Ive got to face it, Otis can be a really naughty dog, or is he just being a typical lab ? I was sitting on the couch having my dinner on an occasional table, and he swiped a big piece of roast chicken off my plate, he got hold of a box of tea bags the other day and managed to burst every tea bag over the carpet, and then licked up some of the tea, mmm nice. He will drink from any unattended cup, and he counter surfs like nothing else, he will chew absolutely anything chewable, the plastic dustpan was his latest thing. He stayed the weekend at my parents whilst i went to a wedding, and my miserable brother said he wasnt very bright or clever, because he dosent do as he is told, I disagree. So when does the chewing stop ?? Thing is, if i put Otis out the correct times, he hardly has any accidents in the house at all now, so his toilet training is miles better, apart from the occasional eating of dog poo. He dosent have any health problems, i have a lot to be greatful for with Otis, so maybe its just lack of training ? So my questions are, When will he stop chewing the place to bits, How do i stop the counter surfing ? And should I be doing more training because he is an unruly beast ? ! Maggiex
Re: Naughty Otis He sounds absolutely, completely and utterly normal With the counter surfing and food stealing the best thing to do is just to never leave food out or unattended. You will have to do that for his whole life. The chewing should reduce as he gets closer to a year old, but it may reduce much earlier. I'm assuming that he has lots of things that he is allowed to chew - that should help too Again, it is just a matter of keeping anything that you do not want chewed out of his reach. You won't have to do that forever though. The above solutions are not training solutions, they are prevention solutions. Sometime they're the best approach But are there other behaviours that you would like to work on with training? Apart from dealing with any behaviour issues and improving your dog's repertoire of skills, training also keeps a pup's mind active and gives them confidence because they get rewarded for doing things right and because they feel they are able to communicate with you better. So it's always worthwhile doing some regular training of some kind Is there anything you had in mind or was it mainly just an issue with nicking food and chewing stuff?
Re: Naughty Otis [quote author=Oberon link=topic=3435.msg37652#msg37652 date=1385438961] With the counter surfing and food stealing the best thing to do is just to never leave food out or unattended. You will have to do that for his whole life. [/quote] Charlie nicks things from counters, actually, he nicks things from anywhere, to carry them around and bring to us. We have a strict policy of clearing everything away, and it did seem like the habit was reducing a bit. Then, my Dad left his lunch - home roasted chicken mayo and salad sandwiches - on Charlie's favourite surfing counter, and just nipped upstairs... ;D ;D ;D Burp, said Charlie. I doubt we'll ever stop him now, he'll remember those chicken sandwiches forever, I reckon! He is good while we are in the room though, he doesn't touch food then. I'll just be grateful for that.
Re: Naughty Otis Lol ;D It's such a hard habit to break as you're not there when it's happening, everyone I know has gone for prevention(tidying away) rather than cure.
Re: Naughty Otis The thing I like about this site is you read posts like this and think "are they describing my dog?" My Widg is just like that, he will find anything 'new' to chew and don't talk to me about counter surfing!! I have learned there are some things you can change, some things you can't!! He's only got to find one small food item occasionally and he'll never stop. A friend of mine had his girl eat a whole roast chicken AND an apple pie that were cooling on the side. Mine has plenty of chew toys, bones and rawhide and will spend the eve on them UNTIL we pop out if the room quickly, then he's quick to find a magazine or coaster to chew because he knows he's not aloud them. Still he's done no real damage to the house so have to be thankfull.
Re: Naughty Otis Ah Maggie,your brother was a meanie saying Otis wasn't very bright....he's only a youngster...he's got plenty of time to settle down and you love him ,naughty bits and all. Prevention has worked with us....not just with food,any items at all like flip flops,iPads,phones,remote controls etc ......he doesn't bother with anything now but I still don't trust him with other peoples things....As I write this,I've just noticed that Chris's friends flips lops have been left by the back door and he hasn't even sniffed at them.........might just leave them as a test ??? .....well he was well warned! ;D
