I have a 2 yr old shepherd mix that I got from a shelter at 3 months old.....he was sweet and quiet and shy at the shelter. Just what I was looking for! Then I got him home and he turned into a demon. Super hyperactive and crazy.....sweet dog, but he just has NO impulse control. He wants to do something and he does it. Easily distracted. Extremely active. He is a neutered male, about 60lbs.
I used to work at a shelter and if he had ended up at that shelter he would have failed all the testing due to his total lack of Impulse control.....and he is almost impossible to calm down once he gets worked up. He just gets in a frenzy. No aggression. He got accidently locked in his crate with my CAT one time, for 8 hours while I was at work. Everybody came out just fine. I'm sure they glared at each other all day, but no injuries. He also broke into my chicken tractor once.....no injuries to the chicken, he just wanted the poop and food apparently.
Total pain in the butt.
Here are my issues. He has separation anxiety, so I have to keep him crated while gone. I tried weaning him off the crate and he ate my dining room table and chairs, ripped up the curtains, ripped off the baseboards, chewed the outside of the crate, and pooped and peed everywhere. This is while confined to the dining room during the day. So he stays in his big wire crate instead. He has tried to climb over and dig under my outside fence, so I don't trust him out there. I did add electric wire to the top which helps, but he will still try to dig under, I think.
I have to stress he is a nice dog. Very friendly. Just no manners most of the time. He is very smart. He HAS learned certain things. He learned very early on to ring a bell on the backdoor to go out to potty...I'm talking within a few weeks of me getting him. He waits for me to pour his food before eating. He will stop and sit at the open gate and not leave until I say OK. Same with my back gate. He can be loose around my chickens without any carnage (supervised only).
So he is very smart, I just struggle to teach him anything. He gets overexcited and upset and just ends up in a frenzy. Like a temper tantrum. When he was younger I distinctly remember trying to get him to stop standing at the fence barking at the neighbor's dogs. i finally went over and got him by the collar to take him back inside, and he threw himself on the ground kicking at me trying to get awa to go back and bark.
Obnoxious.
How the heck do I train this dog? he is obviously trainable. He knows how to sit on command (whoo). He sits at the open gates, he will go in his crate when I snap my fingers and point and tell him to get in his house. How the heck do I motivate this monster? It is bad enough that when I have someone come over, he will be jumping on the walls and barking and won't stop....even if I stick him in his crate, he will be barking and throwing himself around. Absolutely throwing a fit. He throws a lot of fits. How do I teach this dog some patience, manners....impulse control? It all seems to come back to that. He has none and I want to create some. Now how the heck do I do it?
LOL
I used to work at a shelter and if he had ended up at that shelter he would have failed all the testing due to his total lack of Impulse control.....and he is almost impossible to calm down once he gets worked up. He just gets in a frenzy. No aggression. He got accidently locked in his crate with my CAT one time, for 8 hours while I was at work. Everybody came out just fine. I'm sure they glared at each other all day, but no injuries. He also broke into my chicken tractor once.....no injuries to the chicken, he just wanted the poop and food apparently.
Total pain in the butt.
Here are my issues. He has separation anxiety, so I have to keep him crated while gone. I tried weaning him off the crate and he ate my dining room table and chairs, ripped up the curtains, ripped off the baseboards, chewed the outside of the crate, and pooped and peed everywhere. This is while confined to the dining room during the day. So he stays in his big wire crate instead. He has tried to climb over and dig under my outside fence, so I don't trust him out there. I did add electric wire to the top which helps, but he will still try to dig under, I think.
I have to stress he is a nice dog. Very friendly. Just no manners most of the time. He is very smart. He HAS learned certain things. He learned very early on to ring a bell on the backdoor to go out to potty...I'm talking within a few weeks of me getting him. He waits for me to pour his food before eating. He will stop and sit at the open gate and not leave until I say OK. Same with my back gate. He can be loose around my chickens without any carnage (supervised only).
So he is very smart, I just struggle to teach him anything. He gets overexcited and upset and just ends up in a frenzy. Like a temper tantrum. When he was younger I distinctly remember trying to get him to stop standing at the fence barking at the neighbor's dogs. i finally went over and got him by the collar to take him back inside, and he threw himself on the ground kicking at me trying to get awa to go back and bark.
Obnoxious.
How the heck do I train this dog? he is obviously trainable. He knows how to sit on command (whoo). He sits at the open gates, he will go in his crate when I snap my fingers and point and tell him to get in his house. How the heck do I motivate this monster? It is bad enough that when I have someone come over, he will be jumping on the walls and barking and won't stop....even if I stick him in his crate, he will be barking and throwing himself around. Absolutely throwing a fit. He throws a lot of fits. How do I teach this dog some patience, manners....impulse control? It all seems to come back to that. He has none and I want to create some. Now how the heck do I do it?
LOL
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