Augie's Acting Out And Kid At Petsmart Knows My Name Now!

[Guest avadogner]

Hi everyone,

 

Augie has done very well assimilating into home life until a couple days ago. See my previous post regarding eaten Greyhound subject coffee table books. The DH was gone this morning paddling with some buddies and I was alone for doggie duty. I had a bad night last night (kidney pain) and didn't get to sleep until 4 am. The dogs let me sleep until 7 am which was nice since the DH usually gets up at 5 am for work and lets them potty and puts prepared breakfast (by me of course) out. I did the morning thing with them and laid back down at 8 and slept till 11. I woke expecting eaten books, destroyed newspapers and stuff hoarded in the backyard digging holes. But what do you know, NO DAMAGE! I am in heaven. I go out into the yard to play with the babies and stuff them with treats and praise for cutting me a break. Ava is an angel. It's Augie's 16th day with us so he is acting out now the initial shock has passed. We go for our long walk and come home. Walking through the living room what do I see but a chewed corner on OUR BRAND NEW $400 COFFEE TABLE! I know exactly who did it because he had his busted face on and Ava is so old her she barely can chew kibble. The Kong is still half full of treats right next to the table. I was so mad at him but it probably happened this am so it's too late to really correct him. I put his new fancy muzzle on him (we can't crate him because he panics so bad he nearly flipped the crate the first night and barfed a gallon of goo in it). We also have 4 baby gates to contain them. I leave to go to Petsmart for the 7th time in 16 days to get a bigger Kong and different chewing toys. He was bored with our 4 nylabones on day 5. I hated to leave him muzzled but he left me no choice. I was gone 1 hour tops and came home to a whinning Augie banging his head on any surface possible. No damage to the house though. I sprayed to furniture down with Nature's Miracle chew deterent and am praying he will leave the furniture alone. i then notice he had chewed on the arm of my recently departed grandfather's chair we inheritied. I sprayed it down too. My gfather was a farmer and avid dog lover so I think he wouldn't be near as P.Oed as I am over it. I adore Augie but he is becoming a challenge to entertain. He has about 20 stuffies, 3 Kongs (all full of treats, PB and doggie toothpaste), 4 nylabones and a big sis to keep him company. I just need to vent to people who won't think I am crazy for adopting this 87 lb dog when I am a siclkly 5'3 and 110lbs. There is more weight in doggie than mummy in our household. Thanks for listening!

-ava and augie's irritated mummy

[Batmom]

Do you have a fenced back yard? He might be a candidate for learning to play fetch, and/or for a lure pole. Tired dog = dog who doesn't get into much.

 

I do know how you feel. Here we have some odd decor arrangements and living habits due to dogproofing needs.

[TheFullHouse]

Okay deep breaths! Obviously Augie needs a lot of exercise to curb his boredom. You might teach him how to fetch a ball. That's easy on the people and really wears out a dog. I can sit all day on the patio and throw a ball, no problem.

 

You may need to muzzle him at bedtime and maybe put a baby gate across the bedroom door if he sleeps in the room with you. Obviously someone is going to have to watch him very carefully so you can catch him in the act and correct him. He's getting into trouble when no one is watching. You may have to baby gate him into a certain area and muzzle him when you go out.

 

One thing that really keeps a hound occupied is a RMB, raw meaty bone. Mine can chew for hours on them. The only thing is most hounds view them as high value treats so any other hound would have to be kept where they couldn't come close to him for fear he might growl or worse.

[buddibear]

Lucky me, no greyhound chewers.Although Stormy has a broken canine (maybe from a kennel incident before me) BUT the Dalmatian pup has finally stopped. He has eaten 2 digital cams,1 cell phone, 1 remote,1 new Nike (left) 1 new New Balance (right) Grandmother's 1915 dining chairs (6 ,2 still virgin)all corners of coffee table and ends of footboard. Vet suggested melatonin and patience. It's been a good year so far...he must have a wood deficiency

[Guest avadogner]

We have a large fenced back yard and I've been playing fetch the treat with him like crazy and taking him on 1 mile walks daily. It's hard for me to do more exercise than that due to the kidney failure and anemia. I've been know to pass out in public places when overtired. I get stalked in my Publix due to a fainting episode there a few months ago. The DH worked 14 hr days all last week due to vacationing employee. He had this trip canoeing this weekend to look forward to but when he gets home, he is getting the leash and some quality time walking with Augie. Poor Ava (our 10year old grey) has arthritis in her back hips so she can't do more than one walk. Poor thing was limping on the brief walk home. she's on numerous meds for it. I can handle the 1 mile walk and throw treats with him but he's going to need a second long walk each day. I've taught him to sit on command but his attention span is small. We are now working on shake. He's not going for it though. Ava's racing name was R Fetch Puppy and the first time we tried to fetch with her (8yrs ago)she just looked at us like "Go get it stupid". We brought Aug home he fetched a toy right away. It's just he gets bored with each toy fast and then he won't go after it. I can only afford so many $14 Kongs and $10 Nylabones. I can't do any raw bones or anything of too high value because Ava is dominant and gets snarky. she's never cared for toys so he's welcome to them all. I did catch him with her FAt Cat (she uses it as a pillow) and she growled at him. I'm not brave enough to up the treat ante beyond stuffed frozen kongs.

