heartfullofchrist
New member
H is a male puppy, approximately 6-8 months old but big. I’m not sure on his breed, but he’s sort of medium sized, not small like a chihuahua or big like a husky, but in between, about the size of a lab. He is the size of an adult medium sized dog. He came from a neglect situation and although he doesn’t seem to be timid or traumatized, he is slightly underweight. He is not neutered and we are unsure if he has been vaccinated. We are awaiting a vet appointment to take care of both. As for his behavior, he pretty much has engaged in every bad dog behavior you can think of.
- He humps furniture to the point that he genitals are raw.
- H is not house trained, while he does go outside sometimes he often goes inside with little warning to us. He will just be standing there and suddenly start peeing on the floor.
- He barks excessively.
- He has separation anxiety to the point that he won’t even go in the backyard to relieve himself alone.
-He jumps up on people no matter how often you push him off you. We are covered in scratches from this.
-He bites frequently to the point that we are covered in bruises. Last week I sustained at Level 3 bite that drew a bit of blood.
- He chews everything despite having plenty of chew toys that we are constantly redirecting him to.
-Not so much of a problem anymore but he is a picky eater and we spent so much on dog food working to find something for he would be willing to eat.
- By far the most troubling behavior is his treatment of the cats. We have 3 cats, Merl(14m), Dean(7m), and Sammy(7f). It is important to note that Merl was declawed by a previous owner and Dean has a heart condition and is bladder condition. The dog barks and chased them. It is to the point that they started having accidents because they were too afraid to come downstairs to the litter box(we have since placed one upstairs), and attempts to carry them downstairs have them frightened and struggling. The worst is his behavior with Merl. My mom tried to take Merl away from the dog and he reacted as though he had had a favorite chew toy taken away. My mom was badly scratched but the cat was unscathed. In another incident I was holding Merl and H tried to get to him and was attempting to bite him. This is when I sustained a level 3 bite, while the cat appears to have sustained a level 2(his fur was wet with dog saliva).
I don’t know what to do. So far we have mostly been redirecting him, telling him no, trying to provide him with toys to keep him busy, keeping him separate from the cats, pushing him off us when he jumps on us, and putting him in his crate for him to calm down when he is really acting up. I do admit to kicking him in self defense when he was trying to hurt my cat but it was necessary and I have no remorse. Truthfully he is my sister’s dog, she got him without consulting the rest of the household and kind of dumps him on us when she is at work. She doesn’t walk him as much as needed and truthfully the dog spends too much time in his crate. As you can seen, we are also having a human problem as well as a dog problem. I really don’t know what to do, I fear for my cats.
Also I should not that I don’t think he is resource guarding, despite his history of neglect. He doesn’t seem to be bothered when something is taken from him unless it is a cat. I suppose a prey drive is a possibility, as is excess energy. Truthfully he is just not a good fit for my family with the amount of exercise and attention he needs, but my sister is unwilling to get rid of him. Perhaps I need to go to a sub for human training instead. Any advice would be appreciated.
- He humps furniture to the point that he genitals are raw.
- H is not house trained, while he does go outside sometimes he often goes inside with little warning to us. He will just be standing there and suddenly start peeing on the floor.
- He barks excessively.
- He has separation anxiety to the point that he won’t even go in the backyard to relieve himself alone.
-He jumps up on people no matter how often you push him off you. We are covered in scratches from this.
-He bites frequently to the point that we are covered in bruises. Last week I sustained at Level 3 bite that drew a bit of blood.
- He chews everything despite having plenty of chew toys that we are constantly redirecting him to.
-Not so much of a problem anymore but he is a picky eater and we spent so much on dog food working to find something for he would be willing to eat.
- By far the most troubling behavior is his treatment of the cats. We have 3 cats, Merl(14m), Dean(7m), and Sammy(7f). It is important to note that Merl was declawed by a previous owner and Dean has a heart condition and is bladder condition. The dog barks and chased them. It is to the point that they started having accidents because they were too afraid to come downstairs to the litter box(we have since placed one upstairs), and attempts to carry them downstairs have them frightened and struggling. The worst is his behavior with Merl. My mom tried to take Merl away from the dog and he reacted as though he had had a favorite chew toy taken away. My mom was badly scratched but the cat was unscathed. In another incident I was holding Merl and H tried to get to him and was attempting to bite him. This is when I sustained a level 3 bite, while the cat appears to have sustained a level 2(his fur was wet with dog saliva).
I don’t know what to do. So far we have mostly been redirecting him, telling him no, trying to provide him with toys to keep him busy, keeping him separate from the cats, pushing him off us when he jumps on us, and putting him in his crate for him to calm down when he is really acting up. I do admit to kicking him in self defense when he was trying to hurt my cat but it was necessary and I have no remorse. Truthfully he is my sister’s dog, she got him without consulting the rest of the household and kind of dumps him on us when she is at work. She doesn’t walk him as much as needed and truthfully the dog spends too much time in his crate. As you can seen, we are also having a human problem as well as a dog problem. I really don’t know what to do, I fear for my cats.
Also I should not that I don’t think he is resource guarding, despite his history of neglect. He doesn’t seem to be bothered when something is taken from him unless it is a cat. I suppose a prey drive is a possibility, as is excess energy. Truthfully he is just not a good fit for my family with the amount of exercise and attention he needs, but my sister is unwilling to get rid of him. Perhaps I need to go to a sub for human training instead. Any advice would be appreciated.