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Inappropriate Chewing
Hello,
I know this couple that recently had a baby, which is taking away from time that they used to be able to spend with their dog. As a result, their dog has chewed holes through their lovely screened in porch, which allows her to gain access not only to the back yard, but also to the front yard. The part of the front yard that she has gained access to is fenced in, but the issue is that the mail man goes onto the porch to deliver the mail. Now, he’s hesitant to do so because he doesn’t know when the dog will greet him with a bark. She is a friendly dog, but barking can really alarm people. They asked for advice, and I have some ideas, but I was curious about what other people thought.
My ideas are to first block off that one specific exit that allows her to go to the front porch. After managing with that, I could train her to ring a bell or something of the like whenever she wants to go out front, but because there is a baby, I am hesitant to train something noisy. Also, with the bell idea, if the parents are upstairs, there’s a chance that they wouldn’t hear her ring the bell especially if the baby is crying.
Thanks!
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10 Replies
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Hi Malia,
Thanks for bringing this interesting case! It’s always a conundrum to help busy parents find simple solutions when they are sleep deprived and dealing with a new baby. I like your idea of managing access and agree that’s the simplest. If they wanted to do something else simple and if the postal worker/delivery person is amenable, they could put a covered plastic container inside the mailbox with a note to “Toss me a Treat and I’ll Learn To Love You!” -signed, Fido. If they were sitting outside (with the baby even!) during mail delivery times, they could explain further and model how to throw the food. The worker might think it was fun – a nice thing to look forward to each day. You could further explain to the client that classical conditioning (Mail Delivery Person = Treats) is the reason this will work and that the dog doesn’t have to do anything. Even if the dog barks a time or two in the beginning, it will change to a happy bark and then finally to quiet if they are consistent at it.
Keep us ???? posted! ???? (pun intended!)
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I love that idea. I’ll be sure to try it out!
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@Malia Thank you for your post. Juggling a new baby and attention that was given to your dog is a hard one. I am sure the family feels exhausted. Is this their first child with the dog or just an addition to the family? I think number one is management and I love your idea of blocking off the area of escape. Maybe including in the management some enrichment when the owners are busy with the baby. Some frozen kongs, a snuff matt, or lic mat, or any other busy enrichment. And I agree with @catherine mailman = treats. Leaving a note and they toss a treat. That’s a great idea. My Berner is very aloof to strangers and every time we have seen our mail carrier ( home environment or on the road walking) she throws a treat. She can get out and he actually comes right up to her or gets excited seeing the blue jeep! Good luck! Keep us posted!
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@pawsup I love this story!
My Berner is very aloof to strangers and every time we have seen our mail carrier ( home environment or on the road walking) she throws a treat. She can get out and he actually comes right up to her or gets excited seeing the blue jeep! – Krista C.
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It’s their first baby. Having something to keep her busy is a nice idea. I feel like she might end up tearing up a snuff or lick mat. She’s definitely a chewer. Her kong has seen better days ????
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Good morning @Malia – thank you for bringing this case to us to discuss. I agree with you, @catherine, and @krista the foundation of any plan of action should be management, including of course repairs when possible.
The sign on the door (humor always helps) and treat bucket reminds me of set-ups we would put on kennel doors of shy/nervous dogs, asking visitors to toss a treat in but not to linger. By framing the request as a way for them to help the dog, we got strong support from the public!
@Malia – you bring up a good point about having something loud enough for the parents to hear but not loud enough to wake a baby. How about teaching an alert behavior with no sound at all? Spin is a super easy to teach and most dogs seem to really think it is a ton of fun too! I’ve seen that used in Hearing Ear dog training.
@pawsup I think it is nifty that your dog has connected the dots from the primary reinforcer of the treat, to the person tossing the treat, to the truck that delivers the treat-tossing person! How long did that connection take to build up to this strong CER (Conditioned Emotional Response)?
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That is an amazing idea! I never would’ve thought about teaching an alerting behavior. I’ve taught my GSD how to spin already, so it is definitely something that I could train.
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I’m glad you think it might be a workable solution; please let us know how it goes!
I wonder what other out-of-the-box ideas others will have to share?
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I love all the ideas. I agree with everything. Food scatters in the yard can use up extra energy and I’m all for outsourcing some of the sniffy walks by hiring a temporary dog walker. Also of they want to keep doing the dig waking themselves.. a great way to use dog walking time now is to get the dog used to walking with the stroller without the baby in it. So they can be training the dog to walk nicely with the stroller and then when the dog has that behavior down you can walk baby and dog together.
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Thank you for adding the walks to the picture @abbie! Having a regularly scheduled dog walker can free up time for new parents to get some rest and having specific training sessions (with the stroller but without baby on the scene) can be soothingly dog-focused time when everything else may seem strange to the dog in the family.
Leash juggling while pushing a stroller is challenging. I often suggest that parents learn that skill without a dog on the end of the leash and without a baby in the stroller to start with. What other tips/tricks have others found are helpful for clients learning to navigate this?
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