I think I need to get rid of Stew...UPDATE!

[Jess & Stewart]

I haven't posted on here in awhile. Long story short, Stew has been really great lately, UNTIL YESTERDAY. He's out of the crate in the mornings, I have a tall baby gate up, the dog walker puts him in after their walk and he's fine until I come home. He barely notices when I leave. He'd been so good lately that I hadn't been recording him. He'd been listening, happy, fun,.playful, snuggly, just getting to be a great dog etc. 

I have an appt with our trainer next week because he's been really stubborn with his harness and come He just sits or lays down and doesn't move at all towards me, then when he comes he tries to bite the harness and isn't very cooperative. But I didn't need the guarding or separation anxiety addressed. 

Yesterday, I get home and my dog walker's note said that he was the on the other side of the gate and opened my bedroom door and grabbed a pair of shoes but didn't chew them. Nothing else seemed out of place. This morning when I leave, Stew was on guard, wasn't his usual aloof self. Made sure the gate was latched/locked shut and put something heavy in front of my bedroom door. 

Get to work and open the app website, Stew isn't in my living room and there's someone in my apt!! I freaked out, then realized it was maintenance guys installing my dishwasher. I rewind the feed and Stew JUMPED over my 41' tall baby gate. Apparently maintenance talked to another Jess with a dog, that dog was going to be put in the bedroom. So when they saw stew got into my bedroom, they just shut the door. 

I freaked out, called my landlord and said I didn't know people would be in my apt and could they please put stew in his crate like last time. Landlord says they will. They don't, then they leave and i can't see what Stew's getting into. So I was in panic mode until my dog walker could get there at 10:30. 

Dog walker got him and took him out and I asked her to assess the damage. I'm freaking out that he chewed clothes, my moving boxes I had piled up etc. 

I really can't take all this worrying and stress. Stew's been SO great, no issues for months now he started this again. It really affects me and I had just stopped worrying and thought this was our new normal and he'd just continue being a great dog. I'm so jealous of you all with minimal issues--I feel like I put so much into Stew and wanted him so badly and he's the worst dog I've ever encountered with weird issues. I wish all my family who had dogs and mocked me for it (i have one & you don't) had issues while I had the 'good' dog. Sigh.   Of course, after all that freaking out, Stew didn't chew anything, just saw a shirt I wore yesterday on the floor when I got home. Closet door was open. He also barked when I tried on my new pair of jeans & I asked how they looked. That stinker. I got to the hardware store & got hook/eye closures. We'll see if they work.

[Lucy & AnnaBelle's Mom]

When you say he hates to be crated, what exactly does that mean?  It sounds like he might need to be crated for his own safety.  We had a foster that could stand flat footed and jump a 41" gate.  I never left the house for 2 weeks because I was afraid to leave him home alone and he would freak out if I crated him other than meal time.  Finally one day I just said screw it, left him out and watched from outside for a little while and he was fine.  I'm not saying you should do that with Stew because he chews, but I think I would work on getting him to be more comfortable in his crate.  Make it his go to place.  

[Stella]

Get a copy of Susan Garrett's Crate Games DVD - you can order it online and work on getting him comfortable and happy in his crate. Then he will crate easily, of his own free will, and you won't have to worry about him while you are at work. Keep working with the trainer on the other stuff. It will come. If I remember, he is still quite young? These dogs are smart and need lots of stimulation - physical and mental. If they are bored they will find their own ways of entertaining themselves - as you are discovering. Doodles are not couch potato dogs, and they take a lot of ongoing training. The training never ends, it is lifelong, and they will test you to see what they can get away with. Stick with it, it is so worth it.

[Jess & Stewart]

I've done all those crate games with Stew basically since he was 6 months old. He is about 2 now. He got good with the crate, even going in on his own a bit, then that stopped when I was unemployed & he's never gotten back to liking it. Now he doesn't even go near it so I try other ways to confine him- the 41 inch gate.

[Jennifer and Jack]

Dogs are not trophies to be shown off as perfect things….  No dog is perfect. The pee and poop, sometimes where you don't want them to. They definitely get into trouble, some more than others. Some listen better, some eat better some poop is firmer than others…. Each dog is an individual.  

Your dog sounds great….. I understand worrying that he is going to get into trouble to hurt himself.  Especially if he has a history of that.  It sounds like you are trying, You have a dog walker which is good.  Is there a day care you can bring him to instead?  They run them all day and let them play, he can't get into trouble yet his need to be social will be more than met.

Dogs are like kids, especially younger dogs… They have a zeal and a zest for all things good and bad… He isn't chewing your stuff up to be bad. He is bored or teething.   

In addition to what you are doing, I would do some bonding activities with him… Take him out and let him socialize and have you interact with other people and he with dogs… Do stuff that makes you feel good about being a pet owner.  I don't sense a real super bond with him… I could be wrong but it feels like you have a laundry list (no pun intended) of ways and ideas that you want him to be and perform……  oh and YUCK don't compare him to others….. Fall in love with him because he is yours…. You are the only human and life he has.    

My guy is six… I could list a million things I wish he would do different…. He's mine, I love him, I would never give him away, nor would those words in cross my mind because I am committed to him but I am also majorly bonded with him and he is my family.

I feel bad for both of you, both your dog and you.. He is going to sense your displeasure in him and not know why which is going to stress him out…...

Don't try for no issues. take a deep breath and deal with what comes…. He sounds bored to me… A tired dog is a good dog,

[Diane, Baker & Oskar]

Dogs are thinking beings & have the capacity of a 2-3 year old child.  You cannot expect, nor do you want, perfect behavior. 

