Desperate Measures-Stew's barking, I was YELLED at.

[Jess & Stewart]

I was harshly yelled at last night by a neighbor for Stew's barking. I suspected he'd been barking more during the day lately, so I ordered a bark collar. Ironically, it's being delivered tomorrow. I came home, took Stew outside, then left him out of the crate while I ran down to put laundry in the washer. I literally walked very quickly down the stairs, threw detergent and my laundry in and came back upstairs. Gone 2 minutes. Stew was SCREAMING, hence the rush. As I exited my basement I heard one of my neighbors SCREAMING "it's time to take care of the dog" over & over. He saw me run up the steps, I said "sorry, I just ran down for my laundry, I know I suspect he's been barking more, I'm working on it." As I said this quickly, he kept saying "no, no, it's ALL day, everyday, ALL day, start taking care of that & the dog or I'm calling the landlord the next time he barks". As he was saying this, I started to ask "do you notice if it's morning, evening etc" He said the landlord thing again quickly and then slammed his door.

I was so distraught, I grabbed Stew, my phone and took him for a long walk. It was about 7 pm. My phone has been not holding a charge, so it died about 20 minutes later as I was sobbing on the phone to my mom. I cried for almost our whole walk, I must have looked crazy. I then just did my usual route, about a mile to a park & back, adding other streets in. Just because I didn't want to go back to my apt.

I came back around 8:10. I brought Stew down with me both times I emptied the washer & dryer. I also didn't take a shower, since I normally put him in the crate. I took off work today because I was so worried/upset, called a coworker, who let me borrow her bark collar for today. I didn't have much to do at work today & my supervisor is out, so I don't feel bad, LOL.

The same coworker has dogs & is having a party tonight, offered to pick us up later around 3:30 & have us at her place tonight. Tomorrow & Sunday, I'll be in NJ. Stew has pre-op for his neuter next week. I'll also be in NJ from Wednesday night until Sunday next week. Neuter is Thursday morning & I took Friday off work. Maybe being away & now having the bark collar will help...

I just can't believe how that guy snapped at me. Also, I'm typically in NJ most weekends, but I haven't been there for about 3 weeks as my dad's work picked up. I'm wondering if he was just partially having a really bad day, since I've had Stew in his crate while I'm at work since December. I've only seen this guy maybe 5 times since I moved here in July. His GF is a teacher, I see her often and she always says hi to us & pets Stew. I thought he was also, but he seemed like he was home during the day. The apartment is pet friendly, there are 4 dogs including Stew, but I rarely see the other neighbors' dogs. There are no breed or size restrictions, so I know I'm fine, but I'm still shaken up considering if the landlord would do anything.

My sister is moving to NJ with her dog, so I'm hopeful we'll just end up spending the weekends together, so that lessens the barking on the neighbors & gives Stew stimulation/exercise.

Stew has also become quite aggressive, really growling, lunging & nipping. He hasn't broken any skin on me, but he's really started to guard. Almost like he's territorial. He growls if I open my closet to get laundry out of my hamper when I stand in front of him. He really wants to grab something. If he gets a hold of something he does not want to give it up. He'll drop it, but when he sits & I approach to grab it or give him a treat, then grab, he growls. He snapped this morning when I went to grab my shoe he had dropped, he attached himself to my jeans & ankle, snarling, growling, biting.

I'm hopeful he's just testing me & that the neuter will REALLY CALM him down. Geez, sorry for the length!

[Jess & Stewart]

My sister is fine taking him, she's actually very excited. She's moving here on Tuesday this week so she'll take this and next week to settle in, which is the perfect time for her to watch Stew. I will be with him after his surgery on Thursday until Sunday night. She will take him Monday until Friday midday when I get off work.

How quickly do they bounce back from the neuter usually? I don't want to leave him after the 3 days if he'll still be really recovering. Does that plan seem reasonable? I don't want to "leave him" and have him think I've left him with my sister....

[Deborah Brown]

My dogs were bouncing off the walls after 24 hours.  It will be more difficult to keep him quiet than anything else.  It's great that your sister can help and this will give you more time to get a plan together.