-ava and augie's mom

 

Oh Buddy Bear,

I will keep my mouth shut! Your poor dining room set. We had a dalmation when I was a kid. He was the last firetrained fire dog (father was fireman) in B'ham and everytime anyone lit a grill or burned leaves in the neighborhood, he went bonkers. He was also a smiler so everyone was scared of him. Buddy Boy was his name. He was a really funny dog.

Edited October 17, 2010 by avadogner

[macoduck]

Perhaps try some melatonin and rub some essential lavender oils on the base of Augie's ears.

 

I made a lure pole by just tying an old stuffie toy to a line on the end of a pole. It's like fishin' for doggies - they like that the stuffy tries to "run" from them. Keeps them active and occupied longer than just tossing a toy.

Edited October 17, 2010 by macoduck

[Batmom]

P.S. If a lure pole is not your thing (just needs a couple minutes to wear a dog out, tho) and he isn't fond of fetching, there is one more thing you could try in the safety of a fenced yard. When you are done with your newspaper, take it and him out in the fenced yard. Take an entire sheet of newspaper -- you know, a double one, representing 4 pages -- crumple it up in a ball, and toss it. Most lively dogs will go nuts for newspaper balls -- chasing AND shredding action! Makes a little bit of a mess but it's dirt cheap.

[Guest avadogner]

Macoduck,

You are a genius! The DH has a set of poles set up for our hammock. We take it down after summer so I could use the wood base and make a doggie tetther ball pole! Well the DH will actually do it since I'm too short. Thanks for the great idea and I'll pick up some lavender oil. I'm already slipping him herbal "calming tablets" in pill pockets when I know I'm going to go out. We also bought one of those aromatherapy tags for his collar to help calm him. I doubt is works but I'm open to all forms of intervention. He's not bad enough for doggie xanax or prozac. I just want him to be happy and to not eat the furniture. he's a really sweat goofy guy and all things worth having require hard work. Keep the tips coming. Y'all rock!

[Guest krystolla]

Another thing to try would be hide-and-seek games -- hiding those treat filled toys so he's busy sniffing around to find them before settling down to work on them. Do it often enough and he'll keep himself busy every time he enters a new room looking for stuff that isn't hidden there.

 

You also might want to see if he shows any interest in a laser pointer. If you can teach him to paw at or touch the light that's a great intro to tons of other tricks -- closing cabinets, or fetching specific items. It's a different sort of communication to get that brain working.

 

Oh, hey and how about a backpack to get more out of those walks? You can build him up to carrying some bottles of water.

[Guest avadogner]

Would I be a bad mom if I let my twin 2 yr old nephews ride him like a horse? JUST KIDDING! I do like the backpack idea because he wants to go faster than poor Ava. The newspaper idea is great too. I am already scooping poop with the giant poop scoop every three days (in mask and medical gloves due to immune suppresion) and can just as easily pick up the paper. Maybe I could train Augie to wipe with it. He is sweet but not the smartest grey. He has taken to doing EVERYTHING like his sister and now urinates standing up and ends up wetting all over his front legs. I have to hose him down or use deoderant wet wipes. the only time he hikes a leg is on walks and it is usually on Ava. We are still working on the two dogs and one walker tango so poor Ava has to dodge the leg hike.

[Sambuca]

Do you have any friends or neighbors that enjoy walks or runs? See if they would be willing to take Augie. If they run, they need to be educated on what to look for in heat exhaustion. If none of that is possible, maybe you can hire a dog walker to get some of his energy out. Even if its just a neighborhood teenager.

[Guest avadogner]

I pulled some flyer tabs at our the Piggly Wiggly (small southern grocery chain) for two dog walkers/errand runners/helpers. They charge $10 per dog per mile. Its not crazy but a little pricey especially for Alabama. I don't mind paying up but I am nervous to trust my babies to someone else. I could interview them like a nanny but most people here are unfamiliar with greys. Maybe I'll call them tommorrow and see how knowledgable about greys they are.

[Guest grammarules]

Shelby loves to dig for roots and this has really made a mess of our yard. We put an opened bale of straw in one end of her kennel. She can did till her hearts content and no damage. She loves to hid her raw-hide bones in there and then try to find them. (We live in a rual area)