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My niece and her boyfriend have this Malamute. He is a rescue and is roughly four years old. Also he is huge. (I know you guys will want pictures I promise I will get pictures when and if I can. The dog sees a camera come out and avoids it.) Lately he has been very destructive. He has destroyed shoes, chair legs, game controllers, all kinds of poo poo. It is really upsetting my niece. I did some research and found that this kind of behavior is usually the result of boredom and that the dog needs more interaction and stimulation. Obedience training, walking, playing and getting chew toys and giant rear end bones were recommended. In fact I spent like $22 buying her a huge rear end bone for the dog. According to my niece he virtually destroyed this giant bone over night. So we decided to train him to "Leave It" and then just always reinforce and invoke leave it with anything remotely interesting. This appears to have worked, for the most part. He whines but he leaves it. But when nobody is around to watch him, even when he has toys and bones, he goes right back to destroying poo poo. And I just don't even know how to punish or discourage this. He's a sweet dog but at this point they are getting fed up. Any idea on what we can do?
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Oct 1, 2016 05:19
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| # ? Apr 26, 2024 21:33 |
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How much exercise does he get? Do they crate him when he is left alone?
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Oct 2, 2016 00:35
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Seconding the extreme need for exercise. Malamutes are bred to pull heavy objects/sleds very long distances and not tire. ..that's what they do.. If your niece has not looked into urban mushing yet, she should do so asap! It would be an awesome daily activity to do together and could tire the pooch out, mentally and physically. http://primalpooch.com/urban-mushing-solution-high-energy-dogs/ There is also a sport called weight pulling, which would also be great for tiring him out. It's pulling tires and things. I don't know much about it though. Like all exercise videos, the dog may benefit from seeing a vet prior to engaging in any strenuous activity. Instead of giving lots of no/"leave it" commands, the people and the dog would probably benefit from a lot more "yes's" by giving their dog that LOVES to chew positive outlets for the behavior. If each room doesn't have at least a few of those "indestructible" dog chew toys, it would probably benefit from some. One example is that they make a XXL heavy duty extreme kong that would last a lot longer than a large bone. If they put peanut butter inside it, most dogs go nuts. [url] https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0002AR16E/ref=twister_B001GAQ9OY?_encoding=UTF8&th=1[/url] If they are getting near their end, they should get a personal dog trainer immediately. That, along with heavy doses of daily exercise, will net them the fastest results. Personal sessions would cost more money, but it seems like they are running out of time. Crate training is also a fantastic idea, like MissAndy recommended. They just need to make certain they do the research or use a trainer to do it right, so that the dog doesn't learn to hate the crate. The crate should be his "happy place".
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Oct 2, 2016 02:57
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MissAndy posted:How much exercise does he get? Do they crate him when he is left alone? No they do not crate train him and his daily level of exercise is extremely variable because both work in the game industry and sometimes struggle to make time for the dog. I personally think they made the wrong choice in breed for their lifestyle but they have to take responsibility for that now. The dog does have a doggy door so he can leave and run a decently sizer fenced in yard at his leisure but I don't think that is mentally stimulating enough. Ferryll posted:Seconding the extreme need for exercise. Malamutes are bred to pull heavy objects/sleds very long distances and not tire. ..that's what they do.. If your niece has not looked into urban mushing yet, she should do so asap! It would be an awesome daily activity to do together and could tire the pooch out, mentally and physically. http://primalpooch.com/urban-mushing-solution-high-energy-dogs/ There is also a sport called weight pulling, which would also be great for tiring him out. It's pulling tires and things. I don't know much about it though. Like all exercise videos, the dog may benefit from seeing a vet prior to engaging in any strenuous activity. The mushing thing looks really fun I hope they'll be into it. I sent along the link you provided along with the vet suggestion. I actually sent her a link to that very same KONG toy last night and she told me the dog would just eat and destroy that in moments. I told her it is still worth it because at least he is destroying the toys instead of her expensive work shoes. Passed along the crate training recommendation as well. Thank you both so much. This dog really is a good and loved dog.
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Oct 2, 2016 04:14
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Double post but I had some questions and reservations about crate training. Because the dog is destructive when left alone it seems the solution would be to lock him up in the crate or confine him outside while they are working and sleeping. This means the dog would be confined for at least 8-10 hours a day at least and that seems cruel. Confining him outdoors during work seems less cruel but there are weather and temperature concerns that cannot be rectified by the construction of a simple shelter. (And while wiring heat/air conditioning into an outdoor dog shelter and insulating it seems like a good idea it is quite costly.) And crating him over night while sleeping brings up the 8-10 hours of confinement issue again. Is this okay? Like I said, it seems cruel to me but maybe it isn't?
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Oct 3, 2016 04:08
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Crating is good and fine but if they don't address the actual problem (bored dog) he will continue to be destructive and will be perfectly capable of taking it out on the crate or on himself. Not to mention he will start refusing the crate if they just use it to get him out of the way. Sounds like they don't have enough time for him - there's no magic for this, they either need to make time, hire a regular exercise buddy, or relinquish him. If you have more social graces than I do, maybe you can make this point to your niece in a way that comes across as encouraging and helpful rather than judgmental.
