We recently adopted a Golden Ret. from a rescue group.  He is 2 y.o and very anxious and excited.  Walks well on leash, comes when called but his "in house" behavior needs improvement.  I have 4 cats which he is now treating as if they are squirrels outside.  Didn't do this in the beginning.  Sad story of his beginning years. Very loveable but when he makes a running leap to "hug" he about knocks us over.  We are great fans of Cesar.  His obsession with me is stifling.   Need suggestions.

Pat Miller of Peaceable Paws responded:

I have a puppy that is almost a year old and is starting to chew up the furniture and pillows and clothes and when out side she digs
holes in our back yard do you have any advice on how to break her of these bad habits

Pat Miller of Peaceable Paws responded:

Hello! I am currently looking to adopt a shelter dog. I have a portie-poo that I adopted in April and he is now about 14 months old. He is great at playing with other dogs, especially larger dogs (he is about 30 pounds). He is very  happy-go-lucky and very intelligent. I am having a problem finding a good friend for him. He brings his toys to other dogs to share and play with, but no one wants to play with him in the same way. I just returned an older husky because her resource guarding could easily have killed him and hurt me (awesome dog otherwise, but I don't know how well I can train an adult dog). So we are fostering a 4 month old australian shepherd/chow mix for one week until she is cleared for adoption.

She guards her food and had gotten into a few battles with him- I'm torn on whether to let them sort out the dominance thing or keep them separated for the next week she is here. She is a very sweet dog and I'd like to keep her, but I am in need of more education in a hurry, and good advice.

How long do you think it takes (on average) to correct this behavior? I would much rather adopt a dog from the shelter than a pet store, but I don't really need a tiny puppy. I'm starting to wonder if that's what would be best for my original pooch. I did research the new dog's breeds, and I know they may not have the greatest temperament. But I always believed that dogs are individuals and can be trained.  What are your thoughts? Would it be safer to let this new dog go and raise a baby dog with my hyperactive lug, or is there hope?

Please be brutally honest. Thanks for your time!

Pat Miller Responded:

We adopted a 7 month lab mix about a week ago, named Nina.  We already have a 12 year old Golden Retriever and a 5 year old Yorkie-Poo.  Nina is a very sweet puppy and very playful.  The problem we have is that she always wants to play.  The Yorkie, named Daisy, is being bombarded by Nina constantly while they're awake.  Daisy has gotten to the point where she'll show her teeth, yelp and lunge at Nina in an attempt to get Nina away.  The problem is that Nina thinks Daisy is playing back, and gets more and more playful.  When we came home yesterday evening, Daisy's back was soaked with slober from Nina trying to play.  There were no signs of a fight, no blood or anything.  But Nina won't leave Daisy alone.  Daisy, who was always very happy and bouncy around the house, slinks everywhere and is now scared of her own shadow.  WCHS said to contact you here for help.  Can you help us with this?

Pat Miller of Peaceable Paws responded:

Kathy Asked:

Hi,
My puggle is 1 year old. He's pretty well behaved except whenever
anyone (us or friends)comes in the front door he bites them in the
crotch. (Just the crotch, no where else). Needless to say, this is
embarrassing as well as painful. We have tried yelling at him, smacking
him on the butt,or putting him outside. Any suggestions?

Ms. Pat Miller of Peaceable Paws, LLC responded:

Kelly asked:

My dog is part Siberian Husky/part shephard...She is very well behanved.  However, when me and my husband leave to go anywhere, and she's left alone (either in the cage or not in the cage), she tears things up, she finds ways to move the cage when in it, to destroy things, and she messes all through her cage, or on the floor if she's not in the cage.  This is the ONLY time she does this!  When we're here, she's perfectly normal and doesn't chew up anything and doesn't mess in the house....do you have any ideas or suggestions for this MAJOR problem? 

Ms. Susan Sarubin of Peaceable Paws Dog and Puppy Training answered:

Training a five month old puppy

Jon asked:
we have a five month old puppy and would like to know the best
avenue for training. He will do some simple things. But hasn't master
house breaking completely and recently will no come when called. What
are our options and costs thanks

Pat Miller responded:

Stephanie asked:

Hi.  I hope maybe you can give me some insite on a situation. I have a Min Pin (Minature Pinscher) that I have had for a year.  Since I got him he mouthed us and nipped all the time.  He is aggressive.  I got him nuetered and it did not help so the vet said to take him to good dog training, so we did. He did well for two class and the third class he was acting funny.  We mentioned it to the trainer she came over to see what was going on and checked his collar and he nipped her a couple times.  I took him to the vet today and he can't find anything with him.  HELP!  The other trainer suggested I have him put down but I am having a hard time coping with that.  I will feel cruel if I do.  Can you please help me get insight on this please? 

