I need expert advice

[Sheryl]

Hi! I have a 2 year old lab mix (x Mastiff? something big anyways, he weigs about 115 pounds) named Harley who I got from a rescue this past July. When I got him he was so mellow, laid back, relaxed, he was great. I had to put him into boarding twice in November, and then left him with a friend for a weekend in December. He then started suffering from really bad separation anxiety.

I have tried many things and am almost at my wit's end. I have to admit that there are days that I don't really like him very much, he is not the same dog as I adopted. Does anyone know of a behaviour expert who is willing to give advice without seeing the dog (I live in Northern Canada, in a remote town with no vet, no boarding kennels, no spca, no doggie daycare)? I am willing to pay for services provided.

I am getting very discouraged, and am feeling like I am a prisoner to my dog. I want to go visit my mom in May, but don't know what I am going to do with my dog.

Thanks for listening!
Sheryl[/img]

[Summer Magic]

Boy I know how you feel. Don't give up there are a lot of tricks to use to help with SA. I'm no expert but I have corrected my shelties SA in two weeks.
First do you use NILF for your dog? If not start now.
Second do you crate him at all? That is highly recommended. He needs a safe place of his own where he can go and feel comforted.
Third does he sleep with you in your bedroom? If he does you should start by crating him in another part of the house at night. There are many tricks you can use, give him treats and toys to occupy him, cover the crate at night and most of all ignore him if he starts making noise.
I think this is a good start for you, if you need anything explained please post again.

[Sheryl]

What is NILF?? (Sorry if this is a dumb question!)

I tried crating him, but he chewed his way out the side of it!! (It was one of those 'furrari' type kennels.) I got a wire crate to take him on the train with my at Christmas time, but he has gotten out of it... if I tie it shut, he bothers at the door so much with his nose that it gets raw and starts to bleed!
He is on CLomicalm twice a day, I have a Dog Appeasing Pheromone plug in, I have him on anti-allergy food, have given him every type of toy out there (but he won't play with them while I am gone, even a Kong with a treat in it). He has not destroyed things in a while but will 'break into' the cat's room to eat the food and 'krunchies' out of the litter box. I have to close doors to bedrooms and bathrooms or he gets into garbage cans, takes clothes off the floor, etc. Not only does he bark and get excited when I come home, but when I ignore him, then he starts picking things up like my boots and whatever else he can find (I still ignore him), then he starts pulling at my clothes (still ignoring him), then he will start to bite me, so I use one word 'quit' which I don't use in any other situation, and then go back to ignoring him. Only after he has calmed down will I say hello and take him outside.
He does sleep on my bed.... if I closed my door I am not sure what he would do!
ANyways.... let me know what NILF is please.
Thanks

[Justine Archuleta]

NILIF (nothing in life is free) is a training method that makes the dog look to you for answers. You show them that you are the leader and you make the decisions. You make them sit before opening the door, getting their meal, getting a treat, ect., ect. I'm sure someone will explain it better than I can.

[Summer Magic]

There are no dumb questions here. NILF means "nothing in life is free." It's a philosophy that teaches your dog that YOU are in control and he is to follow your lead. It entails making him do "something" before he gets to have anything. As explanation, before you place his food bowl on the floor he is to follow your command to "sit" (or what ever you want him to do) "Anything" means just that, attention, food, toys, potty breaks, walks, anything you do for him he has to do something to "earn" it.

As far as crate breaking, he may not be desensetized to it. Try this with the wire crate, cover it with an old blanket or rug so he can't see all the way around it. Feed him inside the crate until he becomes accustomed to being in that area. Keep all of his toys and chewies in it as well so he has to go into the crate to get them.

As far as his jumping on you when you return home, the NILF should help with that. Just make him sit or lie down before you give him any attention.

[Renee]

Sheryl-

Here is a link to some dog behavior consultants who live in Canada - there are 4 as of now. http://www.iaabc.org/international_dog.ht m

Hope this helps.

[Grace Erick]

This is what my Chi book for Dummies says:

Let him do his business 10 min. before you leave

Turn on the radio and leave his favorite toys

Don't say goodbye when you leave or give him attention in the last few minutes before you leave.

