Russell is a puppy on his way to becoming an enormous dog. Right now, he is probably 20 pounds of rambunctious, sweet-natured baby Rottweiler. Russell lives in a house with nine cats, four childr
en of various ages, and three adults.
As you can imagine, this is not a peaceful household. People come and go at all hours of the day and night. Clothes and papers and toys are scattered all over the floor, meals are grabbed on the run, food is left out on counters and tables.
To a puppy like Russell, who knows nothing different, his home is a goldmine of opportunities for bad behavior. He has tasted nearly every shoe, slipper and flipflop in the house. He is an expert counter surfer, cunningly snarfing tidbits as soon as a human back is turned. He actually has eaten someone’s homework. He greets the various comings and goings of friends and family with shrill, happy barks, planting his chubby paws as high up on the human torso as he can. The entire house is his toilet so the smell upon entering is a bit pungent.
Since the front door is often left ajar, Russell has darted out into the street many times in his short life. A family member must be dispatched in a car because the only way Russell will come back is if a car ride is offered.
Until recently, Russell’s training has consisted of:
1. Yelling at him when he steals food;
2. Chasing him and grabbing whatever is in his mouth away from him;
3. Smacking him on the head when he mouths a hand or arm;
4. Pushing his nose into his toileting accidents and saying “No, no, no!”
5. Bringing him outside and hooking him up to an long rope in the yard when he gets too “bold.”
Not surprisingly, Russell spends a lot of time outdoors on a tether. But now, winter is fast approaching and his family has agreed he must be trained. No one has time to take him to classes, so I am hired to help tame Russell’s wild ways.
I’ll admit the prospect was daunting. Russell’s house should be puppy-proofed to eliminate items that he could ingest, but it’s a large house and Russell has free run of it. Dogs crave routine, but there is no possibility of any kind of routine with this family. Most challenging of all is that only one of Russell’s owners is willing to take part in the training, which means that Russell will be getting mixed messages when that person is away.
Should a family like this not have gotten a dog in the first place? Maybe. But here’s the thing: his family loves him and wants the best for him. This is Russell’s home, and with some assistance and training, he will grow to be a wonderful companion who will adapt to this environment.
So, we started with the basics. This is what we put into place:
◊ We picked one room and confined Russell to it with baby gates so he can’t sneak off to potty.
◊ We crawled on our knees through the room and removed anything that Russell might be compelled to eat.
◊ We got a crate that Russell could stay in when he could not be supervised.
◊ We devised a schedule of feeding and walking Russell that we posted on the refrigerator so that his basic needs would be covered every day.
◊ We began to teach him to sit and stay and come when called, and how to walk on a loose leash so that it would be easier for family members to walk him and get him the exercise he needs.
◊ We chose a vocabulary of commands so that Russell heard the same words from all family members.
Can dogs sigh with relief? Russell’s crazed antics diminished almost immediately as he responded and settled down with these changes.
We will expand – and tweak – the list of basics as Russell gets older and more mature. Meanwhile, his family is learning how to be his teacher, and to keep him safe and secure. My job is to keep Russell and his family on track so that Russell will grow up to be the best dog he can be.
Comments