Hi there, we have just bought a 14 month old neutered male, who failed Guide Dog Training. We've had him at home for 2 weeks and he's causing chaos. This is the second dog we've brought into our home in this way. The first guy was with us until he was 13 last year and it took us a while to be brave enough to go again. Hugo is a big boy, 40kgs and he seems oblivious to any correction. He's eating anything he can get his paws on, so far we've lost two (dog) beds, an arm chair, a pair of curtains (pulled off the wall) a door mat and many smaller things. If he's on his own for 30 seconds he will take anything within reach. Its not just a boredom issue. We were a bit naive when we got him first because his predecessor was an absolute gem and took direction very well. We now have stair gates and the kitchen area is completely sanitised. We literally can't take our eyes off him. If I'm doing food prep on the kitchen counter and go to the utility room for 10 seconds, he's up on the counter. We both work full time but have a system in place so he's never on his own for more than a couple of hours. We deliberately bought him at a time when I knew I would have someone at home on almost a full time basis for the first month, to give him a chance to get settled. He's being walked 2 or 3 times a day and we have a large garden where he gets good runs in between. The kitchen is the central part of our house, so I don't want to exclude him, but I'm getting desperate. I should mention that he can open every door in the house too, so that makes enclosing him quite difficult. We keep the doors locked but his determination has already caused a lot of scratches. Safety is a bigger concern, all the doors have glass panels, and I'm afraid he might put his paw through one. At the moment we have a kitchen chair wedged under the handle of every door. I'd be grateful for any advice.
I'd say serious obedience training is called for here. I would not have the patience living with an animal with this behavior. He's in charge and that's not a good thing. If you can't get control give him up.
Thanks, we've found out a lot since last week. Apparently his puppy walker foster home didn't cope with him very well, so he really has no boundaries. I've spoken to our vet this morning and she's going to recommend a trainer. We're committed to trying to figure him out, but he's just heedless.
