what should I do about my Daughter's dog?

[princessbaileigh]

I got my 5 1/2 year old daughter this dog a few months ago. The dog will be a year old. But, My husband can't stand this dog. My daughter is very attached and, of course, me too. I'm a stay at home mom and the dog follows me everywhere, so I guess you could say the dog thinks that she belongs to me. Anyway, the dog will not stop digging 2ft holes in my front flower beds and chews everything off the porch and when she comes in she chews on everything. She also pees and poops on my dining room rug. It doesn't matter if I just brought her in from being outside or not. I give her chew toys and raw hides, she does chew on them but I can't get her to not chew on other things as well. Last week I just got fed up......I called the Vet and the animal shelter to find her a new home. But, I got a call this afternoon and the lady wants to come look at her tomorrow morning. My daughter doesn't know anything about this, It would upset her. But, after the call I started to cry. I love her personality, she is so loveable! BUT, she is so desructive. I don't think I can give her away now. What should I do? Think with my head or Heart?

 

[Rajah]

Did you try obedience training before trying to find her a new home?

Also, what type of dog is it?

 

[Aimeedyan]

Some questions before offering more advice:

Do you crate train?
Has she been to obedience school?
Do you play with her outside while she's out there and correct the behavior?
Have you tried BItter Apple Spray on items she returns to to chew on?
Do you walk her every single day, 1-3 times?
Does she have free run of the house or is she confined until trustworthy?
Have you tried the umbillical cord method for training to protect your house?
What breed is she?
What age did she come to you as?
What words do you use to stop her destructive behavior? Is everyone consistent in it?

I'll post back with more thoughts, but didn't want to repeat a bunch of stuff you've already tried =)

 

[Marseeya]

Sounds like she's still a baby. Is she a lab or lab mix? Mine chewed for the first 2 1/2 years and I thought I was going to go insane with her. She's calmed down into a really nice dog and I'm so glad I didn't do anything drastic.

 

[roberrl187]

We adopted a 1 yr old Jap Chin that thought the house was his bathroom. I found that confining him helped with the messes. Have you tried crating her at night or when you aren't home? I won't kid you, it took a long time to break her of this, but it was well worth it.

She will outgrow the chewing. Does she do that when she is alone? Maybe she is bored.

 

[WDWguru]

Please take this dog to an obedience class and spend some time training her. It really only takes a few minutes a day at home once you learn the proper techniques. Your local Petsmart or similar should have affordable group classes you could attend with your daughter, even. There are also several books on the subject available at your local library. It's not too late!

Teach your daughter that pets are a lifetime commitment and not something to be tossed aside when they become inconvenient.

 

[Rozzie]

Teach your daughter that pets are a lifetime commitment and not something to be tossed aside when they become inconvenient.

my thoughts exactly. Please don't do this to your dog.

 

[clarabelle]

Teach your daughter that pets are a lifetime commitment and not something to be tossed aside when they become inconvenient.

I disagree. Yes it would be better to keep the dog and give it some proper training and attention. But if that is going to be really difficult I think you should say lesson learned and let her go to a new home.
She is being responsible by finding it a new home. Its not like she is dumping it on the street. I disagree with the premise that we should stick with a pet no matter what the circumstances. Life is too short to have a pet that makes you miserable.
If a young mother who could not handle a baby gave it up for adoption we would probably applaud her -why can't we have the same attitude with pets?

 

[puggymom]

Teach your daughter that pets are a lifetime commitment and not something to be tossed aside when they become inconvenient.

Yes!!!!!That cute guy on the right in my sig was a rescue. I still can't understand how this sweetheart was given up.

Some hints on housebreaking. AS previously stated confining to an area can help, use an X pen or crate. Tie the leash to your belt. When the dog goes inside DO NOT yell, that will teach the dog not to go in front of you. When the dog does go where you want, have EXTRA special treats (chicken, cheese, steak) ready to give it immediately. Praise the heck out it as it is doing it. This method works every time.

 

[Shugardrawers]

First get thee a copy of Surviving Your Dog's Adolesence by Carole Lea Benjamin. Then READ it. You'll understand your dog so much better. It will teach you to take control and let your dog know who is boss in your house. If you need help with house training please PM me with your email address and I'll send you a document that will be of major help to you. Please don't give up yet. It's just a matter of training.

