PET OWNERS!! Muzzles On Dogs?
 

My dog is going through the stage were he likes to eat shit now. In the kitchen he destroyed the flooring, now thats as far as its went for now. He continues to destroy it. I've hit him, told him no, he knows its bad, coz when I say to him "Who done that?" he runs away and hides.

But he doesnt learn. So should I get him a muzzle for when we're not in?

I went thru this with my collie a year ago - he decided at 8 years old to suddenly have whats known in the doggie world as "Seperation Anxiety" he needs one or both of the following - a doggie shrink and the equiv of doggie prozac .

I got a great problem solver for my doggies woes - he was chewing up door frames he destroyed two steel kenels I had purchased to put him in so he couldnt tear up the house he got so upset that I left he broke the metal bars and was in my living room when I got home.
I then decided ok its time for outside placement when I leave - so out in the backyard he went -
He broke the boards off a wood privacy fence and make his own Nemo sized doggie door to get out.
He was in the front yard when I got home.
Now I had enuf - off to the vet we went - and the vet suggested the doggie shrink and a chemical called Bach-Flower Rescue Remedy you can purchase it at some local dog grooming places and some health food stores .....

It took about 2 weeks on the bach-flower for his ailment to ease up and he stopped chewing things - 4 drops under the tongue about 20 min before leaving doggie alone or once every morning in his water dish he must get it daily tho you cant miss.

Now hes cool as a cucumber after about 3 months of bach hes back to normal and he doesnt panic when I leave him alone weather im gone shopping or in bed asleep hes a happy doggie!!

One more thought - please dont HIT the dog - he really does feel that just like a kid and he cant tell you how bad it really hurt:(

You have to hit them man. I don't mean beat him bad. I flick his nose. I don't hit him hard.

you gotta catch him doing it and yell at him. if you yell at him an hour later he wont know what you're talking about.

yea show 'em who's the boss. Dogs are usually loyal as fuck, for cats its a different story, they do not listen at all :glugglug

beemk << I agree with beemk

It doesnt do any good after the fact - none at all dogs memory has been proven to be mostly short term with events .

Ross - Really hope u mean that its just a flick on the nose
My dogs been with me long enuf I can talk to him he knows wtf im saying to him -
Wanna go for a walk ? Hes at the door ready to roll -
Did you get my hamburger out of the trash and eat it ? off to the bathroom he goes and he needs no flick on the nose or whooping he knows -- I just talk to him like I would a human and he will go nap in the bathtub for an hour or two if he did something bad ....
Thats his safe place -- speaking of which your dog needs one of those too!!! :)

nver

With dogs, you've got to catch them in the act. If it's 1 minute later, it's too late to do anything about it.
Sounds like he knows those words mean you're about to hurt him. Don't fool yourself into believing it means any more than that. You can't project the way your mind works onto him.

Instead of hitting, if you see him chewing on something he shouldn't, tell him "NO" then immediately distract him with a toy he is allowed to play with and praise him for chewing on that. It won't work just to constantly deny, deny, deny... you need to substitute that desire for something else.

Start crate training him. Dogs find this a safe haven after awhile. Kinda like a den. Make sure you don't put the dog in there when hes been bad. Make it a good place to go. Start off slow, a few minutes at a time and work up from there. They can usually stay in there 6 to 8 hours. I normally don't keep my dogs in their crates that long, but it does come in handy should you ever have to board them.

As far as eating his shit, start putting MSG in his food. It doesn't hurt them and I makes their shit smell bad to even them.

BTW-NEVER HIT YOUR DOG FOR ANY REASON. People wonder why dogs bite them.

Good advice - some dogs however are just not crateable as I said previously - even after a few minutes my dog was biting the metal bars and planning destruction of the crate I did it exactly as instructed by the vet just a few min at a time - built it up to an hour and left for lunch one day dog in the his den - I came home first cage destroyed he broke the metal bars apart and escaped after he broke enuf of them to open the door!

Not all dogs are crateable!!

Learn how to take care of your dog you fuck head. Don't fucking hit your dog.

Kick him out of the house, thats the only answer

can't wait to get my house so I can get a chocolate lab

Is there some strong chew toys you can leave in his cage so he doesn't try to eat the cage?

I smack my dog in the ass when he does something bad, I have full intentions to smack my future kid around as well if the bastard can't behave. I have screaming little fucks with no discipline.

Cage?

All dogs can be crate trained, but it has to be done right. You can't just throw them in a crate and lock it up.

All Dogs are create tainable, you jsut have to be smarter then your dog

Ross,
Don't ever hit your dog. Replys above are correct. Unless you catch them in the act, it's like a stranger coming up to you and slaping you in the face, how would like it!. It's not easy to train a dog. It takes time and patiance.

http://www.joemaria.com/welcome-home.jpg

It sounds to me like your dog was just fine until you left. It's not the crate that's the problem, it's probably something like seperation anxiety.

Read this:

http://www.leerburg.com/qa.htm

This guy knows his shit.

Try a trainer or if you have the time and effort, possibly use an electric collar.

Muzzle em

Electronic callers should never be used by amateurs. Most professionals don't ever use them either.