Dog Training !!!!

[ALAN GEDDES]

Need some help with shoe chewing dog. Just rescued 14 month old Border collie/Terrier mix male from shelter. Has been in there since 8 weeks old. Wonderful dog with great personality and rides in car well. He likes to chew up shoes. How do I handle this. Bought lots of chew toys.

[Chip]

put shoes up in closet so dog cant get to them

ya might try feeding him too Alan,,

chipper

[Ira]

Odor Eaters?

[Dennis T]

http://www.hsus.org/pets/pet_care/our_p ... index.html

This should help out. Did the shelter give him shoes to chew? May be the start of the problem. Order eaters Kinda sounds like a breath mint bonus when you get to the bottom.
Good luck in the training.

Dennis T

[mikeschn]

Maybe it's an insecurity problem. Make your pooch feel secure and the problems go away?

Option 2. Spray your shoes with cayenne pepper!

Mike...

[madjack]

....for a really stubborn dog I found that a well placed 2x4 can be effective of course he may never come to you again after that bit of training hmmmmm maybe that is why my wife no longer responds when I call...
madjack

[doug hodder]

He may be teething, I can't remember at what age that ends...needs to chew on something to get rid of the pain...I tied a washcloth in a knot, soaked it down with water and froze it...I gave it to the dog and she was happy with it...got that idea from Matty Margolis..writes a pet care column...met him at a local party Doug

[asianflava]

Time to call the "Dog Whisperer" That guy is amazing!

[sdtripper2]

asianflava said (Time to call the "Dog Whisperer" That guy is amazing!)

This is so on the mark. I have watched almost every episode of this guy on the National Geographic Channel.

He would say to you about this chewing dog.
1) This dog has been pent up for weeks and is a frustraited little beast. He needs to get his mind in focus and that means WALKS. His fix would be to have the dog take walks with you for an hour a day holding the dog just behind your step while walking so as to let the dog know you are the pack leader.
2) Your vibe or attitude is picked up by the beast at all time so project quiet calm and love while dealing with this little spirit of dog-dom. You got this dog to spend time with it and so now your responsibility starts.
3) NO rewards of love or food when the dog is doing the not so good chewing on shoes.
4) When the dog goes for a off limits chew... replace that item saying simply NO in a firm voice with a good chew item given the dog to replace the off limits item and a mesured time later when the dog is chewing the good substitue and getting into it big time... THEN GIVE the dog PRAISE.
5) My observation with dogs is that under the neck on the chest is the one place they can't touch themselves. For special praise this area can be rubbed and saying in a deep low voice "Good Dog, Good Dog" will reinforce good behavior with amazing results.

Hope this helps

Smiles Always,

[Ira]

I'm not going to claim to be some big dog training expert, but...

I learned an awful lot from a show I saw years ago, and from that, I can teach ANY dog to heel in like within 20 minutes. Even a PUPPY.

When I see people being pulled by their dogs, I go NUTS, because it's the EASIEST thing to correct in a dog's behavior:

I always lead the dog on my right, although the OPPOSTE is considered more correct. I just feel more comfortable this way, and it's how you lead horses. So...

The end of the leash is in your left hand, and you hold your right hand low and firmly on the leash. All you do is walk briskly for a few feet, then abruptly turn in the opposite direction.

Now the dog thinks you're headed THAT way, but after a few more steps, you do it AGAIN. You just keep doing this, changing directions but never looking at the dog, so the dog doesn't know WHERE the hell you're going.

After 20 minutes of this, he ain't pulling that leash in front of you any more. He's learned to heel. (You also say "heel" and praise, of course.)

As far as chewing stuff, it's the praise that does it. You do what you can to distract him from the object, when he leaves it, you praise him like crazy.

This is how my wife got me to stop throwing my underwear on the floor.

[PaulC]

This is how my wife got me to stop throwing my underwear on the floor.

Now that is tooooooo much information. Thanks Ira
Cheers
Paul

[ALAN GEDDES]

Now Ira just thows them in the corner of the workshop. Thanks for the input folks. Guess I'm doing most things mentioned. Poor dog was in the shelter for a year and I would probably be having adjustment problems too.

[Larwyn]

I came home one day to find that the new Pekinese pup was chewing on one of my new Red Wing work boots. As he was chewing on the top at the time, I simply pushed the boot up over his head past his front sholders, he only had his rear legs free to push that boot around for a while. He never messed with my boots again and turned out to be one of the best friends and smartest dogs I ever had the opertunity to share time with.

On a sadder note. Last Friday, Lanza and I had to take our 16 year old Golden Retriever (absolutely the best dog that ever lived) for his last visit to the vet. It is like we lost a part of ourselves.

[Jiminsav]

Larwyn I'm for you and your family.

[WOLFPUPPY]

Larwyn, Feel your pain buddy. Friday we lost our lab (Blackjack) He did not learn his lesson about the highway.