'Hungry'
Puppy
Q:
I
have a one-year old male Yorkie who chews
everything in sight. I have a brand new
home and he has made holes in the wall,
chewed every corner in my house, and torn
and eaten my carpet. The list goes on
and on. Any suggestions?
A:
More
information is needed in order to formulate
a step-by-step behavior modification program
for your puppy. Here are a few of the
many possibilities:
- Boredom.
If your puppy is bored, he
might be self-employed to keep himself
busy;
- Physical
problem. He might have a
physical problem contributing to this
issue;
- Stress.
His environment might be
stressful in some way. This could
relate to other animals in the family,
whether or not he is neutered, other
dogs in the neighborhood, new construction,
new home, the list is endless.
A
professional, positive trainer can help
evaluate the situation and design an appropriate
behavior modification program. Go to www.APDT.com
and/or www.NADOI.com
for trainers in your area. Most of
these trainers use positive methods so
interview him or her before hiring. He
or she will address the cause rather than
the symptom and help you resolve the problem.
Your vet can examine him to rule out any
physiological problems.
That
being said, the first thing I suggest
is to set up your environment so it is
impossible for him to do his self-employed
“home decorator” routine,
that is, chewing everything up. Make sure
that only appropriate chew items are accessible
to him and teach him to really value those
items. A trainer can show you how.
More
exercise is definitely called for. A tired
dog has less energy to spend demolishing
a house. A strong, but positive leadership
program must be initiated. Positive training
is rooted in teaching a dog what to do
instead of trying to teach him to stop
doing something. What would you like him
to do instead? If you don't know, he won't
be able to figure it out either. My DVD,
The Dog Whisperer , can help
with all of this. (See www.dogwhispererdvd.com
)
Basically,
your dog has too much freedom, not enough
structured exercise, and doesn't have
a clue as to what you would like him TO
DO. To sum it all up …he's a puppy.
Very
best wishes!
|
