Behavior problems with Harley

I can't believe how long it's been since I've blogged about Harley! Mostly I haven't blogged because things have not been going well. Harley seems to have some behavior issues that we are getting professional help for. Today, a doctor from CSU-Fort Collins is coming to the house to evaluate Harley. We are also have been working with a CPDT. It's costing a lot of money to do this but it's that or get Harley put down or re-homed. It really is that bad. I still love Harley and consider him to be my buddy, my companion but it's not enjoyable having him in the house at all. I have to tether him to the couch like I used to do with Moped and Skooter so he won't jump up on me and bite me. His biting was getting so bad that I ended up bruised and cut on my arms and feet. I took him to doggy day care for a little vacation. I dropped him off on a Monday and picked him up on a Thursday. He had to stay in a pen by himself the whole time he was there because he plays too rough with all the other dogs. He does not heed their warning to stop, no matter what the size of the dog is. It all makes me very sad. I wonder how much of this is my fault and how much of it is Harley's bad behavior. I guess it doesn't really matter at this point. We can only start from here and keeping moving forward. Harley and I still know what we are doing and I know that we can get through this together.

I contemplated re-homing Harley but I couldn't do that in good conscience because he's so badly behaved. I even considered euthanasia. I wouldn't do that but it did go through my mind when things were at their worst. This isn't just puppy problems. It's definitely more severe than that. He is 9 months old now and we've had him for 7 months and things are just getting worse. I don't have any friends over because of Harley and I don't bring Harley anywhere because he doesn't know how to behave (jumps up on people, plays too rough with dogs). I can't even walk him anymore because he chews through his leash and chews on my shoes so I can't walk safely.

We've had Harley in basic obedience classes since he was 11 weeks old. He knows sit, down, high five, roll over and up. He's smart enough to get those things. It's the behavior he can't help. It's like having an ADHD dog. I've got to be very serious about this and turn things around or I don't know what will happen.

Here are the issues I deal with:

• he bites me when I try to leave if he's off his tether or out of his kennel
• he bites me when he wants my attention
• he's a destructive/aggressive chewer; he destroys all of his toys
• he follows me from room to room
• he whines and howls when I leave him or he just waits for me to come back
• if he notices that I'm doing anything to signal that I'm going out he goes after me (taking a shower, pulling up my socks, getting dressed, getting my shoes, going toward the door)
• he chases his tail and bites it
• he plays too rough with all other dogs and with me; he does not heed a warning to stop (doesn't respond to yelping, growling, snapping, etc.)
• at doggy day care he has to be in a pen by himself, he can't interact with other dogs
• it's very difficult to get him to stay or wait
• he has no bite inhibition or impulse control
• he chews on his leash and on my shoes when we try to go for a walk
• he bolts out the door
• he plays keep away with whatever he has in his mouth, won't "drop it"
• I've adjusted my schedule because of Harley (when I take a shower, when I do laundry or dishes, I've stopped going for a morning walk, when I go out)
• I can't leave him in the house when I'm taking a shower so I put him in his kennel, he usually comes into the bathroom with me
• he'll get a sudden burst of energy and run through the living room and dining room, including behind the couch, he'll do a couple laps and then quit
• he steals things (cell phones, receipts, paper, fabric, food)
• he jumps up at me when he's coming in the back door
• he gets out of control just before bedtime (jumping up, biting, running around)
• he bites my head, ears when I bend over
  

Those are all the things I can think of right now. The list is oh so long. I know it's all interrelated and that once we start working on one thing it will have an effect on other things.

Here are some of the suggestions I've had from people I know in regard to how to deal with Harley:

• basket muzzle so he'll stop biting me
• tethering him to me or to furniture
• exercise him/wear him out
• give him stuff to chew on
• do more obedience training
• put him in doggy boot camp
• use an ecollar on him (shock collar)
• use a gentle leader on him
• do the alpha roll to establish dominance
• swat him
• ignore him
• euthanasia
• re-home

Those are just some of the things that have been suggested. There are probably more that I'm not thinking of right now.

