My Brothers Pitbull Tore Up My Niece

[Jiggles]

's baby books the other day along with a buncha magazines, parts of the couch and handheld massager.

Any advice on how to get him to not destroy the house when we aren't home?

Here's the little destructive faggot

[AznJoJo]

put him down.

[Apex]

Muzzle.

[Jiggles]

Originally Posted by AznJoJo

put him down.

Y so u can eat him!?

[iNinja]

try getting him a bunch of dog chews and toys as a replacement. maybe some kind of bitter spray that tastes nasty that he won't ever think of chewing it again. a kong ball with some treats inside may keep him busy plus they are pretty hard to destroy. i have a pit bull as well who has yet to chew up his.

[Apex]

My mother-in-law's French Bulldog loves to chew. He was going through toys and bones so fast. I went out and got the hardest bone I could find. I forget who makes it or what it was made out of. It is still going and has been several months instead of a couple of weeks. She got another one as well just to be safe. lol

Plenty of chew toys keeps the dog from chewing other stuff. Still, the dog will on occasion chew on a rug or something he shouldn't. When he does that, his bone is under the couch or hidden somewhere. I am normally the one who finds it. I am thinking about making a little "mount" for the bone so he never loses it.

[AznJoJo]

No thanks I only eat dogs that are fed well. Eat a dog that eats trash, and well you know. Circle of life.

[Jiggles]

Originally Posted by iNinja

try getting him a bunch of dog chews and toys as a replacement. maybe some kind of bitter spray that tastes nasty that he won't ever think of chewing it again. a kong ball with some treats inside may keep him busy plus they are pretty hard to destroy. i have a pit bull as well who has yet to chew up his.

There are tons of toys down here already along with bones, it's like he can't differentiate what is a toy and what isn't. Oh he eats shoes and drink coasters as well. A kong ball probably won't be a good idea because theres 5 dogs and 4 of them are very food jealous. Even if I got each of them their own some jealous bitch would get all mad and steal them all (one of the little dogs).

The bitter spray, I'd be able to put it on everything? Like, the couch, magazines, drink coasters?

[iNinja]

you could try this stuff:

http://www.petco.com/product/102752/...nd-Horses.aspx

magazines you would just have to put up somewhere i guess. i'm sure the couch and coasters can be sprayed. that stuff says it's non-staining.

another popular spray is grannick's bitter apple.

[Jiggles]

Ordered some bitter yuck

Free 2 day shipping from amazon yippee! It'll be here tuesday! (wait thats 4 days.....)

[iNinja]

haha, good luck.

[adouglas]

It has to do with leadership.

For years we'd heard about this amazing show called The Dog Whisperer. When we finally got NatGeo and saw it, we were like... "So what's the big deal? We've been doing this stuff forever."

Yeah, we've had dogs chew stuff. Every dog does. Our newest one trashed a brand-new table and ate a few shoes. It doesn't last long and we don't beat them up about it. What we do is set them straight and they get over it.

A dog thinks you're just a larger, funny-looking dog. If you don't behave like his pack leader, he'll pay no attention to your wishes.

Dogs do not understand English. They have learned to associate certain sounds and behaviors with certain consequences. So saying "BAD!" doesn't do anything if you don't also make it clear that the dog had better not do it again. That does NOT mean physical violence. Dogs are very good at reading body language.

Watch dogs playing dominance games. Ever see a dog "play bite" or mouth another dog? That's a dominance thing. Grab the dog by the back of the neck using your hand like a dog would use its jaws. Get the dog's attention -- look it in the eye -- and tell it whatever you're going to tell it... "NO." or whatever.

Get the dog to understand that you're the leader. Take it on a walk, on a short leash, and whenever its attention starts to wander give it a yank and make a sharp sound. MAKE the dog pay attention.

Dogs also don't hold grudges. They take the correction and will be happy and wagging three seconds later. Dogs WILL get aggressive and fearful if abused. Don't - EVER - abuse the dog (or any animal).

Bottom line: It's not about punishment. It's about respect.