Go back and sit with him for 10 min, tell him to sit and praise him.

If you find a puddle or destruction, don't call attention to it, and make a note how long you were gone. Then DECREASE the amount of time you are gone, then gradually work your way back up to being gone for longer amounts of time.

Then they mention meds, but they can tend to lose their effectiveness over time and/or the dog will have to eventually be weaned off of them.

[Sheryl]

Thanks for all your help! I have been in contact with a specialist who does phone consults, and quite reasonably priced I might add. Hopefully we will be able to consult this week. I will keep you posted on his progress. I am honestly just about at the end of my rope, so hopefully will be able to get some helpful advice.

Thanks again!

Sheryl

[Sheryl]

Hi! I had my phone consult on Friday, and the good news is that Harley is not hopeless like I had feared. The specialist came up with a treatment plan, which I will start immediately. She suggested clicker training, so you might see me posting in that forum in the near future.

Thanks again for all your help!

Sheryl and Harley
(and Pud E. Cat)

[Jesse Cruz]

Hi Sheryl,

I was reading this thread and wanted to know how Harley is coming along now.

[Sheryl]

Hi! Thanks for asking. Things are up and down. Some days are better than others. He chewed up a couple of things yesterday for the first time in a long time, but then last night I realized that I was overdue to change the Dog Appeasing Pheromone. Hopefully that's all the problem was. He is great to walk on a leash, greets people politely, doesn't bark at people or dogs, no problems. He is still barking at people and cars and dogs he sees when he is in my truck and when he is in the house and sees them outside. We have started clicker training, and he's catching on. We're currently working on 'watch me'. He is still absolutely a wild man when I come home, though. The behaviour specialist I consulted said to greet him quietly and calmly when I come home, and then if he starts to bark and bite to ignore him. It seems like he is so wound up that he can't process my quiet greeting and within 10 seconds is barking and biting at me. Some days he settles down a few minutes of me ignoring him and some days he barks for 5 or 10 minutes.

Some days I still feel like giving up because I want the perfect dog without having to work at it. But then I snap out of it. Oh ya, and I am doing the NILF program. I occasionally forget, but am trying really hard.

Sorry for babbling.

[Jesse Cruz]

thanks for the update! sounds like you are doing your best and Harley is very lucky to have such a patient and loving mom. you are doing fine, it may take some time but eventually it will all be worth it and you'll have the perfect dog!

[Grace Erick]

Sheryl, I guess you have a reason why you can't take him to your moms, but if there really isn't a good reason, then try to take him. I take my small chi with me to my mom's by plane when I visit her in NY. She has cats too, but my dog seems to like them, and they are very curious and good with her.

I wonder if you are expecting too much from him or never owned a dog, so your expectations from him are too high. He sounds fine as long as it's not the couch he is chewing on, but he can be put in a room with food, water and a bed with safe toys if he is biting into furniture. Other things like shoes, slippers should be kept in a closet if he likes to chew on them. Set him up to be good by keeping things that he gets into trouble with away from him if you can. I know you can't put your couch in another room every day, lol:)

Dogs love to bark at other dogs they see in cars or that are passing the house. It's quite normal. Your dog sounds like a regular dog. Maybe you are sensitive to the noise he creates and find it annoying which it can be if he never stops barking, but he seems to be a regular doggie.

[Sheryl]

Hi! He's not a bad dog, he's just not the same dog that I brought home last summer. His behaviour has definiately changed. Some things I know are regular doggie stuff, but I do hope to shape some of the behaviours. I don't mind some barking to alert me, but for him to run up to people with all his hair up barking and growling isn't socially acceptable, even up here in northern Canada!
My husband and I had the first dog that I had ever owned (he kept both the dogs when we separated) and she was the best dog in the world. So yes, maybe I am expecting too much from this guy. However, I also want to help him with his separation anxiety so that he is more comfortable and secure. Like my sister said when he was destroying my house while alone, she wasn't sure who to feel worse for, me because he was wrecking all my stuff or Harley because he had so much anxiety he felt that he had to wreck everything!

It's great to have a forum like this where we can talk. I think I'll make a donation this week so that it can keep running.

