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Originally Posted by Luvdogs2  Still don't know on the food - fiance puts it in a tupperware container and throws the bag away. It was a little hard to spell out when I was looking at protein content and details to the mixture a month ago.
I hadn't thought about the puppy mill idea and it makes serious sense. Interaction with the litter and mom makes a big difference at such an impressionable age of a few weeks in a bright big world.
Cheerios!! I hadn't even thought of that! I'll go get a box tonight.
Bdog doesn't have a favorite spot to use the bathroom. She picks on and goes, then she is all reclusive because she knows she did bad. If she gets out of sight, and you call her name...if she doesn't come bouncing back and in good spirits - you go on the hunt to figure out where it was and what needs to be cleaned.
I doubt she was not going to have ammo - but it's like she knows she is supposed to go outside so she acts like she does when it's apparent that she has to go.
Another thing I left out and I can't believe I did is she will get pissed if you take out the trash or do something quick like run out to the car to get something you left in it. If the fiance walks out and leaves her loose while she goes to put laundry in the washer, she will come back to a mess. If you take her for a ride, you better pay at the pump because she will mess in the car if you leave her in there for less than a minute. I consider this behavior as vindictive...am I wrong? (that is a serious question) |
With this last part, is it possible she has some sort of separation anxiety? I think I remember you said she also does it in the crate too. It's not vindictive, she could be anxious. I had a dog that did that even if we baby gated him in our master bedroom and I walk the 10 feet to the bed that was directly in front of the bathroom door, except he would get bad diarrhea. Have you ever talked to your vet about advice?
My personal opinion is that I think you and your girlfriend are not on the same page with training, which can be very confusing for the dog. I think you are willing to take the time to try to train her properly, but need to get your girlfriend on the same page. As someone said before, you mentioned wanting kids in the future, but can't get on the same page with training a dog... a child requires more work and a lot more cooperation from both parents. Not a knock, I'm just saying that if you want kids, you two need to work on this issue long and hard before ever getting that far.
I think you've been given some great advice. I would talk to the vet and make sure there isn't anything wrong medically and maybe just mention some separation anxiety. I don't think that is the problem, or at least definitely not the whole problem, but I thought I'd throw that out there. I also wholeheartedly agree with the others in saying that a trainer needs consulted, but it will NOT work if you have two people working with a dog, that are not consistent and not on the same page. The dog is going to be confused if one is being consistent and doing the right thing, while the other is doing it half the time, then giving in the other half.
As for the growling/biting issue, look back on all the times she's done it and find a common denominator. I know you mentioned something about her chews. She sounds like she is getting protective over them. One of my two yorkies gets like that sometimes. I have to take it away from time to time and tell him "No!" when he growls. I won't give it back unless he's going to be nice. He's usually pretty good about it, but he has his moments. Another thing with the growling, because you have hit her in the past (once again, not a knock, just trying to help), she has probably already learned to fear you some. When dogs are afraid, they act out by growling and biting. They won't do it unless they feel afraid or threatened in some way. If you are going to make this training work, you need to regain her trust. Take her on walks, take her with you to places when you can, and even try to give her little treats for being good. For the tricks she knows, pull out the treats and have her do them sometimes for you and try and teach her some new ones. Most of all, be kind to her and talk nice to her.