Bad Puppy

[Jedward]

Our youngest English Springer Spaniel Mozart has taken being naught to a new level, in destroying my AB things and incontinence supplies. In this last week he has eaten his second baby bottle nipple, thankfully we have many extra, a clean disposable diaper, why I'm not sure and a tube a desitin creamy. Thankfully he hasn't eaten any of the plushies that Baby Eeyore and I have, but you never know. We told our breeder and she said it sounds like he's just board, but hey he is soon to be 2 so I guess this is the terrible two's.

[diaperedandspanked]

Our youngest English Springer Spaniel Mozart has taken being naught to a new level, in destroying my AB things and incontinence supplies. In this last week he has eaten his second baby bottle nipple, thankfully we have many extra, a clean disposable diaper, why I'm not sure and a tube a desitin creamy. Thankfully he hasn't eaten any of the plushies that Baby Eeyore and I have, but you never know. We told our breeder and she said it sounds like he's just board, but hey he is soon to be 2 so I guess this is the terrible two's.

Sounds as though pup needs to be diapered and given some cornertime!!

[OneSickPuppy]

erf!!!!!!

[Yvhuce]

Sounds like careless owner syndrome, to me. You have to be a better owner and train the dog not to do stuff like that, as well as put stuff where they can't get to it. Dogs are simply mutant wolves, and require a proper set of rules to live by in order to be well-adjusted. You can't just let them run around, doing whatever they want. My dogs've responded quite well to the squirt bottle approach. About 3 months after they were allowed to come in the house, they'd learned what they're not allowed to do and had mostly stopped acting up. You'll also need to make sure that your dog is getting enough exercise and has chew toys of its own. A great many pet owners're either too lazy or too afraid that they'll hurt their pets' feelings to properly train their pets, without taking into consideration that proper training leads to the pets being more well-adjusted and tends to enhance the happiness of both pets and owners in the long run.

[Horndog]

Yeah, you have to be a little more terse with your dog and let him know who's boss so he doesn't screw around with your stuff.

[Dougie]

Crate train the Springer!!!!! I have had three. I have one now. They are the epitomy of ADHD. They never grow out off it. You better start being the pack leader or the Springer is going to keep shredding everything you have. I found they are a lot less destructive when they can't get to anything they shouldn't have. Play with it everyday. A tired Springer is a well behaved Springer! They don't tire easily, and they don't stay that way for long.

Keep you thumb on that dog and you will have many stress free years ahead of you. Don't and you will have nothing but problems until the dog becomes too much and you give it to a rescue. Springer Spaniels are not for everyone. They have a bossy personality that gets more bossy as they get older. What ever you do NEVER HIT THAT Spaniel! They are great dogs, they just bore easily.

Also, did you research the dogs bloodline? They are known for hip problems, detached retinas, and Springer Rage. Springer Rage is almost exclusive to male dogs.

Get a handle on it now. The dog goes in the crate when you leave the house. No exceptions. If the dog can't get to your stuff it can't destroy it. It also can't swallow something that can make it sick or kill it. Get a large dog crate if it's a bench breed. A medium crate if it's a field breed. Don't leave anything in the crate that the dog can chew. It will shred and eat the bedding out of boredom. After a years or two more you Springer should be okay with bedding in the crate. Mine will be four years old this month. I crate trained him from the start. I put cardboard in the floor of his crate at the beginning of year 3. When he didn't destroy it I got a bed that fits the size of his create. He's a happy and well adjusted Spaniel that is easy to please their pack leader.

Good luck and please send me a private message if you have any Springer questions.

[Honu]

Dougie is spot on. More simply, the dog needs a job. I'll bet he can play fetch all day long. Okay, there are dog puzzle toys that make a dog work for the treat you load in it. Also, chewing up a large bone is also an assigned job. You not only need to become the leader of his pack, you also have to be his supervisor that assigns him jobs. Since he was bred to point out game and retreive what you've shot, he's naturally frustrated that he hasn't gotten to show his stuff yet.

With dogs you can only give out treats, not punishments. Treat the good behavior and be reasonable about what you expect from a hunting companion.

[Dougie]

Springers love tennis balls. They will play fetch for hours. They never stop, just slow down some. You decide when play time is over.

