A million issues basically stemming around our recent move.

[Bonne Bouche]

 Ok, I'm in need of a lot of help from the DK community...

 

BB was neutered about 20 days ago, and we moved houses/towns 10 days ago. For the first 10 days of BB's neutering we did fairly well keeping his energy level below normal and not "exercising" (frisbee, zoomies, etc) outdoors. Then, we moved. Our new house has a very small yard, and it is in a town, so there's absolutely no more "off leash" time. It has been incredibly HOT here in PA, and BB doesn't do well in heat (or even warmth!), we've been taking him on 2 short walks (8am/8pm) around the neighborhood (calculation on google maps shows its about .6 miles -- is that too long for a 6month old?) to help.

 

Between the fact that we are still not finished unpacking and there are a million things for BB to get in to, and the fact that his energy is more pent up than usual without having  a good outdoor space to play in more freely, BB has been somewhat of a handful. 95% of the day he is perfectly fine, normal, sweet, and loveable BB. 5% have been challenging, to say the least.

 

For the first time he started destroying his toys. Previously we'd give him a milk jug and he'd push it around and chew on it for weeks at a time before it got too gross that we'd toss it. Yesterday I gave him a completely fresh one, and he was shredding it within minutes. Then he found an old plastic "hot dog" toy that lost its squeak awhile back and just started picking it to pieces! Very uncharacteristic for him, could it be "stress" related?

He also has been bringing his toys to us to play with them. This is fine, however he has recently decided it is "fun" to chew the toy ON us. Occasionally getting small pieces of US in his mouth as well (hands, legs, etc). If we "push him off" it doesn't stop (part of the game). This was very bad the other day, so I took him to his crate, let him unwind for 30 minutes, but when I brought him out again, same behavior, different toy. Does he need more attention? It may sound silly, but how should we give it to him when he is "calling out" to us like that?

 

We now live in a duplex and barking, where it was just a nusance previously, cannot really be tolerated. When he gets feisty, he'll bark AT us for attention. When correcting him with a sharp "NO" he barks in response, if I then correct again, he barks back! The sharper the "No" the louder the bark. He's clearly being a defiant teenager. I have found that the only way to stop the cycle is to "redirect" the barking spell by leaving or moving just ignoring doesn't stop it, but I feel that in that case, I am "losing" and he is being dominant. He seems to be "challenging" me. Help on what I SHOULD be doing here?

 

Also, I am ridiculously paranoid about him "getting out". Since we live on a street very close to high traffic, I constantly worry about him getting loose when we go out to potty, etc. I feel like I'm worried his collar will break/come off, the leash will break, or i'll drop the leash, and he'll just zoomie away (he has a habit of getting zoomies when he knows he's "off leash" outside). Any reassurance here?

 

I think the behavior issues are stemmed from a number compounding of issues: Stress from the move, normal "schedules" being off, hormones balancing from the neutering, defiant teenager stage, and less release of energy. (am I missing anything else?)

 

Some of the above will balance out in time, others can be specifically dealt with now. In 2 weeks I will be starting obedience class with him for dogs 6-12 months, which I think will be a good release for him, and training for me. We also want to take him to a doggy daycare at least one day a week, but there is only one locally and they aren't calling me back (:-/). For the most part both my husband and I work from home on alternating days of the week, so he isn't left in his cage for more than a few hours at a time for errands etc, so its not like he's pent up all day, either.

 

Any help would be greatly appreciated, sorry for the ridiculous length!

 

Two recent photos for your enjoyment (a reward for reading my rambling):

BB helping the boy chinchillas move from their travel cage back into their normal cage.

Our new kitchen has ceramic tile flooring, and it didn't take long for BB to realize its very cool.

[Allyson, Peri & Taquito]

To be brief, I think you answered your questions yourself.  The stress of the move, compiled with surgery AND he is hitting adolescence. At 6 months, Peri started shredding toys, barking for attention and basically became "hell on wheels".  Obedience training will help TREMENDOUSLY and once you get more settled in your home, he will settle. This will pass and is 120% normal for his age and your situation.  Train, train, train. And get some elk or deer antlers for him to gnaw on.

