My dog keeps messing up the house.

[doogylover]

I got this cute dog from a foreign friend. He became a part of the family ever since. He plays around with my kids most time of the day. We never got to train him though and I think it was not a good idea that we didn’t. We are starting to have behavior problems with him now. He never behaves and he rips almost everything that he can have his teeth on. He keeps getting the house messy with the things he destroys and his food that he plays with, not to mention his poop and pee around the house! We tried training him beginning with his littering but he seems to never learn. After two months, nothing has changed. What do you think should we do?

 

[JoanneF]

It is never too late to start training so he can learn but you need to keep going and be consistent. Don't allow him access to things he can destroy, have chews and chewable toys to give him to redirect his chewing on to something appropriate. If he doesn't eat his food, lift it away so he cannot play with it. He may also need mental exercise so training will kelp tire his brain too - start with simple things like sit, and recall, then look for Kikopup on YouTube for more advanced training. And for physical exercise (as well as mental stimulation) he will need walked at the very least once a day, possibly more depending on his breed and age.

Toilet training happens when two things come together - the ABILITY to hold the toilet, along with the DESIRE to hold it in order to earn the reward for doing so.

Ideally you want him to not be in a position where he needs to toilet before you have him outdoors, so that every toilet is outside. Set him up to succeed by taking him out even more than he needs; for example every 45 minutes to an hour and always after sleeping, eating, playing. Your aim is to have him outside before he needs, to keep his bladder and bowel empty. When he toilets outdoors make a huge fuss (never mind the neighbours, act like outdoor toileting is the best thing you have ever seen) and reward him with a high value treat. Do that immediately, don't make him come to you for the treat so he is clear that it's for toileting and not for coming to you. The idea is that he eventually wants to earn the treat enough to hold the toilet until he is outside. If he has an accident inside don't react at all. If you get annoyed he may learn to fear your reaction and avoid you if he needs to toilet - the opposite of what you want. Just clean the area with an enzymatic cleaner to remove any trace of smell that might attract him back to the spot. As he is actually performing the toilet you can introduce words he can associate with it (like 'do weewee' and 'busy busy') that later when he is reliably trained you can use these to tell him when you want him to toilet.

Indoors if you see him circling or scratching the floor, that can sometimes precede toileting so get him out fast.

 

[merlina]

Dogs aren't people so the idea of their 'behaving' doesn't really apply. He's not naughty, he's a dog.
As for toilet training you need a routine - you don't say if you walk he regularly because that where they learn to go outside. After his breakfast- straight for a walk and lots of praise when he performs outside. Same as many times a day as you can manage. Never shout at him for making a mistake inside.
You say he plays with the children all day long...but young dogs- all dogs in fact- need downtime to relax and rest. Give him a place where he knows he's safe and the children know to leave him alone. Sounds like he's just too excited all the time. Think of a 1 year old that had been kept awake for 12 hours- not good. And ripping things up is because he's teething. Give him things he's allowed to chew. Cardboard boxes are one possibility.

 

[JudyN]

It's not easy to keep everything a dog shouldn't chew out of his reach, but it's worth investing in some storage bozes, with lids if necessary, in which you can pop all your shoes, books, toys (not dog toys of course!) and so on. It becomes second nature, like putting things out of harm's way when babies start crawling/walking.

How old is he?

 

[doogylover]

It is never too late to start training so he can learn but you need to keep going and be consistent. Don't allow him access to things he can destroy, have chews and chewable toys to give him to redirect his chewing on to something appropriate. If he doesn't eat his food, lift it away so he cannot play with it. He may also need mental exercise so training will kelp tire his brain too - start with simple things like sit, and recall, then look for Kikopup on YouTube for more advanced training. And for physical exercise (as well as mental stimulation) he will need walked at the very least once a day, possibly more depending on his breed and age.

Toilet training happens when two things come together - the ABILITY to hold the toilet, along with the DESIRE to hold it in order to earn the reward for doing so.

Ideally you want him to not be in a position where he needs to toilet before you have him outdoors, so that every toilet is outside. Set him up to succeed by taking him out even more than he needs; for example every 45 minutes to an hour and always after sleeping, eating, playing. Your aim is to have him outside before he needs, to keep his bladder and bowel empty. When he toilets outdoors make a huge fuss (never mind the neighbours, act like outdoor toileting is the best thing you have ever seen) and reward him with a high value treat. Do that immediately, don't make him come to you for the treat so he is clear that it's for toileting and not for coming to you. The idea is that he eventually wants to earn the treat enough to hold the toilet until he is outside. If he has an accident inside don't react at all. If you get annoyed he may learn to fear your reaction and avoid you if he needs to toilet - the opposite of what you want. Just clean the area with an enzymatic cleaner to remove any trace of smell that might attract him back to the spot. As he is actually performing the toilet you can introduce words he can associate with it (like 'do weewee' and 'busy busy') that later when he is reliably trained you can use these to tell him when you want him to toilet.

Indoors if you see him circling or scratching the floor, that can sometimes precede toileting so get him out fast.

Thank you for this advice. This is really helpful!

 

[doogylover]

Dogs aren't people so the idea of their 'behaving' doesn't really apply. He's not naughty, he's a dog.
As for toilet training you need a routine - you don't say if you walk he regularly because that where they learn to go outside. After his breakfast- straight for a walk and lots of praise when he performs outside. Same as many times a day as you can manage. Never shout at him for making a mistake inside.
You say he plays with the children all day long...but young dogs- all dogs in fact- need downtime to relax and rest. Give him a place where he knows he's safe and the children know to leave him alone. Sounds like he's just too excited all the time. Think of a 1 year old that had been kept awake for 12 hours- not good. And ripping things up is because he's teething. Give him things he's allowed to chew. Cardboard boxes are one possibility.

I'll keep that in mind. Thanks!