Bad Dog Behavior

Question
I have a 8 1/2 month old corgi (not neutered yet, he goes next week), who is now displaying bad behavior.  He has torn a hole in my couch & love seat, the couch was first & then the love seat was about 1 month later, both times it was done when we were not home, and now is urinating on the bed (this last time was in the middle of the bed) he sleeps on, he sleeps with me & also has deficated on a bed in the guest room.  He is becoming agressive to the other dogs when they are near a toy or bone he is not playing with.  We have 3 other dogs, but he is the youngest.  Also he has taken to urinating & defacating in the house, even with access to doggie doors to the outside & frequent trips outside.  He has lots of toys & I play with him every night (I do work full time but someone is usally home with him during the day) except when errands have to be done.  He has been to obedience class (an adult class) and he did very well.  When we leave we give him a kong bone with treats in it to keep him occupied but he seems to be getting bored with it. We place trays on the couch & love seat when we leave now to keep him off of them. It is almost imposible to limit his exposure to these areas. Please help me with some ideas about how to deal with this behavior.

Answer
Some of the behavior you describe may be tied with testosterone levels and that contribution will slowly extinguish over the few months following this dog's neutering.  However, he is also displaying some very premature behaviors of rank related dominance, in terms of his trophying resources and marking behaviors.  The Corgi can be quite a dominant little dog; this one may have been the largest in his litter, since his immaturity does not appear to be affecting his tendencies toward dominance.

I have no idea what sort of obedience training this dog has had, but he needs to be a crossover at this point.  This means, you need to start all over again with positive reinforcement, using different words for commands, differing postures when offering commands, teaching one command at a time (approximately three weeks for each) until the dog has demonstrated 100% compliance (10 out of 10, with NO failure) with the first (usually "sit", but use another word.)  Learn about positive reinforcement training by going to Karen Pryor's web site.  Also, I suggest you read Patricia McConnell Ph.D.'s book on managing multiple dog households.

The Corgi is a natural obedience candidate and is genetically designed to work "off restraint", so positive reinforcement training is the best method (especially since the dog CHOOSES to 'obey' and is not coerced by restraint...thereby demoting him psychologically.)  Your next step is to psychologically demote this dog.  This is accomplished by your compelling the dog to earn EVERYTHING: eating, drinking, going in/out, playing with you (and YOU keep the toy at the end of the game and do NOT engage in any play which elicits growls from him), being petted, etc.  NILIF (nothing in life is free) converts dominance and must be kept in place for months.  Additionally, this dog cannot sleep in your bed or even in your bedroom; lower ranking pack members sleep far from the heart of the 'den'.  Make him sleep in the kitchen or any area you can safely contain him in (even the laundry room if it has a window.)  Ignore his protests (and there will be many at first.)  Not only will this further demote him, but it will also create some emotional independence which should begin to generalize to the times you are not at home.  Furthermore, when you ARE at home, choose a time when you will actively ignore this dog.  Do not look at him, do not make eye contact, do not speak his name, do not allow him to sit near you, lean on you, turn your back if he solicits interaction.  Do this for thirty minutes a day.  At the end of this 'time out' period, call him, ask him to 'sit', and give him verbal praise.  Make this peremptory, don't overdo it.  For several months, do NOT submit to ANY demand for attention from this dog.  Do not pet him on demand, give him treats on demand, etc.  If he approaches you and solicits interaction, turn your back for ten seconds; then ask him for a solid trained behavior (once he has acquired it using positive reinforcement) and give him a few seconds of attention only AFTER he performs.  Your Corgi may appear to become 'depressed' during this behavior modification regimen, but this is actually a sign that he is reworking his rank in his own mind.

Regarding damage done to the furniture, it's possible he was attempting to "bury" a toy or other trophy and may have begun to generalize that behavior.  Keep this dog OFF all the furniture from now on.  Put a lightweight nylon leash (house tab) on him when you are at home and use that to remove him from furniture (not your hands, as touch is a primary reinforcer.)  Close ALL bedroom doors so he has no access to the beds.  Dogs sometimes mark their own bedding and, in that case, covering the bed itself in plastic and inserting it into a large pillow case or other slipcover type garment (which can be removed and washed) will allow him to keep his bed.  However, there's nothing wrong in removing all bedding so that the dog has to sleep on the floor, and this can be done for a few weeks or a month or two until he has experienced a reduction in rank.

Observe how this regimen affects his relationship with the other dogs.  if you see any escalation of problems among them, hire a certified applied animal behaviorist.  You should be able to get a referral to a Ph.D. or DVM from the veterinary school in your geographical area.