I had a gal call me today who can’t keep her tiny adopted dog from having a fit when she leaves home. It apparently scratches the dickens out of the door jambs and casing. Not the door itself so much, yet.
My first thought at solution was a child gate but it’s wide open into the living room, there’s no foyer or hall to attach it to or block. We can’t keep the dog happy, but there’s got to be a way to keep it away from the door.
There’s enough guys here, someones had a creative thought about this sometime. Any takers?
“If you pick up a starving dog and make him prosperous, he will not bite you. This is the principal difference between a dog and a man.” – Mark Twain
Replies
That dog sounds like a good candidate for crate training to me. Have you ever seen those sectional pieces that are used to create a large playpen area for a toddler in a room? How about three sections of that? Form a "U" blocking off the doorway?
Often tapeing up some alum. foil will discourage that, or a generous application od Cayanne pepper in the area ( not on a rug) ...the foil is often seena s "Scary" and the pepper just plain says " Stay away".
What Deisel said. Also, some dogs are just a little high strung by nature. If you keep him away from the door, he may find something else to show his displeasure on?? a nice corral sounds good, but my dog as a pup even was able to chew the vinyl floor he was on.
Some dogs just aren't worth keeping tell her to take it back and get her money back.
Or keep the dog outside, don't leave the dog home alone for ten hours and expect it to be ok. Really I have no good input, some people just should not have a dog.
My recomendation is for a dog kennel. It is not inhumane. Our dogs will go sleep in their kennels during the day if we happen to leave the doors open, which we always do. Great for potty training them, too
Our golden retriever was raised in a large crate. It was not used as punishment, only a place to sleep and be locked up in when we were gone. he never hesitated to go in. Sometimes during the day he would go in by himself and sleep. it was his comfort zone.
"When asked if you can do something, tell'em "Why certainly I can", then get busy and find a way to do it." T. Roosevelt
It's a crate candidate. Not inhumane at all. Gives the dog a nice safe, secure place all it's own and saves wear and tearon the house.
It won't be a happy camper it's first few times there but will adjust if given time.
Beats those Colt, Winchester or Remmington dog training sessions.
I live in the boondocks and have a couple St. Bernard/Mastiff mix pups who, sometime back, decided to get adventurous. So I sprung for a buried "fence" and shock collars, which solved the roaming problem.
But then they decided that, while we were at work, destroying DW's deck plantings would be fun! But included with the shock collar package was a battery powered "zone alarm" unit, a little self-contained disk that, when set among the deck plants energizes the shock collars when the dogs approach within an adjustable distance (I set mine for the maximum of 12'). Problem solved.
While various shock collar systems (and there are several good ones that serve a variety of situations) are fairly expensive ($300 and up), I've seen them effective with other people's critters; mostly dogs, but in one case, pigmy goats.
They can be ordered tailored to the size and weight range of the dog and, having tested them on myself, I can attest that they do not produce a cruel jolt....nothing like the "weedburner" electric fences I used to run for my livestock.
A little spendy, but probably less than the price of a new door.
An electric collar is a good idea, but there is also an electric mat that will jolt their feet when they step on it. It's a simple matter to place one in front of the door. With shoes, people won't get a shock.
One of my customers uses these and they really work. PetSmart calls them Scat Mats.
-Don
"With shoes, people won't get shocked."
Is there a way to overcome that feature? I have these well-meaning, but pesky missionary types that show up monthly who have it in their heads that I am salvageable.
The crate is the only way to go. My dog just runs in when I open the door. She didn't like it for the first 2 or 3 days, but is very comfortable with the crate now.
Television. Get that dog a good flat screen plasma HDTV, surround sound.. theatre style.
recommended movies...
Benji
Lassie
Gentle Ben
Old yeller
DVD collection of Ren and Stimpy
Better yet.... 24 hours of the animal planet.
Give the dog a day or two.... it'll never even get off the floor to notice the HO has left for the day.
Good Luck
Edited 12/20/2005 9:22 pm ET by HandySteve
Old Yeller? Might make the dog neurotic.....or eager for his/her rabies boosters!
Had a similar situation a few years ago that needed a resolution in a big way……as this involved a Boxer and a Collie. They'd been scratching the crap outta the window sills in the dining room and the front door for years on end as they checked out the comings and goings of their owners and anyone else. I'd been was hired to refurbish and refinish all the woodwork in the entire house and so these dogs needed retraining before the project ever began.
The folks had an invisible fence unit to keep the critters on the property and collars for both dogs. Since the dogs had already well-learned to heed the property lines, they hadn't needed to wear the collars for a year or so. The IF unit hung in the garage ……..so we just added on an extension of that wire and ran it across the basement in the right location to keep them from revisiting their interior locations of preference/destruction. Placed the wire across the basement ceiling joists about 18" inside the perimeter of the dining room and about 2' from the front door.
The first day of the "new rules" and collars was interesting, to say the least. They ran into the dining room as per normal, getting buzzed the whole time they were in there. Much twitching, yelping and looks of bewilderment. All in all, after about three days of being occasionally forgetful, they just didn't venture anywhere near those areas. But a week later had figured out exactly how close they could get and even re-tested the situation a few times in the following couple weeks.
