Originally Posted by yorkietalkjilly  Your dog is likely barking all day when he was crated because he had separation anxiety and is bored silly. He likely chews and bites everything in your house because he has pent up energy and is nervous, anxious, doesn't know what to do with himself.
A trainer - a good trainer/dog behaviorist - will not train the dog much at all. He will assess the living situation of the dog and likely train you how to make this active, smart dog's day richer and fuller of the things he needs so that he is calmer and far less bored. Most happy and well-adjusted dogs of owners that work sleep while they are gone and don't destroy things because they have come to learn and accept that sleeping while the owner is away and conserving energy for the evening when the owner gets home and the fun begins. A trainer will teach you how to teach your dog Separation Anxiety training so your dog won't bark all day in the crate. If you give your dog a rich life, spend part of every day working with it going through its obedience tricks and teach it new tricks every so often, give it some time at a little home agility course you have set up - even if it is only 5 little minutes - with lots of clapping, shouting and rewards while he's running his course, take him out for an enriching walk during which time he's got the time to sniff and smell and enjoy his world, pee/potty and walk hard, then back home for water and a nap. When he wakes, spend time with him cuddled in your lap, stroking, brushing his coat, brush teeth, etc., give him a little snack in an interactive puzzle and then bedtime. Mornings are a short little walk or let him out back to do his pee/potty, follow you around as you talk some to him while dressing, leave him in his crate with several kongs filled with his food so that he has to work to get his breakfast out of each of them. I use small kong and several and an interactive food bowl that Tibbe works to get food from and it can take 30 - 60 mins. to get his food. Then, a satisfied dog from a prior happy, rich evening with his person the night before, will usually settle down to sleep most of the time and wait for his person to come home, whereupon he can look forward to the activities I described above. Maybe start with a bunch of kongs filled with his dinner while you are eating and he's busy working to get his food. Some evenings if it's pretty out, you can leave off the obedience/agility and take a double/triple walk. Others, go to the park. If it's raining, teach a new trick, go through the obedience and play a rough game of chase or tugowar with the dog. Wear him out playing, then a puzzle tray filled with some kibble for a snack so that he has to work hard to get to the kibble. Let him out to play, chase him a bit around the yard and then in for some cuddle time as you relax. Bedtime and start all over. Weekends you can take him for car rides, to the pet store, long walks, rough tugowar and chases, put up his little agility course out in the yard and run him through it with lots of enthusiasm. A reward of whatever safe chew toys you let him have. I use 20 oz. Diet Coke bottle in an old sock - my Tibbe like to chew that. He has toys that he has to work to get them to come apart, get pieces out that each sqeak, etc. He gets baths and nails done on the weekend. If I clean out the closet or the clean the living room, he's in the room with me "helping", watching, interacting with what I'm doing. Then outside to chase squirrels and birds and play through the fence with the neighbor's dog. Then cuddle on the couch watching TV, getting tummy scratches and hours of stroking, little play sessions on the couch. Bedtime cuddled together.
Get the picture? A dog's life must be meaningful, must connect with his human, must include active learning and working to achieve something that can make him feel proud and smart, keep him very active and engaged - a rich life - a happy life. Tibbe isn't destructive - he's too tired and respects me, sees the things in our home as mine. When he was young and started to pick up something he shouldn't I taught him the "Leave It!" command and he began to learn that things that were not his toys were "Leave It!" items and not to be touched. He learned to sleep while I was away, to rest up because when I'm here, we're busy living with each other and doing things together.
A good trainer will assess your dog's life and teach you ways to live with your dog that will enrich his life, keep him active, work his muscles and pleasantly tire him out and teach you how to be a leader he respects and wouldn't think of destroying your things. He will teach you how to reshape your dog into the pet you desire and all the while keeping it fun and interesting and positively rewarding for him. He'll delight in his new life and stop being so destructive because he'll mostly sleep/guard the house while you are gone and be calm, non-anxious and won't need to find busywork for his teeth anymore or bark all day. If you just get a trainer that teaches the dog to sit, lie down and rollover, he's not worth his hire. A trainer will teach you how to deal with desensitizing to separation in a gradual process. I could even give you a training technique for that that will teach your dog not to bark while crated when alone. Your dog needs a reshaping of his life with you, your attitude needs to change some so that you respect what your animal truly needs and then you both can co-exist happily. If you are not willing to put that much into a dog, then do rehome him and get an older, less active dog than a terrier - perhaps an older Bassett hound or older greyhound - they are couch potatoes usually.
And please, walk your dog only on a leash. One day he could see a cat and take off or another dog could approach and challenge him and he could rush forward into a dogfight.
Good luck with your dog. I hope you can work things out so that you can keep him or find a less active breed. |