After Harley got home from his 4 day incarceration at doggy day care he started biting me again almost immediately. I was so desperate to get help that I sent emails to:

• Cesar Milan
• Victoria Stilwell
• Dr. McKenney, his vet
• Dog Town (Best Friends)
• K9 Companion Inmate Dog Program
• Denver Dog Works
• Tenderfoot Training
• Ted Terroux
• Christine Kelly, CPDT (obedience trainer)
• Janice Mann, CPDT (colleague of Christine Kelly)
• Rocky Mountain Lab Rescue
• Jennie Willis Jamtgaard, PhD
• Sit Means Sit (ecollar)
• leerburg.com (prong collar)

I had responses from almost everyone. Rescues won't take him because of his history of biting and because he has to be separated from other dogs. Training programs are more than willing to work with him, at a cost. Everyone had suggestions as to how to handle this situation with Harley. Christine wouldn't work with him anymore because she doesn't have the time or expertise. Janice Mann (CPDT) is willing to work with Harley. So is Jennie Willis Jamtgaard (animal behaviorist).

I have found that there are as many methods of training as there are people. Everyone has their own idea of what will work to get Harley through this. The bottom line is that I have to decide what is right for Harley and what will help. So, we are going to have Dr. Jamtgaard evaluate Harley today and continue working with Janice Mann on his obedience. It's costly but Harley is worth it.

I've been posting about Harley's situation a lot in the Water Cooler of the financial forum. There are a lot of dog people there (including vets) who have tried to help me get some direction on this. It's also been great to have someone to vent with. The biting got really bad just before I put Harley in doggy day care for 4 days. I posted about it and got a lot of caring, supportive help. Again, as many opinions as there were people. I even had the Sit Means Sit people come out and evaluate Harley. I considered a shock collar. I don't want Harley to be afraid and operating out of fear. That's not a good relationship to have with him. I want him to behave because it's what works best for him. Right now misbehaving works best for him. He's gets tons of attention, even though it's all negative.

I just got a fresh shipment of toys in and he's already destroyed some of them. The only toys he had left were his Buster Cube and his Kibble Nibble (which had to be taken away from him when he wasn't using it because he chewed pieces off of it). He's very interested in the new toys but mostly he wants to destroy them. I got toys specifically for aggressive chewers and he still takes them apart within hours or sometimes even minutes. I spend a lot of money trying to get good toys and he just destroys everything. He can't have his toys out anymore because of his destructive nature. I'm afraid he's going to swallow something that he shouldn't (especially those plastic things that make the squeaking sound) and end up like Skooter. I don't want to have to go through another $2,000 surgery like we did with Skooter.

So, here it is 4am. The animal behaviorist will be here in about 10 hours. She will take about 45 minutes to evaluate Harley and then we'll discuss what his diagnoses are and what the plan of attack will be. My only qualm is whether Janice's and Jennie's techniques will clash. I'll cross that bridge when I get to it.

Harley can be so loving at times. He can be so gentle. He chooses to be neither most of the time. I'm willing to work with him though. I want a happy, obedient, well-adjusted dog at the end of this. I know there's not really an end, that I'll always be working with Harley but I want there to be a point when I'm just living my life and Harley is just a companion who makes life even better.

This is where things are at with Harley. His original owner stopped contacting me about Harley. I wonder if she still has Harley's littermate, Hazle. It would be interesting to see what the other puppies are like. Sometimes I think that it's all me, that I just shouldn't own a dog. I'm willing to be without Harley if it is what would be best for him and for me but I'd rather keep him and love him. He was only 8 weeks old when we got him. He was too young to be taken away from his mother and his siblings. There is a lot he didn't learn from them (bite inhibition, impulse control, manners, etc.). I would never get a puppy that young again. The puppy would have to be about 3 months old before I'd take it. That would give it plenty of time to learn things and figure out how to socialize with other dogs. But that's neither here nor there. We have Harley and we need to work with Harley. He's our dog now.