When I first posted here my rat terrier, Anya, was having some lapses with her housetraining, but the last few weeks she's been wonderful. I've been able to leave her uncrated when I go out for a few hours and she's not destroyed anything or made any messes. (Thanks for the help!) A few days ago a new dog moved in the apartment next door and he barks and whines all the time. I'm also pretty sure the owner let him eliminate in front of our door. The other night when I got home Anya had knocked books off my bookshelf, chewed one of them, opened a cabinet door and spread the contents all over the apartment. She's never done this before. Usually when I come home she's played with her toys and they're everywhere, but they were all still in her basket. I leave the TV or radio on when I leave and she has plenty of food and water. Last night she knocked over the mail basket and chewed on the paper. Again, new behavior. I'm not sure what to do. Do I need to crate her when I'm not here again? Is this connected to the new dog next door? I'd appreciate any advice. I can't do anything about the books, but I could put child locks on the cabinets, but that doesn't really solve the problem that's causing her to act this way.
Home Alone
- Thread starter Ailish
- Start date
Anya is just now going to the crate even when she doesn't have to. I don't really want to crate her all the time I'm gone again. Won't she start to associate it with me leaving and have it be a negative thing? Is there anything else I could try? Or since she's crate-trained now, could I get a larger crate so she'd have more room to move around? She's so active I hate to confine her.
If I'm going to be gone for more than 4-5 hours I crate her. But I usually don't if I'm just going out to dinner or the grocery store, etc. The two instances I mentioned I was gone for about three hours and an hour. Not any longer than I've been gone before and things have been fine. She just seems happier when she's romped around the house than when she's been in the crate.
Can you purchase a baby-gate and confine her to one room? This way you can focus on the room and make sure it is totally puppy-proof and you won't have to worry about it. It sounds like the new dog has changed things a little bit, and its thrown your dog off a little bit. You said that the owner let him eliminate in front of our door? Has your dog met the new neighbor?
I'd pick something soon, whether it be crating or not, and stick with it so your dog has consistency and doesn't have to worry about that as well.
I'd pick something soon, whether it be crating or not, and stick with it so your dog has consistency and doesn't have to worry about that as well.
The babygate might work. She's a pretty good jumper though. Do they have taller ones? I haven't seen the doggy play-pens. Has any one used them? Thanks for the ideas.
And she hasn't met the new neighbor. I haven't seen them much since they moved in. The reason I think they went in front of our door is because no other pet has in the 6 months we've lived here. (We all seem to stay away from the entranceways, neutral territory so to speak.)
And she hasn't met the new neighbor. I haven't seen them much since they moved in. The reason I think they went in front of our door is because no other pet has in the 6 months we've lived here. (We all seem to stay away from the entranceways, neutral territory so to speak.)
Ailish, I'm pretty sure from your original post that the dog next door has caused the lapse in behaviour. It might not be the total reason, but I'd say it's certainly been the trigger. Particularly if the dog has urinated near your door.
It’s sometimes hard for us to remember, but most of a dog’s life is governed by what he smells, not so much by what he sees. Everything has a smell - not just objects and people, but our emotions and hormones as well. A dog's world is a veritable kaleidoscope of different smells, and that's how they get their information. Also, and I don't know if you knew this, a dog's nose is 10,000 times more sensitive than ours! Some dogs can even smell early cancer in sick patients, before medical testing will show it.
So, not only can your dog hear this new dog, but there is a new assault of smells to excite her. She can hear a potential `friend' or a potential `enemy' - at the very least an interruption of what she perceives to be her territory and her boundaries. And she can smell it ALL DAY. Something is new, she knows what it is, and she can't get near it.
She is frustrated, and the answer to his frustration is to revert to behaviours that weren't quite gone, although you thought they were. She's wrecking things, urinating again (territorial marking) she's running around in circles because there's something new and she can't DO anything about it! She's also excited and frustrated because there's a new dog in town and there's closed doors between them.
If possible, can you introduce the dogs? Perhaps approach your new neighbour and set up a play date or three? I think, if your dog is allowed to check out the competition, it will go a long way to easing her frustrations.
Secondly, I think crating is probably not a bad idea. We don't use crates in Australia, however I think that their value may be underrated. The crate won't be seen as a bad thing as long as you don't associate it with bad things. Crate your dog for 20 minutes or so while you're home, too, and randomly, so she gets used to it and doesn't feel like it's a punishment.
Baby gates are good ideas also - if she's a jumper, don't use a baby gate, but a larger piece of collapsible lattice - that's what we use for ours - you just need to make sure it doesn't collapse - if you can affix it to something that would be great. They're cheaper, too - ours was $20 from the local hardware store.