[Jiggles]

So your saying I need to choke a bitch?

A walk is probably out of the question but I will be Mr. Aggressive pack leader, grrrr

[Heed]

that's a cute destructive phaggot

[Jiggles]

They are totally gay for eachother arent they lol

[xMoises831]

haha thats a nice pit ! but keep it outside in a shed or something dont ever leave it inside by itself .. dont even leave it by itself if you go take a sh**

[NoSkillsMcSuckington]

Never had ANY luck with bitter spray. Some dogs seem to like it. Best advice is above, you must establish yourself as leader. Physical violence just instills fear and distrust. It's a confidence thing that they can read. When you get it right, it works like a charm. I can't do it, but my wife can. Go figure.

[adouglas]

Originally Posted by Jiggles

So your saying I need to choke a bitch?

A walk is probably out of the question but I will be Mr. Aggressive pack leader, grrrr

"Aggressive" is the wrong mindset. You'll just get aggression back. You're not looking for a fight here.

Think about being a kid and doing something wrong. Your dad grabs you by the shoulder, looks you in the eye and says in a quiet, deadly serious tone, "Don't you ever do that again."

You're so scared you remember that incident forever… but he never raised his voice, never hit you, never even made it feel like he was going to hit you. He just made it absolutely clear that nonsense would not be tolerated.

You know, the kind of experience that puts the fear of God into you without being a shouting match.

Think about it… how does that get communicated? It's all the non-verbal signals. You know the expression "exudes authority?" You can tell someone's in charge just by looking at them. That's it.

Any man who's been married understands this. You KNOW when your wife is not to be messed with.

Think "calm assertive" rather that "angry aggressive."

[Alex]

Originally Posted by Jiggles

and handheld massager.

Ah, neck massager. That's the ticket. Neck massager.

[NinjetteNewfie]

Get an indoor kennel/crate for him, had to get one for my crazy Lab when he was younger. Put him in there when you're at work or when you can't keep an eye on him. My pooch is 5 now and he loves it, rarely has to stay in it now, but he likes to go in there and relax with the door open.

[rusninja]

Dogs in your household are cam whores >.>

[userjh160]

One thing I learned was that you have to catch him in the "act" and correct him at that time. Showing him what he did wrong 2 hours later does not work, he has already forgotten what he did and has moved on to something else. Another thing I learned was that they sort of think like kids, negative attention (telling him he is "bad") is the same to them as positive attention. Some dogs crave attention, if they can't get it by being good, they try other alternatives so that they can get your attention, whether it is good or not, they get some attention from you which will reinforce their bad behavior. It sucks that you may not have time to give them exercise daily, but you have to find a way to give them a little exercise or mentally challenge them or they tend to get bored and can become destructive. I try to walk my dog on a daily basis, if not I try to play with her - toss a toy, make her "work" for her treat i.e., sit, shake her paw, drop her toys on command, or sit/stay for a short time period and then praise her with a treat and a belly rub. Adouglas was right on about becoming a good pack leader - you have to feel it from within or trust me they can sense it if you are faking. You also have to be consistent with your training or it will confuse them -- sort of like "I got away with it yesterday so why can I not get away with it today"? Hope it helps.

[Jiggles]

So he ate the TV remote and the leather case on my tablet. He doesn't do stuff when anyone is home its only when we leave that he goes foraging for **** to eat. We have never caught him in the act.

I think the next step is to either put him in a kennel or keep him outside because this is getting ridiculous.

[Confuzshuz]

Originally Posted by Jiggles

So he ate the TV remote and the leather case on my tablet. He doesn't do stuff when anyone is home its only when we leave that he goes foraging for **** to eat. We have never caught him in the act.

I think the next step is to either put him in a kennel or keep him outside because this is getting ridiculous.

sometimes, it's not the dog that needs the training......

don't leave things out where it's accessible to the dog

[dfox]

Originally Posted by Confuzshuz

don't leave things out where it's accessible to the dog

this.

the chewing is likely due to anxiety from you being gone, not because he's just angry or bored. do some anxiety training to fix the cause of the problem. fix the cause, and the symptom will go away. fix the symptom (sprays, etc.), and another will manifest itself.

