.
Read more: How to Puppy Proof your Home | eHow.com http://www.ehow.com/how_2321033_puppy-proof-home.html#ixzz1GGw66C7W
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