Honu hit it on the nose. Springer Spaniels are a hunting breed. They are visual and scent hunters. You can play hide & seek with their toys. Let them work for treats. They will do anything you ask for your approval.

One thing I also did with my Springer is teach him to find his supper. I keep the dog food in a different room than the crates. I walk in to the room like I have no idea where the food is. I give the "Find supper" command to the Springer. He sniffs out the dog food. He lets me know he found by sitting and barking once. If I say "Show me" he will nose the food container and place a paw on the lid. I praise him by rubbing his head and telling him he did a good job. I have moved the food a few times so he still needs to use his nose to verify it. After he has done his assigned job for me I feed my dogs. I have them "sit and "wait" to eat until I give them a release word. Think about it like this, I allow my dogs to eat "my dog food". I am the pack leader. They submit to me. They never get table scraps. I only feed them high quality dog food. 2 1/2 cups a day is all they need of a good food. Don't change the food often. Bland is good for most dogs. Anything that is not very bland can upset their stomach. High quality also means less poop to scoop. I feed both my dogs Nutro Ultra lamb and rice. 30 lbs lasts just under a month for both dogs. My local vet keeps asking my what I feed them because they have almost no tarter on their teeth, and their fur is shiny and soft. You don't need to feed the most expensive food, but feed them a good quality food. A trainer I know tells people "don't feed you dog anything you aren't willing to eat yourself".

Back to jobs. Have Mozart "sit" and "stay" in one room. Hide his favorite toy in another room out of plain sight. Tell him to "find" it and don't help him. He may look confused for a few seconds. His instinctive skills will kick in and he will start tracking your steps to find his toy. He'll be proud he found his toy for you.

Springers thrive on attention.

Keep Mozart busy and you will have a happy and loyal wiggle-butt that is eager to please you.

I'll get off my soap box now.

[Yvhuce]

With dogs you can only give out treats, not punishments. Treat the good behavior and be reasonable about what you expect from a hunting companion.

Wrong. Dogs can be punished, so long as the punishment doesn't become abuse. Typically, one should avoid striking a dog, though. That can lead to the dog becoming fearful and/or mean. It's especially dangerous with wolf-dogs. My dogs perceive being sprayed with water as a form of punishment, which made it easier to train them and continues to be a good method of correcting their behavior from time-to-time. Nowadays, I rarely even have to actually spray them. I just say "no" and hold up the spray bottle and they stop or calm down. It's also why I changed out the shower head with one of those hand-held shower wand things (plus, that's just easier to get some areas of myself clean, too).

And again, make sure your dog is getting enough exercise and play time. And keep him away from the stuff that you don't want chewed. Also, make sure that he's got some chew toys or rawhide bones (or real bones) to get the chewing out of his system. Typically, around 2 is considered "fully grown", not "puppy".

If a dog ate Floppy, I'd curl up in to a little ball and cry to death. There would be no Mia anymore, just a shell of her walking around meaninglessly.

Presumably, if you got a dog, or had to care for one for a friend or family, you'd make sure to keep Floppy somewhere where the dog couldn't get at him, right? That's the easiest way to keep dogs from tearing stuff up. Don't let them get ahold of said stuff in the first place.

All of my plushies are safe on my bed, in my room, which is off-limits to the dogs. I simply keep the door closed when they're in the house and, what with the dogs lacking hands, they can't open the door. If I bring one of them out, I make sure and put it on top of the DVD player or the computer or somewhere else that the dogs can't reach if I leave the room. Or take it with me. Most of the time, my dogs would rather sniff at or lick the plushie for a bit, then completely loose interest in them. And for a time, Foxy was Sandy's surrogate pup, after my dad killed her real pup. So, not all dogs are "plushie killers".

[Opie]

I tried the water spray punishment with my last puppy. He thought it was a game.

[Yvhuce]

As they say, your mileage may vary. One may end up needing to use one of those ultrasound devices, or even something like a shock collar. But the key is really to get their attention and let them know that what they're doing is not acceptable.

[sarah_ab]

we got a two year old great dane.... she chewed up the wooden paddle daddy would use to spank me. heheheh smart puppy if you ask me!