[Bonne Bouche]

Thank you. he loves bully's, but what has previously lasted a week, is now gone in about 30 minutes (yikes!). I guess we'll try some antlers, now! Thanks for the reassurance. ;-] I think the class will be crucial, and comes at a perfect time for us.

 

;-]

[Allyson, Peri & Taquito]

Go to Antler Pantry  MUCH CHEAPER than pet stores.

[Bonne Bouche]

Just picked up 3 from their Etsy store (for some reason they had additional product on there, and cheaper shipping!). Large whole antler, large half antler, elk rosette. BB is going to be a very happy pup.

[Heather & Brinkley]

Yep, right around months chew toys/bones etc that lasted for weeks didn't stand a chance for more then a few minutes.  Good luck.  I will say Brinkley's time around when he got fixed was CRAZY.  He's probably just really wanting to run... I know I was ready for him to run.  And we live on a very busy street-- and Brinkley is still alive 1 1/2 years later. :) When we play with him "off leash" in the yard we keep the leash on him but drop it and throw the ball for him.  This has always kept him from bolting bc he still feels the leash.  We'll be getting a fence soon.  Good luck!

[Jennifer,Chloe & Myla]

Wow! That's a lot of change for all of you! Most of this is the age and Chloe was out of hand-she had to go to beginner obedience 3 times (different places) The class will help and make him tired. Chloe shreds ALL toys now so all she gets is a chew toy. Maybe if you are worried so much about his collar you can try a harness for more protection??? The new environment probably is confusing for him too, this may take time. Good luck and let us know how his classes go!

[Bonne Bouche]

yes, it is a lot of change. Initially we didn't think it would be as bad is it was. Its unfortunate because we couldn't control our move date, and BB had to be neutered before 6 months for his Health Guarantee to continue covering him. We are using a harness now but I don't Love it. We're waiting for him to gain another 5 lbs to fit into the Gentle Leader Easy Walk harness we got from my parents (Just a tad to loose right now). I think then I'll feel much better.

Thanks for your feedback!

[Adina P]

I look at it differently.  Yes he's a teen and has lots of excess energy but he's also discovering new ways of doing things, getting attention, etc and USING them.  My preferred solution is to work him in obedience...and very seriously and daily and consistently.  BRAIN exercise can really wear out a dog!  Plus then you can tell him to 'down stay' when he's being pushy or tell him to go to his bed...and you can train a reliable recall, waiting at the door (never going out the front without your OK) and MORE!  That is the beauty of training...you can then use the commands you've trained to change what is happening :)

[Bonne Bouche]

I like your perspective. We will need to work more on his training. Doing so will have two positive consequences, getting his energy out (mentally) and giving him something to do when he needs attention. We have not been working on training as much as we should. We are struggling finding effective and easy to use rewards that are OK for him to eat in moderate quantity. We started with just kibble, and that doesn't really motivate him. Using boiled chicken does, but its hard to use and too much "ruin's his appetite"... Sigh...

[Adina P]

As to toy destruction.  That's pretty much how most dogs 'play' with stuff...they rarely just squeeze toys hard enough to squeak them and leave it at that.  They like to pull, crack, tear, etc.  So anything but the toys MEANT for hard chewing you either have to accept they will be destroyed or supervise them or limit their time with those toys/use as a reward.

[Allyson, Peri & Taquito]

Peri is 2+ Years old and she doesn't have ANY plush toys.  Waste of $$ in our house. Poor brother Taquito :(

[Heather Martinez]

Teddy started shredding his toys at 7 months. He's working his way through every stuffed toy he has and tearing out the stuffing. He can go through a 12 inch bully stick in 10 minutes! At 4 months old, he was also barking for attention (barking at us when we're in view of him). We worked with a trainer and tried several techniques to stop this. What worked was giving him two warnings "QUIET". If he did not stop barking, we put a soft muzzle on him for 1 minute. It took a couple of days for him to figure it out and then the behavior stopped completely.