I still think a trainer can help with the separation anxiety issues.  I also agree that exercise can be helpful.  If it were me, I'd try to find a half day doggie day care for the morning and then bring him home at lunch time for a good long nap.

[Jess & Stewart]

I've sent an email to the instructor of the puppy class asking about setting up an appointment. I also called and left a message for good measure. I'd love to do daycare but I do not own a car and cannot afford to take a cab there, then take a cab on my lunch break to get him.

I feel like he isn't such a high strung, energetic doodle as he's perfectly fine with me on the weekends after a long walk in the morning, some fetch and potty trips. He mostly lounges around, periodically plays with some of his toys. But I could be wrong.

I'm hoping a trainer will tell me it's mainly a confinement issue, since he's out of the crate all the time except for when I'm at work. We'll see how he does Monday with feeding him after I leave with the treat toys, a stuffed KONG and room to roam.

[Joanne ~ Spud*]

About the lunging and grabbing.  Spud is five.  He is also a retriever. Both Poodles and Goldens are retrievers.  For us, we immediately grab that sock and let him have it when we are doing laundry. He thinks we are playing and he wants to partake   He goes downstairs each and ever time we do laundry.  The only catch is that he has to have something in his mouth. He carries a sock each time.  HE is working!

So, my next question is, does he chew or destroy?  If not, let him have whatever he wants in his mouth and walk around with you as you do chores. If it doesn't hurt anything, dont fight the retriever dog mentality.  I know some are picker than I am but this trick works.   If he does destroy or chews than this is too dangerous and never mind,

The biting and lunging could be just puppy play or it could be something.  A good trainer is needed now  :)  We just cant tell from here online

As for barking, sorry. It's a tough. It's like asking us to never speak again. Dogs bark. My only solution is to play with him. Play a good game of fetch at noon and not a walk.  Walks dont even touch the surface to tire out a dog. 

[Jess & Stewart]

He does chew on whatever he gets, he's never torn any socks or clothing apart. He chews pretty aggressively though, really soaks the socks with his saliva.

I know without a doubt it's not puppy play. He came at my while he was chewing a bone earlier today. I had walked over to fix the corner of my rug, it's a large oriental, he was laying half on his dog bed/half on the rug on the other side of it. There was a toy on that side, so he may have thought I was going to get that.

[Enid Ferner]

For starters, I think you are a kind responsible dog owner and you have good intentions. It just sounds to me like you're not an experienced dog owner?
Putting a young active breed dog in a crate for 8 hours a day is just asking for very serious behavioural problems. I'm not surprised that Stew is acting out....he has extreme pent up energy that is not getting burned off. Poor guy.
Letting him out briefly in mid day is not enough.
I personally couldn't imagine owning a young GD and living in an apartment, unless you were home most of the time and were VERY active....where the dog got out and about both on leash and off leash many times during the day.
Both Poodles (especially Poodles!) and G Retrievers are intelligent and active dogs that need a lot of mental stimulation and exercise. All the stuffed kongs and chew bones in the world are not going to solve the problem, and certainly treats with calming additives are not going to solve the problem either, I can guarantee that.
Somehow get that dog out of the crate during the day, whether it is doggy daycare or whatever..... Even if it is just for half a day, he NEEDS to burn off steam! And find a good fenced in area where he can run his little heart out off leash on a regular basis, preferably with other dogs. You will notice a different Stew, I promise.

[Oliver & Elizabeth]

In terms of over feeding and Kongs, I just made sure it was all healthy. Essentially his Kong is stuffed with 85% kibble, 10% peanut butter and yogurt mixed together, and 5% high value treat wedged at the end. The kibble he's getting is his regular meal kibble stuffed into the Kong to keep him busy. The yogurt peanut butter mixture is just enough to make the kibble sticky and hard to get out. Nonfat cream cheese is also a great idea. Make sure your adding the treat items in moderation and you'll be fine. We have about 5 different treat dispensing toys--check out Planet Dog toys, they're awesome! You're doing a great job raising Stew.

The trainer can help you with the more serious stuff, the most important thing is that you're addressing puppy behavior issues before they turn into real adult problems. Puppies aren't born perfectly trained! :)