Jumps, