# will my dog ever stop his bad habits???



## crisnchee (Feb 13, 2009)

Hi,
I have been having growing concern about my dog.
A lady who had him said she didn't want him at 6 months.
So I took him. I thought I could give him a better home.
Now I am thinking I was wrong.
Cheedo is now 14 months old and he still behaves like a 2 month old.
He chews everything from furiture, clothes, pillows, shoes, whatever you name it and he has chewed on it. 
Its becoming expecive.....
I have learned to take most things out of his reach but things I just can get rid of, he chews on it. I was doing the kennel thing. But I live in a condo and the neighbors are just complaining to much about his whining....
Which put a huge upset in to the potty training as well.
My whole family including my husband thinks we should get rid of him. 
I don't want to but I don't want to argue with my husband every night about our puppy problems.
He was trained, or so I thought. But it got cold and he started going inside instead.
To the point where we knew he had to use the bathroom but held it until we left the room. Cause we could go brush our teeth and come back and he would have had an accident on the floor. So we bought puppy pads and he used them almost right away, with no help from us.
And when it warmed up outside he went out again. But out of no where he stoped. Like he has peed in our bed twice. He has pooped on the couch.
Now I am thinking he is just behaving this way because he is MAD!!!
He will just go anywhere. Also I have caught him eating his poop. One day when I got home from work he had poop. And now that is more regular...
We have always had our issues with his. Since we first own him.
To the point I think he is just really slow. Or I am the worse person in the world to have a dog...

PLEASE HELP WITH EITHER OF MY BABY`S PROBLEMS.... 
I LOVE HIM.... I DON`T WANT TO BE HARMING HIM........


----------



## Yoshismom (Jul 6, 2005)

I think you need to take him to the vet to rule out health issues for this behavior. If he checks out fine then you need to start his training from scratch. 

You need to try the crate again. Find a place that is farthest away from your neighbors ears and maybe train during the day when they are not home? Make sure that you do not take him out of the crate until he stops whining and crying though. Also make going into the crate fun. Put a new toy in with him and a treat every time you leave him in there so it will be a positive experience for him.

Also do not leave him unatteneded in your home. If you have to teather him to you with a lead and this way he will have to go where you go. To much room will cause him to get in trouble ;-)

Also you could invest in a xpen. You can put this in an area that will have his pee pad as well as toys, food and water if you are gone for long hours throughout the day. This way he shouldnt whine due to being in a small enclosure and he will have access to potty, food, water and toys. However he will not be able to destroy anything;-)

Lastly, try pineapple juice on his food. This will make his poo taste bitter and should stop him eating his feces ;-)

I am sure others will chime in with some good ideas as well ;-)

Good Luck


----------



## carrera (Oct 8, 2008)

i'll put in my 2 cents but others will have more to say i'm sure....
when carrera chews something she is not supposed to (the banister railing has been her latest) we drench it in bitter apple spray, you can get it at most pet stores and I also saw it on walmart.com. While shes chewing on it i move her mouth away, tell her NO and spray the bitter apple right infront of her so she sees, then she normally sniffs it and wont touch it again. If need be spray it in her mouth or on your hand and put it on her tongue for her to get a taste of it. Things like shoes that you may not be able to spray we just have ours shut in the closet where she cant get them. Check all your wires, if hes chewing a lot she may go after those, carrera started that as well, it can be very dangerous!!

for the barking/whining while crated, my in-laws have this thing for their lhasa apso, when she barks it lets off a very high pitched sound that dogs do not like and makes her stop. this may sound harsh but desperate times call for desperate measures, you could use this as a teaching method, take it away when not needed. you may be able to find a used one on www.craigslist.com
or if she is barking/whining while you are home try using a squirt bottle, spray her when she does it. Also before crating her make sure you get her good and tired, at nights before bed we have carrera playing vigorously for about 30 minutes just to wear her out! If they are not getting enough excercise/play time they will not be tired enough to sleep when you leave so while you are home devote plenty of time to her! The excercise and play may help with the chewing as well, she may be doing it out of boredom.

Potty training- we are still working on this too, the cold weather threw carrera off as well. It takes consistency, we are going back to square one when she was a very young and we had to take her out hourly, just to get the idea into her head! When she goes outside give her lots of praise and a treat. You also probably need to treat your carpets, I was just told about Natures Miracle carpet cleaner, it kills all odors making it so the dog cant smell their pee and want to continue using that as their pee spot. While you are home you can also try attaching her to you by her leash, chances are she will not want to go to the bathroom in front of you. Theres are many threads about potty training, just search!

For eating her poop-they make food additives for this to make their poop taste bad. Or you may need to change foods. 

Some of my points may be a bit "harsh" like I said but when you've tried everything else you may need to resort to them. I encourage you to be very consistent with everything!


----------



## Brodysmom (Jan 8, 2009)

Sometimes dogs eat their poop because they know they will get in trouble if you see it. So they eat it to hide the evidence. Or sometimes they do it out of boredom or habit. If you are feeding a low quality food, it may not be completely digesting and so he is eating it. You can try the pineapple juice or there are products you can get. Forbid is one of them. It's a powder you sprinkle on his food.

The others gave good ideas on crate training and ex pen training. If you have to leave him for a long period of time, definitely use an exercise pen (like a playpen) with toys, potty pad, etc. in it. No dog wants to be caged for long periods.

Make sure he has plenty of good toys to chew on and substitute those for shoes or other inappropriate objects. You can get "kongs" at walmart or pet stores and you can put peanut butter or cheese or a dog cookie inside the toy and then they have to work to get it out. That occupies them and keeps them from chewing on your belongings. 

Sounds like he might be bored if he is being really destructive. I'd get him outside on a leash and take him for a brisk walk several times a day to wear him out. Or teach him to chase a ball and you can throw it over and over down the hall. 

Make sure you clean up all accidents with Nature's Miracle or similar enzymatic cleaner that gets rid of all the smells. Dogs can smell where they've gone to the bathroom even when think we have cleaned it up! Take him out frequently, like every hour, to try and prevent accidents and REWARD him like crazy when he goes outside. Dont' let him loose in the house. Keep him with you so you can make sure he doesn't have accidents.

As for pooping on the couch and peeing on the bed... sometimes those behaviors are out of insecurity. Like if he feels really unsure of himself he will pee (or MARK) in an area that you are alot. Like the bed or the couch. To try and reassure himself. Doesn't make much sense to us, but it does to them. If he is getting in trouble all the time, or there is tension in the house between you and your spouse over him, he knows it and he's feeding off the anxiety. 

Hope this helps. Don't give up on him. You CAN make this work.

Brodysmom


----------



## Yoshismom (Jul 6, 2005)

LOL! Every dog I have ever had that I have tried bitter apple spray with just made them want it even more...I had a GD that got obsessed with the taste and would try to eat the bottle.


----------



## janiebabes (Mar 30, 2004)

time to retrain, no dog shoudl be left alone for a sec if you go to brush your teeth crate him. are you feeding on a schedule or free fedding?


----------



## kobi0326 (Jun 13, 2008)

Well I can completely sympathize with you and your dogs habits, cause my Kobi is about the same!! 

Kobi was a horrible chewer, would chew and eat anything and everything. My floors, baseboards and walls are all chewed up, he can't have a dog bed, cause he ATE his last one. The only thing I found that worked best to stop chewing was a squirt bottle, tried the Bitter Spray, but it had no affect on Kobi whatsoever. However, since we got him Butters as a playmate, his chewing habit has drastically decreased, actually almost stopped completely!!

As for poop eating....Kobi is also a poop eater and I've realized that he will never out grow this habit. I switched him to a high quality food (Wellness Core). I have tried the pineapple in his food, cayenne pepper, For-Bid and nothing works....if he sees poop, he eats it! What I've done to curb this, is to take him outside to potty on a leash so I can pull him away and I have trained him to come to me for a treat each time he poops. This way, his focus is more on getting a yummy treat than eating his poop. Our challenge now is to closely watch Butters when he poops (he's only peepad trained at the moment) so that Kobi doesn't get to it before we can clean it up.


----------



## Georgia24 (Jan 18, 2009)

I think everyone gave great advie that you should def. use. Rather than giving up, I think you should continue to try your hardest. If you love him that much make it work. It is very easy for other to say "give up." I wish you lots of luck!!!!


----------



## BABY BABS (Feb 5, 2008)

My shepard mix was a chewer until she was 30 months old. When we left home she'd chew. I have three dresser in my room that used to have wood handles on the bottom drawers. I have several antiques that have alot of wear on them now. I have holes in my sheetrock where when she couldn't get anything else, she chewed the wall. She was always left home with our older lab mix, but she stressed when we left. Besides separation anxiety, alot of chewmonsters are very insecure. Try working with him on tricks, leash training anything to give him positive feedback and boost his confidence.


----------



## Mia (Feb 29, 2004)

Is he neutered?, some people think that post neutering male dogs are gerneraly less hyper and easier to train.
The things youve mentioned arent out of the ordinary, and can all be corrected with time, with the techniques other people have already mentioned.
from experience id also say that it can take as long as two years before chihuahuas grow out of some of their more boistrous puppy habits.
Dont give up on him, you can give him a better home, and giving up a dog with problems means he will struggle to be rehomed, so even if its stressful at times take comfort in the fact your helping him.


----------



## Dixie's mom (Jan 3, 2007)

My chi has to go into the bathroom and get into the trash! I have to shut the door , but she has times where she can somehow open it ! She also likes to chew up paper ! She is bad about getting in the cat litter box , u know when she has been in it ! Again we have to shut the door , any ideas on keeping her out ?


----------