 

[Lil_Tink]

Dont have any advice but wish you the best with your pup. I do beleive she/he will outgrow this. ug:

 

[MOMTOMOOTOO]

Teach your daughter that pets are a lifetime commitment and not something to be tossed aside when they become inconvenient.

I could not agree more with this sentiment. This is the first time in my entire life that I have been without a dog. My beloved Ricky in my signature left us in June. He was here before any of my kids and they were all such good buddies. That said, I am taking my time looking for the right match for our family. There is no way in hell that I would ever want my kids to think that any pet is disposable.

I suggest you check into obedience classes. She is essentially still a baby, and needs to be trained. She may also be getting the vibes from your DH and acting out on them.

Good luck.

 

[noseybuddy]

My dogs didn't have free run of the house until they were at least 1 1/2 years old. It took a lot of time and patience to train them. People really need to understand that before getting a dog. I think some people think that it is going to be so easy, but iit isn't. Good luck with whatever decision you make.

 

[Rock'n Robin]

My dog is 8 months old. He does not pee in the house and will only poop in the basement. If we keep a baby gate at the top of the basement steps (with enough room for the cats to go down and use the box) he will not try to go down there and will not go anywhere else in the house. If your dog favors the dining room, can you block it off?
Yes he chews too (lab mix), but I try to have things handy that are OK to chew. He is in a crate when we are gone or when no one is paying attention to him (if DD #1 is home alone and is asleep, for example). That saves us a lot of grief.
Robin M.

 

[goin2disneyagain]

Teach your daughter that pets are a lifetime commitment and not something to be tossed aside when they become inconvenient.

I totally agree. It's also not fair to the dog either to be tossed around from home to home. Consider obedience school.

 

[The Mystery Machine]

What should I do? Think with my head or Heart?

If you want to keep the dog you have to discipline. Get the dog to a GOOD trainer...not Petsmart or Petco. Someone who has experience with dogs.
I would have hire one to come to your home.

Your dog sounds like it has WAY too much freedom in your home. Time for crate training.

I cannot imagine my pups with free reign, they would tear my house up. Geesh the little snots started to chew on my baseboards...and that is only turning our backs for a second!

Basically if they cannot be trusted, they cannot have free reign. Also you must learn how to properly give a correction and reprimands.
It really is easy! Just takes some getting used to being a "heavy".
They are babies and need structure and discipline.

As far as digging my trainer said..."Dogs dig". Generally they don't dig until they have been out there for 20 minutes on average. They are bored and need your companionship.
I have 2 pups...my backyard looks like prairie dogs live here.
We fenced off any areas we don't want them in.

 

[DarkSideMoon]

no offense, but dont throw him out to be adopted/ mybe abused or put down by other ppl. not trying to be rude but i think this is more of your fault than the dogs, with proper training, 99.999999% of dogs can be broken of this easily.

 

[maxiesmom]

Oh my gosh, I can so relate to the "prarie dog" yard! My dearly departed Max dug everywhere! Every Spring I would buy bags of dirt to fill the holes.

I am wondering what the deal is with your husband. Does he not like dogs, or just this dog? How does he behave around the dog? I'm hoping he doesn't yell at the dog when you tell him about the accidents in the house. Unless you catch them in the act you shouldn't repremand them. All that happens if you yell at them later is they think you are a crazy person. As much as I agree that dogs are not to be gotten rid of because they are inconvenient, if there is no hope of the two of them ever getting along, please do the dog a favor and find it a patient, loving home.

 

[allie&mattsmom]

Please take him to obedience school. And I'd highly recommend crate training. We did this with our lab. For the first year DH & I kept asking each other "What the **** were we thinking?". Oh he chewed corners off of our coffe table, the corner of our deck, even a piece of our cedar siding on the back of our house, but now he is the absolute best dog in the world and I can't imagine him not being in our life. He killed about $500 worth of landscape in front of our house by peeing on the bushes, but we replaced them and the lawn and garden shop recommended a spray that is safe for animals but it deters them from wanting to go there. It truly worked. So you could look into this for the digging problem. Good luck.

 

[The Mystery Machine]

Just wanted to throw this out there if you are interested. This is a dog psychologist, Cesar Milan. He has a new video out about dog's. Now this is just to help you understand "dog" and is not a substitution for a experienced trainer. But if you do not understand the way a dog sees the world, this will help you ALOT!

http://www.cesar-millan.com/?source=adwords