I know because my dog did very similar things when we left the house. some periodic anxiety training got rid of the problem. Get ready as if you're leaving for hours, go out the door, wait 5 seconds, then come back in and sit down. repeat this several times, lengthening the time outdoors. only do this a few times per day, and keep repeating, walking around the block, etc. Eventually, your dog will begin to recognize that when you leave, you come back, and the anxiety, and thus the nervous chewing, will go away.

and dogs learn a lot more, and a LOT faster (on the magnitude of 10 times faster) to positive training rather than negative training. yell at a dog 30 times for doing something wrong, or treat the dog 3 times for something right, and they'll get the hint. people work the same way.

[dfox]

and cute dog, i love pits.

[psych0hans]

You prick!!! You scared the **** out of me with your title... lol Obedience training is what you need... Oh, your dog could use some as well...

[Jiggles]

They took him to obedience training and he didn't respond to it at all, he is super stubborn. I also don't think it's anxiety because he doesn't care when people leave. The other dogs will stand at the gate and watch us leave but often times he just continues to lay in his bed. I ordered some kong treats for them so hopefully that will help.

Last night I caught him chewing on this old suction cup mount I don't use anymore though to be fair it was on the floor so it was fair game. I stuck some peanut butter in a bone gave it to him and went to bed hope it worked

[userjh160]

Originally Posted by NinjetteNewfie

Get an indoor kennel/crate for him. Put him in there when you're at work or when you can't keep an eye on him. My pooch is 5 now and he loves it, rarely has to stay in it now, but he likes to go in there and relax with the door open.

Well since you have just about exhausted everything else, I also think this is the best option for you. We crate both our dogs at night which is good also since they know that is "their place", dogs need to have a place that they can "unwind" also. Plus you know your stuff wont get destroyed
I would suggest a metal one he could chew up the plastic one.

[alex.s]

Originally Posted by AznJoJo

put him down.

That's ****ed up

[siebadn]

Originally Posted by Jiggles

Last night I caught him chewing on this old suction cup mount I don't use anymore though to be fair it was on the floor so it was fair game. I stuck some peanut butter in a bone gave it to him and went to bed hope it worked

My ex-roommate did this with her dog and it backfired horribly. The dog learned everytime it chewed something up it got peanut butter. I guess it associated the chewing act with getting a treat and always wanted a treat. It started tearing up EVERYTHING in the apartment.

[Jiggles]

Damn lol

[LoneRonin]

Destructive behaviour is usually due to boredom. I love my Boxer, best dog ever, he just lounges on the couch all day waiting for you to come home...
Either muzzle him or crate him until he gets over his behaviour. Is he still young?

[Jiggles]

Yea, less than a year

[YORCHI]

Originally Posted by adouglas

It has to do with leadership.

For years we'd heard about this amazing show called The Dog Whisperer. When we finally got NatGeo and saw it, we were like... "So what's the big deal? We've been doing this stuff forever."

Yeah, we've had dogs chew stuff. Every dog does. Our newest one trashed a brand-new table and ate a few shoes. It doesn't last long and we don't beat them up about it. What we do is set them straight and they get over it.

A dog thinks you're just a larger, funny-looking dog. If you don't behave like his pack leader, he'll pay no attention to your wishes.

Dogs do not understand English. They have learned to associate certain sounds and behaviors with certain consequences. So saying "BAD!" doesn't do anything if you don't also make it clear that the dog had better not do it again. That does NOT mean physical violence. Dogs are very good at reading body language.

Watch dogs playing dominance games. Ever see a dog "play bite" or mouth another dog? That's a dominance thing. Grab the dog by the back of the neck using your hand like a dog would use its jaws. Get the dog's attention -- look it in the eye -- and tell it whatever you're going to tell it... "NO." or whatever.

Get the dog to understand that you're the leader. Take it on a walk, on a short leash, and whenever its attention starts to wander give it a yank and make a sharp sound. MAKE the dog pay attention.

Dogs also don't hold grudges. They take the correction and will be happy and wagging three seconds later. Dogs WILL get aggressive and fearful if abused. Don't - EVER - abuse the dog (or any animal).

Bottom line: It's not about punishment. It's about respect.

Maybe you're the calm type of pack leader, not me. I've had pitbulls and other dogs since I was a kid and I never had a serious problem with any of them. I always had one since they were a puppy and raised it really firmly from the start. I would show it affection and play with it but the moment it did something wrong I would really go angry with it. I beat them enough so it hurts their feelings and they see how angry I am. I've done it with pit bulls that are fully grown and never had one try to attack me. I've had my friends dogs try to get feisty with me and I've just had to kick the crap out of them lol. Everyone I know thinks it's mean and bad for the dog but then again, my dogs can be walked without a leash and they respond to a firm voice and a finger snap while their dogs don't respond to choke collars and everything else they try.

Our current dog is a tiny chihuahah that has full privelege to anything in the house because we trust him to not do anything wrong. He's never chewed on anything except my daughters stuffed animals which we usually just give them to him anyways so he can have something to fight with and hump later. I walk him without a leash and he knows to come to me as soon as I call him and snap my fingers. I've taken him to dog parks before and had him just sit at my feet until I let him leave. I'm his master and if he does anything to upset me he gets it. I don't buy into the whole calm assertive thing cause then some dogs try to get over on you. I show them from the start that I'm the boss and no matter how bad they think they can hurt me, I can and will hurt them more. The one and only dog I've had to let go of was a black pitbull mix that snapped at a kid that was pulling on his tail. I warned him that he would get bitten and I told his parents to make him stop but they all thought it was cute until the dog snapped and started biting his shoes. They called the cops and I had to send him away to live with my uncle who had a much larger place for him to live and no meddling kids around.

Bottom line, dogs are pets, they are dogs, beat them like anyone else and they'll respond. Also, don't leave stuff out there for them to eat, that's just your fault. You need to dog proof the house just like you would kid proof it and everything else. And +1 for kennel training. I keep my dogs in kennels all the time until I trust them enough to let them out. Even if everyone is at home I will keep the dog in a kennel so he understands that his kennel is the only place he can be. Then I slowly start bringing him out.

[Jiggles]

He ate my mouse so I **** in his food bowl. I've tried reasoning with him, now I'm gna fight fire with fire

[LizFisher7]

You must become the ALPHA to this young dog: All dogs learn through conditioning; they repeat behaviors that get them good results and stop behaviors that get them bad results. Hence for stopping problem dog behaviors Here are 2 possible way to try– reward obedience training and aversive obedience training. Make time to train your dog every day consistently like clockwork. For example, if my dog jumps on me and bites my hand during feeding time, I tell him that this behavior is unacceptable by using a non-mark (say No or Ack-ack). Then I ignore him, and he does not get his food until he has calmed down. You must be consistent in the training and whoever lives with you must follow in what you do too. Do you crate the dog? When? GOOD LUCK!

[Jiggles]

Thing is I've only ever caught him chewing on something once. When we put him in a crate he freaks the **** out! Like goes bananas. Maybe I should tie him up somewhere downstairs at night

[LizFisher7]

first get the dog crate trained. First evening: 5 mins in there =one treat then let him out freely. Before bed 10 mins. in the crate= one treat then he can sleep where ever. Next morning 5 mins. etc. you get the drift. Try this, leaving him longer and longer with words of encouragement. It is in your body language and tone of your voice. Does he have a bed and a blanket/toy in the crate with him? is the crate covered or uncovered? The animal will be comfortable in it's crate ( it's castle) and you can have a piece of mind about leaving for long periods of time once this is achieved. I had to crate my two dogs while at work OR else ALL hell would break loose. Another question is he neutered?

[Jiggles]

Yea hes neutered. Thing is he FREAKS THE **** OUT when we try to put him in there. We've put treats and food in he does not want to go in, he has to be pushed in. It's like hes clastraphobic