How to give my dog everything he needs but not everything he wants!

coinxoperated

Hi all,

Just after some advice so I can better my dogs mental state if possible!

Around 4 years ago a lady appeared at my front door with some puppies. As I was mainly working from home in a good job, I took one. As time has gone on, the industry I was working in slumped and I had to find a new career path. This now means I'm out of the house most weeks from 8:30 to 6. During this time, I had a stressful relationship breakdown and was left to live alone with very little cash. This meant I rented a small flat with no garden for 2 1/2 years. Luckily my little dog seemed to manage well and he had plenty of walks etc, but did develop a habit of whining if he wanted something. I know that this developed because rather than nip it in the bud, I did what I could for him out of guilt of leaving him alone for so long.

My view was (and still is!) that he has an owner that loves him, feeds him, walks him, keeps him healthy, etc and I do everything I can for him (and probably treat him more like a spoilt child than a dog in truth).

I've now moved into a lovely house with a garden and plenty of room for him to have a much better quality of life.

So now, although he's left for the same hours (now has access to a run and doesn't show any signs of distress when I'm not here (webcam video showed hours of him sleeping and going for a wee and back to bed!), he is a constant pain in the butt when we arrive home.

He currently has a walk for around 30 minutes in the evening (he's a very small chihuahua cross dog) and he gets a play for about 20 minutes with a football and me around the garden each day. I do give him to many treats but am trying to wean him off the expectation of so many.

But the whining is constant. He is constantly wanting attention regardless of anything I do. I don't go anywhere of an evening in weekdays due to him being alone for so long in the day, so consider this his time rather than mine.

I'm not in a position to afford a dog walker / doggy day care and as he has a lot more than some dogs whom have owners that work, I just don't feel that this is the answer. I'm afraid to say that my dog is a spoilt brat!

So how do I make this situation better so that I have a happier dog? Is a routine the answer here? Do I just ignore the whining if I know he has all he needs?

Getting a second dog is not an option either.

If I really thought he wasn't getting what he needed I would re-home for his sake, but I just don't feel that's the issue here. There are plenty of dogs that need a home and he's certainly not going to be in that position if there is anything I can do / change. I think I need to change my ways so I don't mother him so much, but how do I balance this around working full time?

Any advice would be appreciated, I'm trying my hardest to be a good dog owner alongside keeping a roof over my head.

Thanks!

Person_one

Can I ask why a second dog isn't an option? Another little'un wouldn't cost much more to feed.

I have to leave my two to go out to work. When I come home, they are excited to see me for all of about 5 minutes and then go back to either sleeping or working on the frozen kong I've left for them. I genuinely believe that having each other's company while I'm out makes life much easier and more pleasant for them. They always have at least two thirds of the 'family' there!

If you definitely don't want to go down that road, I'd suggest that you need to exercise him more. A tired dog means a happy owner! Burn that energy off, go for a walk in the morning, a walk when you first get home, and then a walk last thing at night before bed. Also, you could spend more time doing formal training to burn off some 'mental energy'. Teach him a few tricks!

coinxoperated

The second dog option isn't really viable for the following reasons:-

1. Landlord wouldn't be overjoyed with me having a second dog, although I could talk him round.

2. I don't feel financially I could support a second dog. Food yes, but vets costs for boosters, pet insurance, boarding if I want a holiday etc. I'd hate to be in a position where I couldn't afford the basic vet treatments / insurance.

3. I'm worried that I will end up with two of the same, as I have a feeling it's not the dog that needs training here, but the owner :rotfl:

coinxoperated

Also - the 50 minutes a day is the absolute minimum. In truth, most days he's walked an extra hour or so, plays a lot in the garden etc. He does sleep whilst I'm here (right now he's curled up in front of the fire looking as good as gold!) but as soon as he awakes he starts demanding. Whining for treats, whining to play. Everything seems to be on his terms and when he wants something he's pretty persistent! I then don't say no because I feel and about leaving him in the day! I can't be the only one that has the leaving the dog at home guilt?

Raksha

Do you feed him from a bowl? Had you thought about hiding his food or using a food dispensing toy like a kong or tug a jug

coinxoperated

I do feed him from a bowl! That's a great idea!!! Thank you! Would you use this method of feeding every day or just occasionally?

krlyr

No reason you couldn't ditch a bowl altogether if you wanted. Mine get a few meals in their bowls for convenience, but generally most are in Kongs, their Green feeder, scatter-fed on the floor or lawn, or are in the form of blocks of meat or bone that require chewing.
http://pawsitivedawgs.wordpress.com/2012/04/13/enrichments/

I'd say you're on the right track, the dog has you well trained here! Dog whines, you do what they want..you've taught him that whining works! It will be hard to break the habit, but you'll get there.

One thing I find that helps with unwanted behaviour is to not stop it completely, but to replace it with an alternative, more appropriate behaviour. So, for example, one of mine used to jump up at us whining when we got in from work. We made a point of not acknowledging her during this stage, but we would issue one command - "where's your toy", which she knows to mean fetch your nearest toy. Once she brought the toy, she would get her hello - initially, it took her a while, but now when we get home, her default reaction (without prompting) is to go and fetch a toy. This helps redirect that excitement - and Kiki does seem to favour fetching toys she can chomp on (biting and chewing releases endorphins in dogs..so that in itself also helps).

Raksha

coinxoperated wrote: »

I do feed him from a bowl! That's a great idea!!! Thank you! Would you use this method of feeding every day or just occasionally?

Personally, I use it every day, it's easy as I feed dried food, and both dogs have similar requirements, it's easier with a single dog.

http://www.vetuk.co.uk/dog-toys-rubber-dog-toys-c-439_699/busy-buddy-tug-a-jug-p-5532

Here's a selection of different food dispensing toys, all of which I use with my dogs

coinxoperated

Thanks! Sounds like a plan I can start straight away! I have done the toy thing and he is very good for going and getting his toy when he becomes excited. It's more the constant attention seeking where I am running around to everything he wants that's the problem. And if I do ignore him it gets louder, and turns into a continuous whine! Its all well and good ignoring the behaviour as much as possible, but he will literally keep at it for hours and hours.

coinxoperated

My dog also has some wet food (tray of ceasar) and a handful of dry biscuits. Anything that can accommodate that or will I need to swap to purely dry?

krlyr

Again, think of alternative behaviours rather than just ignoring the unwanted one. So you're trying to do the ironing, he's whining for attention..send him to his bed instead, and intermittantly reward him for staying on his bed. Invest in some chews or toys he can use to entertain himself instead, and the bed itself becomes the activity/reward.

My two are both quite clingy breeds so I do try to encourage independance where I can. Food really helps! They find food as rewarding (probably moreso, greedy guts!) than attention, so be creative with that too. If I'm trying to mow the lawn, I know the dogs won't be happy shut in the kitchen as they'll see me outside and want to join me...but it's obviously dangerous for them to be too near to be (especially if I get the strimmer out too!). So I may, for example, give them a Kong each to eat at one end of the garden while I mow the other. Or I clip a treat bag onto my trousers, and every now and then I scatter some in the grass a little distance away from me and they have to sniff out the treats. Or I throw a toy up to the other end of the garden, give them a new toy they can interact with by themselves, etc.

Again, substituting one behaviour with a more appropriate one, rather than just ignoring them and trying to get on with the mowing. Far better to teach the dog what you want them to do, than hope they somehow figure it out because they're being ignored when they whine.