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I agree. Going right up to an unknown dog and getting in its face, talking baby talk, and many other things is just wrong. Many dogs don’t take to strangers well (even if they love people) and bad things could happen.
I have been lucky that most people ask to pet Kayla, and I always thank them for doing so. Though, she has a backpack that she wears a lot of places that has patches that say “I am friendly! ASK to pet me!”. That helps. Most people think that she is a service dog (therapy dog in training), so they leave her alone, but will strike up a conversation and ask to pet her.
Puppy owners have it the worst I think! Everyone seems to love a puppy. Sadly, I am one of a handful who just isn’t a puppy person. Yes they are cute, but I am partial to the adults.
Be careful with the water bottle! That is considered positive punishment, and that could actually do more harm than good in the future. Just keep that in mind. There are much better ways to handle the situation for the long term.
For dogs that jump when you or guest come in the door, DO NOT ACKNOWLEDGE the dog at all. By showing the dog any kind of attention, that is reinforcing the jumping. Ignore the dog until all four are on the floor. Then praise the dog for not jumping. It may be a few minutes, it could be 15 minutes. The dog needs to be rewarded for calm behavior and NOT jumping. Teaching the dog to sit when people walk in the door is also a good way to reward the dog. Make sure to let your guests know to ignore your dog until the dog has calmed down. Once the dog is calm, then you and guests can pay attention to the dog.
Another way to stop the jumping is to fold your arms and turn away from the dog and walk away. Dogs don’t like for their humans to ignore them. Once the dog has calmed down, then you can give attention. But when the dog starts to jump, turn and walk away. Pushing the dog down is acutally reinforcing the jumping behavior because you are touching the dog. Yelling at the dog reinforces it too. Anything you do to acknowledge the dog will just reinforce the jumping/excitable behavior.
When you are sitting on the sofa and a dog is staring at you…IGNORE hiom. He is waiting for you to give him attention because he knows it has worked in the past. Now you have to reprogram his brain. You give the dog attention on your own terms. That sounds harsh, but in time you won’t have to do it anymore, and your dog will learn. If the dog jumps up on you when you are on the couch, get up immediately, and turn. Ignore the dog.
Dogs jumping is because they are excited. You don’t want to reward the excitement. That is the key. It may be cute, but it can cause issues down the road.
A good thing to try is to praise her when she pees outside and give a treat or favorite toy right away. Bring her back inside, and then take her right back out again. She may pee again, and if she does, praise and treat immediately. Bring her back in, and go back out again right away.
Another thing to do is attach Tilda to you when you bring her back inside. That way you can keep an eye on her at all times, and when she is showing signs like she needs to poop, take her outside immediately! If she poops outside, PRAISE AND TREAT like there is no tomorrow!
Some dogs need extra guidance when it comes to housetraining, and many times you have to start all over again. Tethering her to to with a short leash around your belt loops is always a good way to work on housetraining skills.
Another thing you can do is crate her right away when you bring her back in. Most dogs do not want to soil in their crate. Crate her for a few minutes, then take her back outside again.
Does she give you an indication that she has to potty? Does she circle around, whine, paw at you, etc.? Once you learn her signals, subtle as they may be, you will get it figured out. It just takes time and patience.
Yes, there is some form of separation anxiety that your pittie is going through. It is actually mild at the moment, but if it isn’t nipped in the bud soon, it could really start to get out of control. And yes, it can get much worse.
To be honest with you, crating him would be the best idea while you are gone. You could fold the crate up when you are home, so that it isn’t in the way. Space can be a limiting factor, but you need to get Riley’s issues under control first. If you do not want to do the crate thing, what about getting a baby gate and confining him to one room?
Crating will also help with the housetraining. Most dogs do not want to potty where they sleep, hence the crate. Plus, it is always good to have a dog crate trained, even if you quit using it. A dog needs to know that a crate is a safe place, especially if you need to evacuate your home for any reason. We don’t use a crate for our dog anymore, as she has never been destructive or troublesome in the house. But, we do put it together for a week or so, and periodically make sure that she still remembers the crate command and that she still enjoys it.