If you know Stew will get into things, pick everything up before you leave him.  Minimize what he can get into & a big part of your problem is solved.  He can't chew or eat things he can't get into.  Leave safe toys, maybe a peanut butter Kong, & don't throw clothes or shoes on the floor.  

He's not working at being naughty...he's bored & young...some of what he does is just to pass the time & satisfy his curiosity.

Don't place so much value on what your family members or friends say...people always want to make themselves look flawless & their dogs have just as many issues as anyone else's dog...perhaps different issues, but they are not perfect.

Try to relax...enjoy Stew for his good qualities & work toward helping him succeed.  

[Jess & Stewart]

My issue is that, everything was picked up. practically have nothing out in my apt. It's all stuck behind a door, closet etc because of Stew. He doesn't get kongs or toys, although I'm slowly trying to reintroduce them. If I leave him with anything, he tends to guard it when the dog walker arrives or from me when I get home. That becomes a 30-60 minute stand off because he will growl & snap if you even try to go near him. So it ends up that millions of bits of food are in the crate, behind the gate etc-anything to get him away from the object he is guarding so I can grab it.

In this instance, he jumped a 41 inch gate, opened my bedroom door then opened my closet door. Unfortunately my landlord didn't install real doors that stay closed, they can be pushed open. Now for tomorrow, I shoved everything in my closet in my bathroom which is the only door that closes. I'm like a refugee in disarray just to make sure he gets into nothing.

I can't wait to live in an actual apartment with doors with locks or doors that shut. For now I have an entire year to go, it can't go fast enough.

[Nancy and Georgia Brown]

I have been following your struggles with Stew from the beginning since Stew is the same age as my Georgia. I sympathize with you.

I have a friend at the dog park that tells the story of the dog she got prior to her current dog. It was a rhodesian ridgeback. She struggled with so many issues and tried to make it work. After a year she decided it was too much. She called the people she got it from and they found a good home for the dog with a woman that loves the breed and had a lot of space for it to roam. She delivered the dog personally to the place and felt very good about it all. She now has a very large black lab who is Georgia's friend. She couldn't be more in love with the dog and they are very happy.

The point of the story is that sometimes things aren't meant to be. But you have to analyze where you are at. If your energy is frustration, and I hear it in your emails, maybe Stewart is picking up on that energy and dogs tend to project the owner's energy. I'm not doubting that he loves you and you are doing everything you can to make it work, but maybe it's just not a good match. I'm also not encouraging you to go out and get a different dog as I'm sensing as much as you want it, it may not be the best time in your life for a dog. But I can't know that, just putting it out there. And I don't want you to beat yourself up about it, I want you to seriously sit down in a moment of quite and figure out what you really want if there was no guilt attached, and decide from there. He is very young and could be rehomed quite easily I'm sure.

[Laurie, Fudge, and Vern]

I think this is excellent advice. 

[Oliver & Elizabeth]

I'm in my late 20s, Oliver is my first dog, we live in a small townhouse in the city, and my boyfriend and I work long hours. Oliver has been a lot of work and is not perfect even after about 50 training classes (including one session/seminar with Ian Dunbar). I've been overwhelmed and thought that maybe I'm just not cut out for this--like when I have a headache from work and Oliver just wont stop barking at the dog next door. I understand what you're going through.

In the first year that I had Oliver I was nervous out about everything, and he was constantly at the vet for every little ailment. In fact, one time I was in such a panic to get to the vet, that I got in a car accident because I was distracted and not thinking straight (Oliver has a small bump on his side that turned out to be nothing). Another time, Oliver didn't eat for a day, so (after googling every possible cause) I rushed him to the vet thinking he had a GI obstruction, the x-rays determined that he had gas.

Three years later, I still freak out when he gets into something that he shouldn't, but every time a little less. It also seems like your hard work isn't in vain, Stew isn't chewing on things when he gets out--that's pretty cool. However, to ease your mind, maybe you can buy some kind of lockable storage box that you can put your "high risk" items in when you leave him alone at the house.

Overall, try to relax and exude calm leadership energy around Stew, his anxiety could be feeding off your anxiety (e.g., Stew is scared of you putting him in the crate because you're scared to put him in the crate). I know when I get anxious and tense up on the leash when another dog walks by us on the sidewalk, Oliver also gets more tense and reactive. I now try to stand tall and be calm, and it's been better--it took me two years to get to this point so I know it's hard.

Good luck, even bratty dogs like Stew and Oliver would miss us if we were gone (and we'd miss them too)! :)

[Jess & Stewart]

Thanks Elizabeth, I really appreciate I'm not alone with my "brat". We call him Chunky Stew when he does bratty things :)  UPenn Vet knows Stew by name when we come in :) If he wasn't such a Houdini, I wouldn't worry. This is the dog that has jumped his crate, opened my bedroom door, opened the closet door, dug through laundry bin to get underwear and proceeded to EAT the crotch of 3 pairs of underwear.

THANK GOD, they came back up. So, I panic whenever he gets into anything. Thankfully, he's finally become a pro at "drop it" & "leave it", at least when I'm near him LOL.

I'm actually surprised he hasn't seemed to chew things the past 2 days, thankfully. Hopefully it sticks! 

[GBK]

My first poodle mix used to eat the crotches out of my underwear.  I thought the washing machine was tearing them up until I found his colorful poop the next few days :)  Nothing like a dog to make you pick up your clothes.

[DJ & Chance]

LOL, my standard poodle thought underwear crotches were candy.  I had to be really careful at putting these items of clothing out of reach.