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Originally Posted by Marcellacml  We can't afford daycare and they won't stop crying if we close them up.
No, when I come home they already finished destroying whatever it was...then when I go to pick it up they run away cause they know their in trouble but they just don't care. I'm going to try the bully sticks..thanks for the idea  |
They don't know and it's not a matter of caring or not. You are over-applying human guilt and emotions to the dogs. Dogs understand some basic cause and effect. If I sit, I get a treat. If I pee on the floor, my human yells. My trainer once challenged me to pour water on the floor and point to it and say WHO DID THAT? and see what Loki did. Sure enough, he "knew" he was bad and ran to his crate.
Unless they are going to be tired enough to sleep all day then you need to remove everything you don't want destroyed. We kept all doors closed and kept everything picked up off the floors until Loki was out of puppyhood - it was simply too tempting. It's not their fault you are allowing them access to interesting things to chew on. They don't know what is theirs or not unless you teach them. Loki is chewing on his stick right now and I've told him twice how good he is. He's 2 and doesn't ever chew up my stuff, but I still reinforce it.
Why don't you sign up for a training class - you'll learn how to communicate with your dogs and learn how dogs think. I have worked with Loki so much that he can understand full sentences. And I'm not just saying that - he has a huge vocabulary and he is very expressive. Because I've done so much training with him he and I can communicate very well. I can tell him to go outside then come in and get his stick and go to his crate, and he will go outside, pee, run back in, get his stick and go sit in his crate. Did he learn this stuff overnight? Not a chance. He was a TERROR. He would steal things just so I would chase him - until I signed up for a class where I learned HE was in charge of the game not me. Then I turned it into a gave of fetch and drop, and all of the sudden he was stealing things just to bring them to me to get a treat! (Who cares if he steals a sock out of the laundry bin if he's just going to drop it at my feet?) When he started getting a thank you and not a treat, he stopped stealing stuff all together. At least pick up a book. I like Positive Perspectives by Pat Miller. Some training will do them a lot of good. Maybe try crating them with a Kong or puzzle toy. Sammy can scream like crazy but if I crate her with a puzzle toy she will stop crying at least long enough to work on it.