You have a 6 month old puppy. A puppy is going to do things that will drive you bonkers. But, it is all about management. Do you make a big ordeal when you leave? If you do, tone it down. The best thing to do is exit uneventfully and come home without any fanfare.
Provide Riley with things to do when you leave. Freeze stuff inside of a Kong or two. That will take him some time to get through being that he is just a pup. Be careful of what you give him to do while you are gone! Bones and things like that should be monitored at all times to avoid choking, etc. Please do not give them to your dog when you are not at home. I think it would be better to come home to what you are coming home to, then a dog who has a bone fragment stuck in his throat and is dying.
There are many puzzle toys out there on the market that a pup would really love. Treat/food balls are a fun way to keep a dog occupied. Give your dog his breakfast in a treatball when you leave. If you leave late in the morning, give him half his breakfast in his bowl, then the other hlaf in the ball when you leave.
If you don’t want to crate him or confine him to one room, place treats throughout your apartment where he can find them. That will give him time to look around, use his nose, and play the “find it” game. That is also fun to do when you are home with him.
When you leave for the day, give him a few treats before you go and then just walk out. That will cause him to think that it is good that you leave because he gets treats! We still do that with our dog. She gets excited to see us leave.
Make sure that you potty him frequently before you leave. That way his bladder and colon will be empty. Make sure that you praise him when you are outside with him right after he potties so that he knows that is where you want him to go. Some puppies take longer to housetrain than others, and sometimes you just have to start from the beginning again.
Best of luck to you. Re-work how your days go, vary the way you leave, and vary the things for Riley to do. In time, he will outgrow this and what you are going through now will be a distant memory.
go ask alice had a great idea with the old boxers or shorts, as I was going to say to go and buy the dog diapers at your local pet store. There are ones for incontinence and others especially for females in heat.
Keep in mind that the average female will go into heat every 6 months, and it can last for up to three weeks. But, it does differ from dog to dog. All I can say is be prepared.
Please tell me that you have an appointment set up with your vet to have her spayed. If she is a puppy, a puppy can get pregnant in her first heat cycle, which is not very safe for the dog.
That is interesting. We had a VERY expensive dog bite claim here in my office several years ago, and we still have the family insured.
I am SO sorry that you are having to battle this. Is State Farm wanting to drop you all together, or just requesting that you get rid of the dog?
I am not a big fan of “dressing up” dogs. That seems to be reserved for the toy dogs. But if it is for a purpose, such as keeping a REALLY short haired dog warm, then by all means DO IT! (though I have dressed her up for Halloween)
We live in Indiana, and Kayla (our dog) shivers in the house sometmies during the colder months. I will put a shirt on her and even baby socks to keep her feet warm. I do it for her comfort. I don’t put a coat on when she goes out to potty, as she runs out, does her business, and then runs right back inside. But, when we go places in the car, walks, playing outisde, etc., you better believe it that my pittie is dressed for the temps.
I have several winter coats, shirts, scarves, and sweaters for Kayla during these cold months. Pits were not blessed with the massive amounts of fur that many other breeds have, so they rely on us to take care of them.
I am a Wisconsin native, and I know all about the winters and the endless cold temps. Do your dog a favor and keep her warm. Don’t worry about what we think or what others think. You do what is best for YOUR dog where YOU live. 🙂
Phoenix,
Many companies do not care so much that a dog bit someone (ok, yes they do care) but it is the fact that there was a claim. I work for State Farm Insurance, and we will write insurance for people if they have had a dog bite claim. But…that would need to be a claim that has happened at least 36 months ago before we even consider it, amongst several other factors. Keep in mind that it may not be the company as a whole that is turning you down…it could be that select office/agent that you are contacting. State Farm Insurance as a whole does not have any breed discrimination policies. But, there are individual agents out there who may have a bias againist certain breeds and decide on their own NOT to write policies for anyone who has a certain breed.
Many companies will also allow you to keep your dog and your insurance, yet exclude him from coverage. Basically, if there were to be another incident, the company would not cover the incident. Though that could be dangerous with a dog who now has a bite history, but it would be a temporary solution in the meantime until you locate a company who can write insurance for you. There are companies out there. They can just be hard to locate.
