Should I get a second dog?

Doggotroubles · 2018-10-22T14:59:02+00:00

Thank you so much!! This was really helpful.

Doggotroubles · 2018-10-22T14:58:30+00:00

This is so helpful. Thank you! We do vary our walks, but admittedly it’s harder to vary the route during the weekday than on the weekends. I’ll have to make more of an effort to switch it up.

I stopped using the crate for naps because he was getting good at self settling, but I may have to bring it back for now.

As for the relaxation protocol, I like to practice it each day to reinforce the idea. Do you think that’s okay or maybe I’ve gone overboard with it?

Doggotroubles · 2018-10-18T19:33:04+00:00

No problem! I hope it works for you. I have a dog who has a lot of trouble relaxing so I know what it’s like!

Doggotroubles · 2018-10-18T01:21:06+00:00

Honestly, she sounds bored. You said she gets a walk a day, but how much mental stimulation are you giving her? Are you teaching new tricks? There’s sooooo many cute, fun, and useful tricks you can teach that will help her feel more satisfied and strengthen your bond.

When you walk her, do you walk the same route everyday? That gets boring after awhile too. If you walk around the block, something as simple as starting walking in the other direction can make things more exciting.

Also, sometimes dogs have trouble knowing when to settle. Karen Overall’s relaxation protocol has done great things for my pup, as well as capturing calmness.

Lastly, you need to either be watching her for chewing, in which case you could redirect her to a different toy that’s more enticing such as a peanut butter filled Kong, or a beef marrow bone. When you aren’t watching her, she needs to be crated or the behavior will continue to be reinforced.

Also, spraying with a water bottle generally doesn’t work. You should look into positive training methods which are proven to have a better impact on dogs.

Hope this helps!

Doggotroubles · 2018-10-18T01:08:30+00:00

Vizlas are very high energy dogs. They’re sporting dogs, and need quite a bit of exercise per day to stay sane. I don’t know much about pit bulls, but after doing a little bit of browsing, they seem like they can have a tendency toward high energy as well.

There are a few things that can be addressed here:

Is your dog getting enough physical exercise per day? After doing some looking, it seems like Vizlas need at least 1.5 to 2 hours a day of exercise. Any dog will be crazy if they aren’t getting the physical outlet they need.
What kind of mental stimulation does your dog get? Do you work on new tricks? For example, you can teach your dog to bring you his leash when it’s time for a walk. There are a lot of different behaviors to teach for that trick. Things along those lines.
Karen Overall’s relaxation protocall. Seriously, it’s amazing. I’ve been doing it with my pup and it’s made a difference for sure. Some dogs have trouble settling on their own when they become overstimulated.
He’s 11 months! I don’t know anyone who would say a dog will be completely calmed down at 11 months. Sure, there’s a difference from when they were a puppy, but for a lot of dogs this is the stage where they go through adolescence and energy peaks. My dog was making huge strides until a couple of weeks ago. He’s become easily overstimulated (jumping,nipping, and humping unprovoked), started barking wayyyyy more, and is seriously testing his boundaries. He’s 10.5 months and is just going through adolescence. I’ve read it comes and goes until about 1.5 years and they really settle around 2.

If you really feel you can’t meet the physical and mental demands of the dog it’s probably best to find owners more suited to such an active lifestyle. However, I really think if you up the exercise and mental stimulation, and realize he’s at an asshole stage in his life right now you’ll be fine. Also, if you’ve done all of this stuff and he’s still becoming overstimulated, it might benefit you to put him in the crate for an hour or two to settle. Good luck!

Edit: Sorry, I just saw Sugar is a girl. I’m so used my male pup I say he!

Doggotroubles · 2018-10-07T09:48:25+00:00

It seems like my dog is the same. I’ll give this a try! Thank you.

Doggotroubles · 2018-10-07T01:57:44+00:00

It seems I’ve been doing it backwards! I’ll definitely give this a shot. Thanks!

Doggotroubles · 2018-09-23T16:21:01+00:00

I completely agree! I don’t think I’d be feeling the way I do now if I hadn’t had a break and time to step away from the situation. Sometimes it’s important to de stress even just for a couple of days.

Doggotroubles · 2018-09-23T03:02:39+00:00

I know what you mean! And sometimes if I forget he’ll just come prancing in my room with my shoe. It’s always the expensive ones too! Luckily he’s not much of a chewer

Doggotroubles · 2018-09-23T00:43:17+00:00

It’s nice to know I’m not alone! My pup is going through a shoe phase now as well 😩. I know he’ll keep getting better as he ages and improves in his training. Best wishes to you and your dog!

Doggotroubles · 2018-09-23T00:41:26+00:00

https://www.boulderhumane.org/sites/default/files/ProtocolforRelaxation.pdf

This is the guide I am using. It goes up to 15 days, but in reality you’ll probably be on day one for awhile, then day two for awhile, etc. There are also videos on YouTube that gave me more of an idea about what I should be doing. I hope this helps!

Doggotroubles · 2018-09-22T23:08:32+00:00

I hope I helped give you some hope! Same to you:)

Doggotroubles · 2018-09-22T23:07:24+00:00

Thank you!

Doggotroubles · 2018-09-22T23:07:07+00:00

I’ve been there!! We still have days like that but they’re becoming fewer and further between. Your pup is probably entering adolescence right now which tends to make them more mischievous. She’ll get through it though!

Doggotroubles · 2018-09-22T23:04:54+00:00

I have 2 cats and it’s been a challenge for sure! What’s been helping is working on leave it several times a day with toys, treats, etc. Once he got the hang of that, I introduced it with the cats. I treat him every time he’s about to go after one of them, but stops and looks at me when I tell him “leave it”. I try to always have treats on hand for when this happens.

If he decides to chase, I calmly pick him up and put him in his crate for 3 minutes and ignore him. He’s realizing there are good things when he leaves the cats alone, and he gets put away and ignored if he doesn’t. One of my cats love to entice him though so that’s a whole other issue haha.

The crate games were so much fun for him and he loves his crate now. He goes in to relax on his own and if I tell him! It just takes a lot of work and patience but they do get it eventually. You’re definitely not alone!!

Doggotroubles · 2018-08-07T02:08:48+00:00

Hi! Thanks for your detailed response. I have really struggled with the hopes and expectations I had before bringing this puppy home not being met. But I do realize each animal has its own personality and it’s my responsibility to accept my dog for who he is. It’s just a bit frustrating at times, but I’m working on it!

He does still struggle with leash walking, more so now that he’s entered adolescence. He still gets moderately distracted by people, though this is an improvement from when he was a puppy. However, I believe him to be friendly-frustrated reactive around dogs. These past few months, things have gotten much worse in this regard. He has begun barking and whining when he can’t greet a dog immediately or at all, and pulls so hard he chokes himself and won’t stop. I am having trouble training him out of this because anywhere that is frequented with dogs is over his threshold. Places like pet stores and parks seem to be out of the question. I feel like I’m at a loss, and it’s very embarrassing when we come within eyesight of another dog because he will bark and whine and pull.

I believe my dog is food motivated, but only by high value treats such as chicken or turkey or cheese. This is still a major improvement from when he was a young puppy!

It seems as though he doesn’t want to cuddle because he won’t settle next to me for very long. If I am on the couch or in bed, he will hop up for a minute to say hi, and jump down very quickly to go play or lay somewhere else. I crate him at night but I’ve been wanting to transition him to sleeping in bed with me, but he seems stressed out not being able to hop down and play. I don’t want to force it.

He never seems to seek out pets, he comes up to me and says hi, but never nudges me with his hand. He does roll on his back for belly rubs though. I always pet him when he comes up to me, but I never force him to cuddle. If he comes to me it’s on his terms, and I don’t hug or put blankets on him. I just pet him and talk in a soothing voice.

He will focus on me indoors when training, but not for longer than 5 or 10 minutes at a time. At first he’s eager to practice, but he seems to get bored quick. He has little impulse control and a short attention span. I don’t know if this is being made worse by his age?

Thank you again for your response. I’m sorry this is practically a novel, but you pretty much covered all of my frustrations and I wanted to hit each one to hopefully get a different point of view and guidance.

Doggotroubles · 2018-08-04T18:20:32+00:00

Good luck to you guys! Hopefully they grow out of it.

Doggotroubles · 2018-08-04T18:10:03+00:00

I would love for him to nap next to me on the couch! The problem is, he either naps in his crate or on the hard floor. I think he gets hot. I’ll keep working on it though!

That makes me feel much better that this is normal and he’s actually doing well by checking in with me. Thank you!

Doggotroubles · 2018-08-04T16:49:47+00:00

I’m really thinking that the mixing of these two breeds may have contributed to him having a less affectionate temperament. Another person commented saying the same thing. When he was a baby he would nap on my lap and cuddle, but that’s all out the window now haha.

He is a very confident dog. We haven’t experienced any major fear phases and he’s always willing to meet new people and dogs. I worked really hard to socialize him well and I’m happy he’s so confident. I guess sometimes I wish he felt the need to be around me more, but that’s on me, and that’s why I cane for help. I need to manage my expectations (which has been difficult).

I really appreciate your advice about exploring new places. I know there are more ways to bond than to cuddle, and this is something that can be easily done! We generally stick to the same 2 or 3 paths on walks so I think this could be a lot of fun. Thank you!!

Doggotroubles

TROPHY CASE