New dog going berserk after two weeks??

[jstanoz]

My husband and I rescued a golden Labrador mix about two to three weeks ago and up until now he has been an angel. Potty trained as soon as we brought him home, does not pull leash , and slept and cuddled most of the day. Now everything has taken a complete 180.

First some background info. Atlas was thrown to the streets by his original family and was later rescued by an unlicensed organization here in Turkey. During his stay he was adopted 3-4 times only to be brought back every time after the first day or two. The day we got him we took him to the vet and they said he was sick (nothing too serious), not to mention he was about 25 pounds lighter than he was suppose to be. He’s almost done with his treatment, and he’s already started gaining weight.

About the last 2-3 days he’s been all over the place. He’s a very intelligent dog; when he needs to go to the bathroom he barks at the front door. However, lately although he continues to do that he’s started peeing in the house. Usually happens after scolding him for some of his other new behaviors. Today he’s decided he wants to chew through cables and chewed completely through a printer power chord. Last night he attacked all the pillows in the house, trying to rip them apart. Also he tried to dig a hole into the couch. Today he won’t stop barking and running around in circles even though we continuously take him out and walk him and play with him.

Is this his actual personality after settling into his new home and overcoming his sickness? Is it him testing boundaries to see if we’ll keep him? Or is there something else going on?

EDIT: Ok well now he’s exhibiting aggressive behavior towards me and my husband; I.e growling, barking, and biting. He managed to get a bite out of my arm (I’m fine , just a little shook up and the jacket I was wearing took most of the heat). The bite wasn’t full strength but it really didn’t seem like play biting im not sure what to do.

 

[esta25]

@jstanoz sounds like he's bored and under exercised. when you said gone berserk I thought you meant he'd attacked someone, but this kind of destructive behaviour is a hallmark of boredom.

if he's peeing in the house when you scold him, that could well be a fear response.

 

[jstanoz]

@esta25 Sorry about the choice of wording on berserk, he doesn’t attack other animals or humans. I have just never had a dog with such destructive behavior.

We constantly take him on short walks 5x a day, long walks 2x a day and spend lots of time playing with his toys. I don’t know what else I can do for exercise or boredom.

We don’t scold him like yelling or hitting just a stern no and a redirect to positive behaviors.

 

[esta25]

@jstanoz obviously I don't know him at all but from what you've said it sounds like he's a really bright, high energy, and quite sensitive dog.

walks alone are unlikely to be enough exercise for a lab/golden mix. do you have anywhere he can run, either off lead or on a long line? if you've water anywhere nearby swimming could be an option too.

as for mental stimulation - play is great but I'd recommend some training too. learning tricks tires their brains out, as does scent work. letting him sniff around on a walk is another good tiring thing.

also do remember that he's has a rough start and it's very very early days of him living with you. as a very rough guide I've seen people say that it takes three months at least for a dog to feel properly settled in a new home. if he's destructive when left alone and you have to leave him alone, I'd suggest looking into crate training - at least that way he won't be destroying the furniture.

 

[jstanoz]

@esta25 Unfortunately I live in Istanbul, a very unfriendly place for dogs. Maybe 1 or 2 small dog parks in the entire city. The apartment complex I live in has a nice area for dogs but its ungated and they refuse to add a gate for some reason so off leash is not an option (tried it and he almost ran away). Swimming for him would only be an option on the outskirts of town an hour away at least.

Tricks are a good idea, I’ll start spending time with him every day learning tricks. Thank you for the suggestion.

I’m not sure crate training is an option, he has very bad separation anxiety, we can’t even leave him in another room on his own without him barking his lungs out and whining and crying.

I appreciate all the feedback , thank you so much!

 

[jstanoz]

@esta25 Also I’ve tried puzzle toys for him, the ones I could find in any online or in person store here were to easy for him and was just a free snack haha.