It's been a while since I've been on here.  I actually can't remember my old login information so I had to register again.  Some of you may remember that I have one rattie names Leroy and I adopted a second rattie named Tango about 5 months ago.  Tango is a hurricane Katrina rescue dog.

I need help.  I'm compeletely fed up.  I love both dogs but they are driving me nuts!  Leroy (my first dog) has been great for the 3 years we've had him, but I'm having a heck of a time training Tango.  He's not a bad dog but I simply can't trust him at all.  If I turn my back for a moment, he will get into something and chew it: shoes, walls, garbage, dirt, bugs anything he can get a hold of.  I've tried offering alternative chew toys and treats.  He loves those too but he doesn't discriminate.  He's an equal opportunity chewer.

If I catch him doing something, I will scold him and he does his crawl on the belly thing.  I turn my back and he goes right back to doing it.  It's driving me nuts.  It's gotten to the point that I can't have him out of his kennel unless I can physically watch him at all times.  It's not fair that to him to keep him locked up all day.  I've tried walks/exercise, discipline and every other thing I can think of.  He has accepted all other training such as crate and potty training. 

My wife and I are too busy to constantly watch the dog.  I have work to do at home with a side business.  I am actually to the point of not being able to deal with it anymore.  I called the place I adopted him from and they basically made me feel like I was a horrible human being.  They said it's normal behavior and most people would kill to have a dog this awesome.  Really?  I have a rattie that I can trust, that listens and seems like every other rattie I read about on this site.  Tango does not listen, cannot be trusted and is driving me nuts. 

I need your help!  What can I do.  I don't want to get rid of him, but I can't continue in this pattern.

Wow. I am sorry to hear this. I don't have a lot of advice but I have heard of some people hooking their dog's leash to their belt while they are in the house to keep them from pottying in the house and such. and maybe you could try a squirt from a water bottle when you catch him being bad? Good luck with it. We miss you, btw.

I've tried the squirt bottle.  He hates it.  But it doesn't seem to deter him from continuing his naughty activity.

Dont take this the wrong way, I am NOT an advocate of giving up on a dog.  BUT....some dogs just plain and simply don't work out in some family situations.  I had a doberman that my brother in law dumped on me when she was 4 months old. I kept her for 2 years.   I loved her, and worked with her just as much as I did my first dobie.  Then it got to where I was working with her MORE than I did any of my other dogs--but she was exactly the way you describe Tango to be.  She was "sneaky" and would be good as gold as long as I had my eye on her---but the second I walked out of the room, she was tearing something up.  She ate 2 chairs and a sofa, and un-numbered ball caps of mine, shoes, trash, plants, you name it.  It killed me to even think about finding her another home, but she was driving me nuts.  My niece wanted her really badly, and I reluctanly gave her the dog.  Guess what?  She is a perfect angel there.  Does not bark---does not destroy anything.  I think that she was in major competition with my other dobe and was looking for MORE attention---even negative attention---because she wanted to be the "top dog", but just couldn't make it to Alpha position, so she did whatever her little doggie brain told her to do to get attention. 

Thanks Paul.  Your story actually helps a lot.  I don't want to get rid of Tango either.  But the lady from the adoption agency made me feel like such a bad pet owner.  Again, he's not a bad dog.  He is 100% crate trained (actually better than Leroy) and is great with kids.  But the little bugger just won't listen.  He knows he needs to lay in his bed when we are eating dinner (no begging).  He will go lay down, then wait until I sit down and get up.  I'll tell him to go lay down and he will just stare at me.  But as soon as I stand up to physically make him lay down, he will run back and lay down again. 

Also, Tango will sometimes look at me and just start barking.  It's hard to get him to stop.  And I feel bad because I will yell at him and my other dog Leroy will also think he's in trouble.

Hi, Bill... I remember you. Welcome back... and I'm sorry you are experiencing problems with Tango (cute name by the way). You fail to mention Tango's age. Can you please tell us how old he is? I'm assuming if he's a Katrina victim, he has some age on him?

Sounds like you have a "demolition dog"...a dog who eats or chews up everything in sight. (In the canine behavior class I'm taking we refer to these dogs "demolition dogs" as a nickname... nothing personal). The number one cause of this kind of destructive behavior is boredom. We often do not provide our dogs with enough opportunities to explore and discover new and exciting things, so our dogs decide to do this on their own in inappropriate ways. If the dog is young, it will frequently chew on anything that will help relieve the pain of teething. They don’t understand that chewing on Grandma’s antique chair leg is wrong, or that gnawing on the leg to a table is not acceptable... it just feels good. The Demolition Dog isn’t trying to misbehave; the dog is just being a dog.

Whether the destructive behavior is chewing up potted plants or destroying an entire room, there are some things that can be done to prevent, or at least decrease, the problem of living with a Demolition Dog. As with any behavior, the solution takes commitment to and involvement with your dog.

First and foremost...find ways to keep your dog entertained. Put out different toys each day when the dog is left alone (and always leave him in a crate) . Use toys like a Kong filled with peanut butter to keep Tango stimulated. and "bully sticks" are 100% natural and digestible and last a long time (I just discovered these this weekend at an agility trial). Both of these are GREAT at occupying a dog and satisfying the chewing urge.

Put tempting articles out of reach. Potted plants should be put up high. Food should be left off counters and tables. Garbage cans should be put in a cabinet or have a heavy lid. Close doors to keep the dog out of tempting rooms. Make sure your shoes and other articles of clothing are put up and doors shut.

Use a crate to keep Tango safe when he is alone. If you are home and you are working at home in a particular room, put the crate in the room with you and put the dog in the crate. At least this way he's not feeling "abandoned" and is still able to be close to you.

Fence off tempting garden areas outside.

BIG thing is EXERCISE!!! Exercise your dog on a regular basis.

Socialize your dog with other animals and arrange play dates. This will help Tango have more stimulation.

Train him to learn basic commands to give you more control over his actions. The more stimulating life is, the less destructive he will be. Soon your Demolition Dog will become what we refer to as "Delightful Dog."

Bill, the behavior you describe is natural behavior for dogs... it's the humans who are not accepting of this behavior... so we make every attempt to change the behavior of the dog so the dog will adapt to OUR lifestyle rather than vice versa. It's accomplishable... absolutely! It just takes supervision, commitment, effort and time...

Screaming at the dog or scolding him probably won't help... as you say when you do this he immediately rolls over and becomes submissive. So you are not accomplishing anything other than to whittle away at your dog's confidence. I don't think you want to do this.... there are other ways to fix the behavior. If a dog has a submissive nature to begin with... or comes from a traumatic experience (such as Katrina... who KNOWS what the dog really went through!!)... then try not to yell or scold. Doing so could make the situation worse.

Distract him from things (chewing) that are negative to things that are positive.

I hope this helps.. please keep us posted!!

I do agree with Paul... sometimes things simply don't work... sometimes as hard as you might try, the square peg won't fit into the round hole. I know Paul and I know that giving Sasha to another family was the LAST resort... otherwise he would not have done it. If after all training efforts fail.. you may be faced with making the decision as to whether or not to keep Tango, unfortunately. But it's always my advice to exhaust every available resource (including seeking professional help) before making that decision.

Also, Tango will sometimes look at me and just start barking.  It's hard to get him to stop.  And I feel bad because I will yell at him and my other dog Leroy will also think he's in trouble.

(When you say  "NO BARK" and he stops for a SECOND (surely that will get his attention for a nano second?)  give him a treat and reward him.  Keep doing this... eventually he will learn that NOT barking reaps yummy rewards!