The collars were left on the dogs for maybe 6 weeks total and then removed. To this day, neither will enter the dining room or closer than 6' to the front door. Mission accomplished.
If they need a reminder, it's easy to do.
A 22 bullet costs less than a quarter!!
Just joking Got to great Labs!
We always leave some low level music playing on our stereo while we are gone.
The Breaktimer formerly known as "Steve-O"
"Preach the Gospel at all times; if necessary, use words." - St. Francis of Assisi
Classical music is usually a good choice. Tends to sooth animals a bit. Sounds like the dog has separation anxiety. Putting the dog in a crate, with soft goods, may be an option as long as it isn't too long. Dogs are usually quite happy in a crate for hours. The owner could also do well to consult with a vet. Temporary use of tranquilizers may make it easier on everyone , including the dog, when the HO needs to go to work. Long term use of the dog crate and training by leaving alone for short, and then longer, periods of time may might desensitize the dog enough to calm it.Toys and company are also an idea. The radio on the classical station sometimes works. Toys are an alternative. A friend used a stuffed teddy bear hung on a piece of surgical tubing. The dog would attack teddy and seemed quite happy, and well exercised, as long as the toy was regularly replaced.Another dog, or cat if the dog gets along reasonably well with them, is also an alternative. Be sure to check your dogs reaction. Had a friend who left his dog with a cat and found, when he returned from a hard day, blood, guts and little bloody bits of shredded cat everywhere. On the up side the dog was otherwise well behaved having thoroughly enjoyed the tasty and entertaining 'new toy'. He said they had seemed to get along. He was still finding bits of fur weeks after the fact.
The dog needs some serious training by a professional trainer. Those "tiny" dogs always seem to be pretty high strung and I would bet this one is acting out because it's left alone. Putting up obstacles may help, but the pooch will probably find ways around them - or find a new place to destroy.
This summer, I did a lot of work for my neighbor who has one of those "yippy" dogs. This dog expresses it's displeasure by dumping all over the place, so her house is an obstacle course because of all the gates, etc that she uses to keep the mutt contained in the kitchen. This dog finally got used to me coming and going but almost had a nervous breakdown when the painters came in.
I've suggested professional training but she doesn't really get it. She carries the dog around like an infant and thinks he's just adorable. Oh well, it ain't my house - lol.
Until you train the owners, training the dogs is just a waste of time and money. But, training the dogs is a LOT easier.
The crate is the best answer for many dogs.
For my pack, they are outside while I am at work - with an air-conditioned and insulated dog house, half an acre fenced in with a six foot chain link fence, and a water bowl that refills itself all day. They have lots of real bones to chew on and there is hardware cloth or cement on anything I don't want them to chew on.
Several of my pack have obedience titles - one has been on a TV commercial. All of them love going to obedience class. The four month old puppy (about 90 pounds and growing fast) will start class the first week in January.
they are outside while I am at work - with an air-conditioned and insulated dog house, half an acre fenced in with a six foot chain link fence, and a water bowl that refills itself all day. They have lots of real bones to chew on and there is hardware cloth or cement on anything I don't want them to chew on.
My dog just told me he wants to go to your house for his vacation this year.
We have had a ton of dogs over the past 20 years. DW trains and shows them in performance and conformation.
Crate training is the solution, but it is not recommended to leave young dogs or even older untrained dogs in crate for the 8 to 10 hour period she is at work. They need to relieve themselves just as we do. They will soil their crate in that time, and then crate training becomes even more difficult.
A better solution is to purchase an appropriate size X-pen, and set it up in he kitchen while she is at work. X-pens are exercise pens that fan fold into a relative small bundle when not in use. For her needs it will give the dog room to move around, yet still be contained. If it is paper trained , it will make any needed deposits in the papered corner of the pen. As it eventually learns to hold itself until she gets home to let it out, she can remove the paper.
Dave
A cheaper alternative for zoning the house while your away is to get one of those hard plastic pads that are used over carpet so your chair rolls easier. Cut it to fit in the doorway to be blocked - the width of the door x however wide your particular pet can't step over. Now turn that thing upside down! Those little spikes are SHARP!!! Of course don't leave it down and find it in the middle of the night bare foot!
(works great if your babysitting toddlers too, just take thier shoes off, sit back and watch the game!)
I highly recommend crate training. My now 11-year old dog, was trained with one and later, when he didn't "need" it for training, I put it under a desk with his bed inside, leaving the door open all the time. He considered it his safe den. Years later, a small child was over and we needed to close the door. He didn't make a bit of a fuss about it.
I would crate the dog at bedtime, coaxed in with a small treat. That way the dog will not associate it only with being left. During the day, just as she is ready to leave, put a "kong" toy with a treat inside (maybe peanut butter?) to keep the dog distracted while she gets out the door. In no time the dog will really want to go in there just for the treats alone! Oh, put it as far away from the bedroom as possible as at first there may be a few nights of fussing from the dog and cussing from the lady.
Low calorie treats are recommended, although my boss's 14 pound Yorkie is referred to as not fat, just "big boned". <LOL!>
You need to train your new dog if it's not trained before from the previous owner.
Maria.