Make sure your dog is tired. If you normally walk at night, get up early and do it in the morning. Does she have toys? Or is she left at home to get up to her own mischeif. One or two good interactive toys (kongs etc) will go a long way to easing her boredom and therefore lessen her mischief.
A good hard rawhide chew or something similar will also keep her occupied for a long time.
I would try those things and see how you go.
It’s sometimes hard for us to remember, but most of a dog’s life is governed by what he smells, not so much by what he sees. Everything has a smell - not just objects and people, but our emotions and hormones as well. A dog's world is a veritable kaleidoscope of different smells, and that's how they get their information. Also, and I don't know if you knew this, a dog's nose is 10,000 times more sensitive than ours! Some dogs can even smell early cancer in sick patients, before medical testing will show it.
So, not only can your dog hear this new dog, but there is a new assault of smells to excite her. She can hear a potential `friend' or a potential `enemy' - at the very least an interruption of what she perceives to be her territory and her boundaries. And she can smell it ALL DAY. Something is new, she knows what it is, and she can't get near it.
She is frustrated, and the answer to his frustration is to revert to behaviours that weren't quite gone, although you thought they were. She's wrecking things, urinating again (territorial marking) she's running around in circles because there's something new and she can't DO anything about it! She's also excited and frustrated because there's a new dog in town and there's closed doors between them.
If possible, can you introduce the dogs? Perhaps approach your new neighbour and set up a play date or three? I think, if your dog is allowed to check out the competition, it will go a long way to easing her frustrations.
Secondly, I think crating is probably not a bad idea. We don't use crates in Australia, however I think that their value may be underrated. The crate won't be seen as a bad thing as long as you don't associate it with bad things. Crate your dog for 20 minutes or so while you're home, too, and randomly, so she gets used to it and doesn't feel like it's a punishment.
Baby gates are good ideas also - if she's a jumper, don't use a baby gate, but a larger piece of collapsible lattice - that's what we use for ours - you just need to make sure it doesn't collapse - if you can affix it to something that would be great. They're cheaper, too - ours was $20 from the local hardware store.
Make sure your dog is tired. If you normally walk at night, get up early and do it in the morning. Does she have toys? Or is she left at home to get up to her own mischeif. One or two good interactive toys (kongs etc) will go a long way to easing her boredom and therefore lessen her mischief.
A good hard rawhide chew or something similar will also keep her occupied for a long time.
I would try those things and see how you go.
Thanks for the ideas. Anya has plenty of toys, but I remembered what the vet said about rat terriers when I brought her home. "She'll get bored with the same toys, so make sure you mix them up." I'd forgotten all about that. I wondered if part of her problem was that she quite playing with her toys. I switched out sveral of her favorites today and am going to find some type of enclosure or gate on Saturday. In the meantime we're going to crate her a bit more. If I can catch the neighbor, I'll try and get the dogs introduced. But their little guy seems to be by himself a lot. Everyone, thanks again for the great ideas. If you've got anymore, I'm always open for suggestions.
Well, accidentally met the neighbor on our walk last night. They came around a corner and Anya jumped and barked until I said sit and then she did. But the other little guy started jumping all over me and that did not suit her at all. I picked her up because it was clear that my neighbor didn't see his dog as a threat at all and was just going to let him wander around. I took several steps away to make sure that the dog couldn't jump on me anymore and Anya calmed down and just looked at the other dog. I found out that they moved from another apartment in the complex because of complaints about the dog's barking. The dog is a small breed, but I'm not sure what and he's very friendly, but I wouldn't let Anya jump on anyone, especially someone with a dog. I wasn't sure how to approach the situation and being that it was pretty late at night, I didn't want to 1) prolong the encounter and 2) let the dogs mix when I couldn't see all that well or possibly let their barking disturb other neighbors. Any advice now that the door is open so to speak? He's obviously aware of the barking and whining and doesn't seem to have many boundaries with his pet.
So Anya is playing with her new toys, but does someone have something similar to the Kong, but not as tough they could recommend. Although she attempts to get the treat out for a while, she doesn't seem to like chewing on it very much. I've got some softer toys she likes much better, but they don't last as long and there's no treat on the inside. I was wondering if there was a happy medium. I'm off to find a gate or something similar to corral her. Thanks.
So Anya is playing with her new toys, but does someone have something similar to the Kong, but not as tough they could recommend. Although she attempts to get the treat out for a while, she doesn't seem to like chewing on it very much. I've got some softer toys she likes much better, but they don't last as long and there's no treat on the inside. I was wondering if there was a happy medium. I'm off to find a gate or something similar to corral her. Thanks.