[Jill Ramsey]

He is still absolutely a wild man when I come home, though. The behaviour specialist I consulted said to greet him quietly and calmly when I come home, and then if he starts to bark and bite to ignore him. It seems like he is so wound up that he can't process my quiet greeting and within 10 seconds is barking and biting at me. Some days he settles down a few minutes of me ignoring him and some days he barks for 5 or 10 minutes.

Sheryl,
I can't say anything to Finnegan when I first come home, or he will go wild,too. Then, after a few minutes, I will start talking quietly to him. So, maybe you should try not saying anything when you come home. Just ignore him until he quiets down. When you talk to him while he's jumping and being obnoxious, it gets him the attention he wants. You just have to be consistant, it takes time to retrain any behavior.

[Amber]

I have to do the same thing with Precious. She's a jumper AND an excited urinator! Yay me! lol...

Anyway...when I come in, I have to ignore her for five minutes, through all the jumping, and go about my business. After that time, I can talk to her and calmly pet her and she won't pee. It took a couple of times to figure out what her time limit was though. Now she jumps a few times, then sits and wags her tail (I praise), she jumps a few more times, etc. She's getting it though!

[Sheryl]

Anytime Harley is being all crazy when I come home, I ignore him. The other day there was a bunch of stuff on the floor that the cats had knocked off a shelf and I wanted to clean it up without Harley in the way. I had just walked in and knew he'd be crazy, but there happened to be one of his Kongs there that still had a couple of kibbles in it, so I handed it to him without really thinking. Well, he just laid down and started trying to get the kibble. When I had finished cleaning up the stuff, I said hello to him and everything was cool! I tried it again the next day, and he was quite happy with the Kong and didn't get out of control. I wonder if I can keep doing this?

The reason I hesitate to take him to my mom's is because it's three quarters of the way accross the country, and he's 115 pounds, and my mom's husband doesn't like dogs, and they have a house full of antiques. Maybe if he was small and easy to transport and they would hardly notice him it would be different, but....

[Amber]

Could you put a Kong in your car, filled with kibble or othwise, just in case Harley's isn't within reach as soon as you get in the door? It's something that seems to work for him. Way to go! :bunny:

I'm thinking a jumping, 115 lb dog and antiques don't go well together. It's probably a good idea (and cheaper! lol) for you not to bring him to your mother's. Why doesn't your mom's husband like dogs? I know my mom didn't really like animals in general until she got Precious for me for my birthday and then we adopted Sally. She just told me the other day I turned her into a dog person! lol

[Brie Reimann]

I just recently learned my dog has separation disorder. He ate a whole bottle of Advil on Wednesday and we had to get his stomach pumped! I learned from my doggie therapist that it is important not to give attention to your dog when you come home or when you leave.

[Sheryl]

I don't know what my mom's husband's problem is.... he told her that it would either be him or an animal but not both. (easy decision to me :) )
Harley once ate a pound of butter, tinfoil and all! (I forgot that I left it on the counter to soften before I was going to make cookies, and was only gone for about ten minutes.) No vet here, so I gave him hydrogen peroxide a tablespoon at a time until he threw up the butter and tinfoil (on my vet's telephone advice). I know that Advil isn't toxic to people if they OD on it, just gives them a bad stomach. I wonder if it is the same with dogs?

[Frances Grady]

M y dog used to howl this high pitched howl when i would leave her i started to leave pig ears right when i left so that she would want to chew rather then howl for me it has worked i also leave the t.v tuned to animal planet just for some background noise

[Jill Ramsey]

I don't know what my mom's husband's problem is.... he told her that it would either be him or an animal but not both. (easy decision to me :) )
Harley once ate a pound of butter, tinfoil and all! (I forgot that I left it on the counter to soften before I was going to make cookies, and was only gone for about ten minutes.) No vet here, so I gave him hydrogen peroxide a tablespoon at a time until he threw up the butter and tinfoil (on my vet's telephone advice). I know that Advil isn't toxic to people if they OD on it, just gives them a bad stomach. I wonder if it is the same with dogs?

Any type of aspirin, tylenol, advil is toxic to dogs.