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Oct 3, 2016 17:07
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My understanding of crate training (no personal experience since there were always tons of people at home) is that you want to completely tire the dog out prior to putting them in the crate, so they go to their happy nap place and just sleep for several hours. I view crating better for up to maybe 4-6 hours, but like I said I have no personal experience just have heard from friends and read lots of positive things. I have heard 8 hours from some people I know but ... I feel mixed on it. Also, crating up an already bored dog in a small enclosure sounds like a recipe for crate destruction. Maybe if they have to be gone for 10 hours, just send the dog instead to a doggy daycare? The dog should be exhausted when they pick him up and should result in a much more relaxed dog at home. Otherwise maybe look into dog walkers to tire him out after a few hours of crating. Hmm.. I knew one couple who strived for opposite work schedules and when that wasn't possible they staggered their work days so one person left for work a lot earlier and their dogs were only home alone (crated) for 4-6 hours. Having the dog outside for 10 hours also doesn't sound nice either. Nuisance barking, digging holes, boredom, possible safety concerns (accidents, dog snatchers, heat exhaustion, etc). Most dogs left in a yard by themselves are truly bored and get little in the way of exercise. Now if they got a second dog.. lol! They should in no way get a second dog. x_x So, there are options where they could still keep their high-energy breed dog, but any will take a lot of work, sacrificing, and money. If they aren't up for the challenge, rehoming may be a better option. If they do that, I wouldn't even recommend a lower-energy dog breed, I'd recommend volunteering at an animal shelter or get a different pet entirely. 
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Oct 3, 2016 18:27
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Cats are way too far along the effort scale on that graph. Also I can't really see a way out of this without your friends committing to a major lifestyle change to devote enough time to the dog. One of my neighbours works in the movie and television industry and he pulls crazy long hours as well, and even his low drive wheaten terrier is a pain in the rear end nuisance barker because he's left in the yard all day.
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Oct 4, 2016 04:49
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I think at this point I 100% agree. They do not seem to have the time to devote to the dog. They have to work to pay the bills and I'm not sure either of them could adjust their schedules so they could be home to engage with the dog. At this point I am going to politely suggest they find a doggy daycare to take him to/drop him off at on the way to work and pick him up from on the way home from work. If they cannot do/afford this I will suggest they give up the dog (sigh) and not get another dog because they really don't have the lifestyle to suit them. Thank you for the advice guys. :/ I hope they're willing to do what is necessary to keep the dog.
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Oct 4, 2016 04:55
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I don't know much about malamutes (and it seems other posters have contributed well enough), but I just thought I'd chip in and say I don't think letting your dog devour a giant-rear end $22 bone is a good idea wrt his tummy.
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Oct 6, 2016 11:41
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KomodoWagon posted:I don't know much about malamutes (and it seems other posters have contributed well enough), but I just thought I'd chip in and say I don't think letting your dog devour a giant-rear end $22 bone is a good idea wrt his tummy. Neither is shoes, furniture, etc. etc. thus the need for other stimulation and whatnot.
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Oct 13, 2016 21:54
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My dog had pretty bad separation anxiety when I first brough her home and would wreck all sorts of poo poo, the black kong filled with dry food and peanut butter did wonders and yeah it can be destroyed but not at easily as your niece dismissed it. We used them at a dog daycare I worked at and only the red ones ever go wrecked. They are fuckin tough! Kong also makes other toys that are even more sturdy. They can be bought on Amazon for arond $10, even if he wrecks them I would say putting aside a $20/month toy figure in their budget is not unreasonable since they, y ou know, decided they needed a drat malamute. Antler chews are also a good option but I know some worry about the choking hazard and since theyre both gone all day it would be a reasonable concern. But if they arent even willing to try any toys or chews or a daily dog walker when they cant be home for such long stretches of time then they really dont need to have this poor dog and should consider rehoming.
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Oct 14, 2016 19:11
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Any new developments? I agree with many other posters in saying that this dog either needs a dog walker or a daycare. If that's too far beyond their price range for every day, they could do every other day and still see improvement. And at the very least they could hire a neighborhood kid to throw a ball in the backyard for an hour. As far as chew toys go, antlers are great (but expensive) but may fit the bill quite nicely. Also, they should consider other enrichment activities. There are toys that double as kibble containers which are pretty cool, you know, a toy that wobbles when they smack it to get the kibble out and are pretty durable. I know Kong makes one but there are others. Also, cycling his toys in and out can help - put most of them away for a week and give him two or three, switch them out, repeat. And as an aside, Kong does make tougher toys than the red ones most people associate with the brand. They make the same thing in a tougher rubber called Kong Extreme that might work. I know they actually make one other, loving unbelievably tough kind, but it's generally only available for police dogs. Might be able to find them online though - they're blue. But seriously what a stupid choice of dog for their lifestyle. They'd do better with a cat.
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Nov 4, 2016 00:04
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The link to the urban mushing that was posted in this thread and that I forwarded to them was incredibly helpful. They started doing that every weekend and the dog loves it. They got those extreme dog toys but they tell me the dog just straight up destroys them. They've been taking time to play with the dog after work and have been locking up things they don't want the dog to destroy. It seems to be helping as there haven't been any issues yet AFAIK. Thanks for all the advice.
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Nov 7, 2016 04:38
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| # ? Apr 26, 2024 21:33 |
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Huh, sounds like things are working out better than expected. Awesome. Hope they keep up with it! (also we were promised pictures...?)
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Nov 8, 2016 08:42
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