[normansmom]

This dog will not stop eating my pillows. Sinero, i come home play with the dog. love on the dog. feed the dog, do some house work. give dog treat after making him sit, lay, stay, etc. go to put my daughter to bed and the darn dog grabs my pillow off the bed and shreads it all over the place with in minutes. I dont know what to do. Any Suggestions? Oh yeah and when i leave the house he has destroyed my laundry room and pulled the felt off my pool table. and he tore the front of his crate off at 3 months old. All the normal behavior problems are fine, he doesnt pee or poop in the house, hes not a hyper dog and jump all over you. He minds pretty much when you tell him to do something. Help!!!!

 

[dch]

What kind of dog is he? Get him a good solid crate. The same crate that is used by airlines for shipping. Put him in the crate when you are gone. Take him to obedience classes.

You must react immediately! If he is a little dog, as soon as he goes for the pillow, grab him by the scruff of the neck and growl no at him. Put him on his back or side and hold him there for a minute. Make it a quick stern punishment. Then let him up. If he does it again, repeat.

If he is a large breed dog, put him on a leash when you go to put your daughter to bed. As soon as he goes for the pillow, growl NO at him and put him in a down stay and make him stay there. Don't let him up till you are ready to leave the room.

Keep repeating this till he stops. Don't praise him right away when he gets it right. Just make it like he has done this is whole life and it's a behavior that he knows.

Good luck. Let us know how you do!

 

[normansmom]

Hes an American Bulldog, 10 months old and about 110lbs. We are looking into biulding a pen for him to stay in when were gone(outside). I think he will like that better then a crate inside anyway. I have tried several different ways to deter him from the pillows and every time i set him up to catch him doing it hes an angel..smartie... but i think its getting a little better.

 

[dch]

Big boy there! You'll have to post some pictures of him.

Definitely take him to obedience classes, and he'll end up being an awesome dog. Don't take him, he will get to be a handful to say in the least.

I would suggest that when building him a pen to be sure it's on cement. (For obvious reasons.) Course you probably thought of that already. Do crate train him in the house, if you haven't already. This will make it easier for a vet to handle him and for him to be crated at a vets encase you ever need to have him at the vets over night.

He sounds like a great dog. Good luck with him!

 

[mellotune]

It sounds like your puppy needs exercise, lots and lots of exercise. Specific to the pillow problem, hide all the ones you use but leave one or two out (the ones that you don't sleep on) for the dog to find. Make sure you spray Bitter Apple all over them first. You can get Bitter Apple at PetSmart or places like that.

 

[sillysally]

First of all, I would prevent him from having access to the pillows--it is a self rewarding behavior to tear them up. When you put your daughter to bed, shut the other bedroom doors.

Does he know "leave it"? If not, I would teach it to him. When you see him going for a pillow a good "leave it" should head him off.