Thank you

Ms. Pat Miller answered:

I have a one year old chocolate lab.  Needless to say, he is a
chewer.  He has plenty of Nyla bones and kongs, but he still gets things he shouldn't.  We have to keep him in his crate at night, and when we are not at home.  This hasn't been a problem.  Usually, we toss a treat into the crate, and he goes right in.  However, over the weekend, he started not going in the crate.  When we toss the treat in, he runs the other way.  And the only way to put him in is to physically push him in.
I know that isn't helping the situation, but if he doesn't go into the
crate, my house would be a mess when I got home.  When Katherine was here for Pet of the Week, she suggested that I email you.  Any
suggestions would be very helpful!
Thanks!

Peaceable Paws Trainer Lori Kobayashi responded:

I have an 8 month old Shepherd mix that chews absolutely everything (toys, furniture, shoes, etc.)  He'll even get the kids' toys off the shelves to destroy.  He has a large assortment of toys of his own, and we give him one when he chews something unacceptable.  What else can I do to help him learn what is his?

Pat Miller of Peaceable Paws answered:

Valerie asked Pat Miller: My dog is an Australian Bluetick Hound .. I really don't know how old she is but I  do know that she is pretty old. I have had her for almost one year. All I really know about her background is that she came from an abusive home. My boyfriend got her from soemone that had an ad in the paper. She is extremely scared of loud noises, yelling, and a little skidish at times. My boyfried says that I baby her too much because I hold her when she is scared and I talk to her like she is a human. All I really want is for her to be happy and feel loved. Is this wrong for me to do? If so, is there something that I should be doing differently?

Susan from Peaceable Paws responded:

I was wondering if you have any suggestions for getting a 1 year old approx 140lb Great Dane into a vehicle. This task was quite easy when he was smaller however now he chooses to chase my van, or the kids' bikes or anything with wheels rather than to get inside. I want to take him places but he refuses to get into the van. Any tips on helping him to feel better about going for a ride?

Ms. Pat Miller of Peaceable Paws responded:

About a month ago, my husband and I adopted a mutt. We're not sure what she is--she looks to have perhaps some shepherd and some Black Mouth Cur in her. She is 12 weeks old. She's a good puppy in most ways, but we've been having a terrible time being in the yard with her. She often gets very hyper in the yard and, if we're out there, too, she runs at us and bites like crazy. Nothing we do will make her stop--we've tried saying "no," clapping our hands, yelling, walking away (she follows, biting), growling like a dog, pushing her away, even holding her down--it all just gets her more excited. Her bites do hurt, and it's scary when she barrels toward us. She's only about 10 lbs right now, but will likely be much bigger, and this behavior would be disastrous in a bigger dog. Does this behavior sound worrisome to you? And do you have any suggestions on how to deal with it? We're at our wits' ends. Thank you so much.

Pat Miller of Peaceable Paws responded

Can you suggest some water games for the dogs to play at our Dog Splash

to raise money for a well-designed dog park here in Frostburg?

I may be unable to make it to the Plunge.

Love your writing.  Keep it up!

Amelia in Cumberland

Ms. Pat Miller of Peaceable Paws responded

I have an adult female short hair cat that has for about a year now been urinating lets just say outside the litterboxes.  We have had her since a kitten (approximately 6 yrs). She was the sister to her brother of different generation and did fine with her brother here as indoor cats, spayed and neutered and front declawed.  We introduced an outside cat that has for two + years, is a male, and has established as the alpha male and has terrorized the female into submission and now what I consider severe behavioral issues.  We rarely see the female as she is too afraid to come out from underneath beds or up from the basement.  We have been eliminating spots she urinates forover a year to the point that her only alternative, other than the litter box, is nice carpets and furniture. 

We have tried pheramone plug ins and nothing works.  Litterboxes are cleaned daily so the fouling of the box is not the issue.

My wife and I are at our wits end and simply cant have the cat ruin the carpets and furniture.

Short of euthanization, do you have any recommendations?

(Please note the same question was posed to Dr. Tracy Barlup of Longmeadow Animal Hospital at our VetTalk section)

Ms. Pat Miller responded:

We have two dogs that have recently started fighting, so bad, that one has had stitches, twice.  We need help.  Here is our story:

We have two rescue dogs; Carcass (Carky) our 5 yr old Rhodesian/Pit Bull Mix and our 3 1/2 year old Treeing Walker Coonhound, Myrtle.

They were both about 1 1/2 years old, respectively, when we adopted them.  I also had a 14 pound rescue terrior/schnauzer mix named Molly at the time.  Carky and Molly got along great after several walks and finally a formal meeting.  Molly was in charge and all was well.  Then we brought Myrtle in to the mix.  It took a couple of weeks, but all three of them got on pretty well. 

Molly passed away a year ago.  About 6 months after she died we started having trouble.  Myrtle is big into resource guarding and Carky is very protective.  They tussled and wrestled a lot but were not violent until one time when Carky broke the skin on Myrtle, not a big bite but a bite non the less.  Our trainer told us to stop letting them wrestle and all seemed well.

Then, about 3 months ago, Myrtle and Carky were outside my bedroom door.  Carky was laying in front of the door and Myrtle was walking by. Instead of just walking by and laying down as she normally does, she walked right up to Carky and put her face in hers.  Right before the attack, I could see this was a bad thing and I yelled "NO" but Carky attacked her.  It took me about 20 - 30 seconds to get them apart and by that time, Myrtle was severly wounded.  I took her to the vet and they had to do surgery to repair her (deep into the muscle).

We called our trainer and he told us to keep them separated totally until the stitches came out.  Then, with our trainer, we started the pack walk, bringing them closer and closer and within about 3 hours, we had them both in the same room, on leashes.  One on either end of the room.  Our trainer thought this was a great first step and told us to keep it up and very slowly get them closer, always on leashes.  All was well, until I was doing too many things at one time and as I was moving from one gated area to another, Carky slipped by me and walked up to Myrtle.  Myrtle was at her empty food bowl.  My step son (16 yr old) was right beside them.  I calmly said "Connor, get Carky away from Myrtle."  He jumped to get there quickly and I yelled "NO" and Carky attacked Myrtle again. This time, I was able to get them apart pretty quickly, but Myrtle still had to have surgery and stitches to repair her. 

I've called our trainer and he's told us to start over after the stitches come out with the pack walk which we will do.  Her stitches come out in four days and we'll do a pack walk that evening.  I am afraid that I am the cause of this aggression because I'm seeing possible situations and yelling or saying, in a loud tone, something that makes the dogs react.  I am really trying to calm myself, but I don't feel I can keep Myrtle safe or that I can control Carky.  I really need help in reigning in my fear and staying calm and assertive, but with these two attacks, it's very hard to not get upset.

Carky is the most loving dog, she is very well trained, she loves all people and is a huge lap dog but she hates other dogs, she hates ALL other animals.  She put up with Molly and Myrtle, but something has changed.  Myrtle is very sweet, a bit, um, well, stupid, at times, but a very sweet dog, very loving.

We don't want to have to place either of our dogs if at all possible. 

I would appreciate any help you can give me in what I'm doing wrong, or how we can help our dogs get back on track of even being able to be in the same room together.  We will never again leave them alone un-supervised, but we'd like to be able to sit in a room with our entire family (including both dogs) and watch a movie together.

Thanks so much for your time and consideration.  Any help will be greatly appreciated.

Pat Miller of Peaceable Paws responded

We have a boxer mix that we adopted from Antietam Humane Society and we are having some outside social concerns.  He had no problems in the house and he is amazing on walks...but in his yard we have a few problems. He is a very aggressive barker and jumper (on the fence) and it scares the neighbors.  We have three children and he plays with the two little ones very well, but will jump on our oldest(11) when he wants to play.  It is just weird to me that in the house he is fine and on walks he is fine but seems to have no social skills in his own yard.  He has never jumped the fence or bitten anyone...but it seems like he does not know how to ask to play when he wants to play with you...and he is bark aggressive at people walking in front of our house.  We have thought about having a trainer come to the house...i have personally worked with him but it only has worked on walks and in the house...not in our yard.

Thanks for any advice you can give...

Pat Miller of Peaceable Paws responded:

Vikki Asked:
Hi I had an interaction today between a dog at the Humane Society and my two dogs. Gracie, the dog I am trying to adopt, displayed some characteristics of resource guarding. The only time she guarded was when she had a frisbee. No other toy seemed to catch her attention but she was very intent on the frisbee. Everything went well between my two dogs and her until my dogs tried to get near her frisbee. Is there a way to train her not to resource guard? She didn't display any aggression towards my dogs when the frisbee was not involved. Could you give me some pointers on how to correct this issue? I would really appreciate it.

Pat Miller of Peaceable Paws responded:

I adopted a Boxer last summer.  He has been a great dog, but over the past  year he has developed this very aggressive behavior towards other dogs.  It has come to the point where i cannot take him on walks anymore because if we pass another dog he goes wild.  The hair on his back stands up, he growls and barks, and he becomes so fixed on them even after they have passed us.  I try to divert his attention but it never works. Any advice as to what I could do to change this behavior would be great.

Pat Miller responded: