Home


  Main Index MAIN
INDEX
FAQ FAQ & HELP FAQ PHOTO GALLERY Who's Online WHO'S
ONLINE
Log in LOG
IN

Home: Behavioral Problems: Behavioural Issues - General:
Misbehaved when no one around







May
Old Hand


Mar 4, 2004, 7:33 PM

Post #1 of 9 (2033 views)
Shortcut
Misbehaved when no one around Can't Post

I have a shih tzu about 2 1/2 years old. She behave like an angel when there are people in the house. However, whenever we left her alone in the house she will behave like a devil. She will pee on the carpet, shit on the floor or vomit on the sofa. She'll never do that if we are around and know where she's suppose to do her business. Most of the time after getting into mischief, she will go upstairs and hide.

Any idea why she behave like that?


surchinmy
Ultra ALPHA

Mar 5, 2004, 1:14 AM

Post #2 of 9 (2023 views)
Shortcut
Re: [May] Misbehaved when no one around [In reply to] Can't Post

Check the threads on "separation anxiety" ...

Cheers Smile


May
Old Hand


Mar 5, 2004, 5:32 PM

Post #3 of 9 (2015 views)
Shortcut
Re: [surchinmy] Misbehaved when no one around [In reply to] Can't Post

I tried to search the forum on separation anxiety by using the 'search posts' function but couldn't find what I'm looking for. Will you be kind enough to provide me with the link to the thread?

Thanks.


surchinmy
Ultra ALPHA

Mar 5, 2004, 7:16 PM

Post #4 of 9 (2011 views)
Shortcut
Re: [May, jooann, ai_ney] Misbehaved when no one around [In reply to] Can't Post

Hi ...

Your dog is 2+yrs old and "behaves badly" when people are not around ...

"Separation Anxiety" is simply a name to describe a situation when the dog gets nervous, stressed or slightly concerned when the owners are not at home ... This can also happen when a dog is taken into a new environment ...

Quite oftenm, dogs that are over coddled, spoilt or over manja-ed ... exhibit separation anxiety ... This is not to mean we cannot love, cuddle and pamper our dogs ... but we must show moderation ... be aware of the causes and solutions for separation anxiety.

Separation Anxiety can exhibit itself in many different ways ... common symptoms are excessive chewing, barking ... and sometimes elimination in the wrong places ... and basically, the dog behaves in a manner we humans describe as "bad" ...

The important thing for the owner to realise is that - reprimanding a dog with separation anxiety is likely to make the problem more severe, more difficult to handle and cause other issues ... the solution is patience, training and reducing stress due to separation ...

Ways to help reduce separation anxiety ...

Suggestions:

(A) Remove as much as possible the "bad" behaviour ... For example: Keep dog away from carpets and safely confine the dog within a reasonable area where no "damage" can be done & with reasonable area for elimination ... Put away anything that can be chewed, shoes, bags ...etc

Remember don't confine your dog by using a choke chain ... don't confine your dog in a manner where the dog is required to pee & poop where he is sleeping ...

(B) The owner must exhibit calmness when leaving the dog and when arriving home ... do not over-stress the dog by excessive or over exhuberent good-byes and hellos ... the idea is to try create a situation where leaving and returning home are basically normal non-events ... The idea is to teach the dog that you leaving is nothing to be concerned about ...

(C) Leave the dog with sufficient toys and chews to help pass the time ... An old T-shirt with the owner's scent is a good addition to the dog's bedding ...

(D) Make sure your dog gets plenty of play and exercise ... dogs without sufficient outlet for their energy can get naughty ...

(E) In your case, where the dog seems to be elimination in wrong places ... reinforce housetraining rules ... For example: When your dog eliminates in the correct place ... don't just ignore that good behaviour ... BUT PRAISE & TREAT generously (this is one time, you can go extra with the praise) ... and basically strongly ground the correct behaviour for elimination ...

(F) Check the internet for more suggestions, get a good training manual that has a chapter on separation anxiety ... speak to other experienced dog people ... try posting jooann & ai_ney ... they both seem to have handled the situation of separation anxiety quite effectively ...

Check the following thread ...

http://www.puppy.com.my/...on%20anxiety;#109415

Cheers Smile ...

PS ... From your post - my suspicion (guessing only) is that your dog may be spoilt ... Tongue ... and has difficulty dealing with being alone in the house and her antics stem from that ... But remember in cases of over-pampering resulting in separation anxiety ... reprimand does not usually solve the problem ... but consistent & effective conditioning and training will ...


May
Old Hand


Mar 5, 2004, 10:30 PM

Post #5 of 9 (2007 views)
Shortcut
Re: [surchinmy] Misbehaved when no one around [In reply to] Can't Post

Thanks for you explanation.

I must agree with you that we have over manja-ing her. She can't even let us stand outside the house compound.....she wanted to join us too. Since my Mum is the one accompany her everyday, I'll try to speak to her on the training method. Anyway, I have always praise her when she eliminate at the right place, but she still purposely eliminate at the wrong place when no one around.


a_evie
Doggyman


Mar 10, 2004, 5:46 PM

Post #6 of 9 (1993 views)
Shortcut
Re: [May] Misbehaved when no one around [In reply to] Can't Post

how's ur furkid now?

surchinmy's advise is really good...and i definitely recommend that you retrain her in her potty issue.

and perhaps until she is 100% safe...you may want to keep her confined when no one is at home. can't blame her for misbehaving when her folks are not at home and all the temptation is all around her saying..."let's play!".

my 4.5 mths shih tzu is confined to the bathroom (door opened but blocked with a fence) when we are not home. when confined, she's got her little friends for her to play chew, some kibbles and one of her tasty supplements that i stuffdaily into her paper core chew for her to irritate until they fall out (4' plus long). of course her kain busukBlush (her fav that follows her everywhere we take her) is there as well. once we're home, we allow her to fully roam the house. thus far she's been good...no complaints from the neighbours on her barking either.

i don't think she is "purposely" doing it in the wrong place. perhaps the scents of her old peepoo is still there? that's why she would continue to eliminate in the wrong place. you sound like you have a garden. ever thought of teaching her to eliminate outside. at her age, she has muscle control and training her outdoors should not be difficult. just some patience and time.Wink

omit pine based products as they only reinforce the scents of her peepoo. noted that pine products actually reinforce such scents...that's why a fair bit of cat litter are either made from pine or even enforeced with some pine scents (so called fresh for us humans) to make sure the cats eliminate in teh correct area.


May
Old Hand


Mar 10, 2004, 10:02 PM

Post #7 of 9 (1991 views)
Shortcut
Re: [a_evie] Misbehaved when no one around [In reply to] Can't Post

Thanks for your concern Smile.

My baby is 21/2 years old and she's fully housebroken. I only have problem with her when no one is in the house Frown. We never crate her and didn't plan to do that either. When she's alone, she never chew up our things even when she was a puppy. She's such a good girl. However, due to over manja-ying her, we created a problem...separation anxiety. We are trying surchinmy's suggestion. This two days, we noticed that she didn't eliminate at the wrong place but when she's alone, she'll go up stairs. I guess she feel safer there...Wink. Hope we will be able to train her and overcome her problem.


a_evie
Doggyman


Mar 10, 2004, 10:18 PM

Post #8 of 9 (1990 views)
Shortcut
Re: [May] Misbehaved when no one around [In reply to] Can't Post

she probably went up to be secured. surchinmy's recommendations on giving her an old tshirt works very well. did that on one of my daogs when i set up my own nest from my family home...after giving her my old baju she stopped terrorising my room and my shoes.

do update us on her developments.


cavey
Novice


Jun 4, 2004, 10:02 AM

Post #9 of 9 (1824 views)
Shortcut
Re: [May] Misbehaved when no one around [In reply to] Can't Post

our shit tsu jus turned 1yr old, & has this problem when everyone leave the house last time. we thought we has housebroke her, so we left her to roam around the house without chains; when we are back, there's little poo & pee everywhere, even when we make sure we let her release before we leave the house. it's like she did it on purpose, to protest we left her alone.

these few months, my wife did not go to work & stay at home instead. but our gal will still poo & pee whenever she is not looking or playing with her. everytime when she saw the mess our gal made, she will punish her. soon, our gal will learn to hide after she made a mess in the house. we realise its not that she is not housebroken, she is trying to get our attention by making a mess in the house. so what we did is that we ignore her when we saw her mess by quietly cleaning it up. now for 2 months, she never mess/stink up the house anymore.

 
 




Copyright 2001~ 2002 Hileytech Sdn Bhd , All Rights Reserved.  Disclaimer  Privacy Statement
For comments and Suggestion, Please contact the Webmaster at puppy@puppy.com.my