Behavior Concerns
I live in a building so my priority was getting on her on my schedule and stopping the house accidents. We got a crate and went with crate training as she was familiar with a crate. It worked great the accidents for the most part stopped except for the occasional slip up by the elevator (outside the apartment). She has only been with me for 5 weeks so I understand she is still adjusting. Everyone in the apartment left on vacation this week, so its really just been me with her. Unfortunately, I was also bombarded by additional work hours this week and I'm a student. So i wasn't home much this week. Because she was so successful with the crate training we decided to give her a bit more freedom and instead of keeping her in the crate we would just keep her in my room. There's a child safety type gate on it. Friday night I came home and she had peed on my bed, thrown stuff down from my desk, and chewed on teddy bears and pillows. I don't care about the material stuff my biggest concern was where this behavior was coming from. Eva is incredibly smart and knew she had done wrong. I yelled at her and put her in the crate that evening. Putting her in the crate wasn't a punishment but more of, you violated my trust and now i have to take away some of your freedom. Then saturday I spent the whole day with her. We visited a friend who has a 2 month old oes puppy. and then we went to the park together. Today Sunday I had class and had to leave, so I left her in the room, not the crate. When the walker came by to walk her, she called me and told me she went to the teddy bears again, chewed up my glasses, and headband. Again, the things don't matter to me. What I'm considered about is where is this misbehavior coming from? Thanks so much for your time and responses! |
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| You said that your dad had her for 6 months so how old does that make her now? It sounds like she's just very young and up to mischief. When she's out of the crate, she's bored and there's a LOT more to do so she just gets into it. Puppies are just like insane babies, except faster and with more teeth. I think it's always good to be concerned but I don't think there's anything wrong other than she's a little bit too young to control herself when she has her freedom. Some dogs really enjoy the safety and security of the crate so there's no reason to give her more space yet. I have a dog that's almost 3 who loves the crate so much that I can't get rid of it even though I tried. He paces at night, can't get comfortable and comes up and down on our bed. I gave him the crate back and he went back to relaxing and sleeping like a baby. We set up a camera once to see what the dogs (we have three) do all day when we're not home and guess what? They pretty much stay in the same place and sleep all day! I'd go back to using the crate and, if you want to phase it out, start with leaving her out of the crate when you leave for like 15 minute increments and gradually increase the time. As she gets older and more adjusted to your living space, it'll get easier and easier. |
Eva wrote: . She was also not trained behavior wise. Again, the things don't matter to me. What I'm considered about is where is this misbehavior coming from? Thanks so much for your time and responses! Exactly where you said it was coming from. She wasn't taught whats hers and whats not. (was not taught behavior wise) Don't give her freedom since she can't be trusted not to chew up your stuff. Keep her crated when you can't watch her and correct her behavior properly. Puppies are puppies, they are going to misbehave, chew on things that aren't theirs, have potty accidents in the house. Its your responsiblity to teach her that she isnt supposed to do those things. Also, yelling at a dog after the fact doesnt do much good. Unless you catch her in the act she does not know what is going on. 5 weeks is a short amount of time. She isnt going to be fully re-trained in that short amount of time. |
| I couldn't trust Tiggy not to chew up stuff like mobile phones, spectacles and other expensive stuff till she was over 2 years old. She'd get bored on her own at home and find something fun to do. Problem is what she thought was fun was almost always what I thought was naughty. Sheepies need lots of exercise and lots of things to keep them busy. Even when your schedule is busy you need to keep her mentally stimulated. How about a kong stuffed with treats or one of those food games that they have to work at to get the food out? |
| ^^ I agree with what everyone's said. Boredom or separation anxiety. Quote: Eva is incredibly smart and knew she had done wrong. I yelled at her and put her in the crate that evening. Putting her in the crate wasn't a punishment but more of, you violated my trust and now i have to take away some of your freedom. Likely she only knew you were mad. They don't understand unless we are there to correct them while they're doing the inappropriate behavior. If it's separation anxiety, scolding her when you get home may only make it worse, she'll stress more when you leave. The options are to pick up all your personal belongings, crate her or put her in a puppy-safe room when you leave. If she'll tolerate a crate while you're away, that's what I'd be using to both protect her and your property. But you need to make it a positive place or you may have more problems. Search "separation anxiety" on oes.org... it may give you some answers. |
Quote: Search "separation anxiety" on oes.org... it may give you some answers. I meant to say some "ideas". |
| More walks and exercise - stimulation. She's bored and full of energy. Nik  |
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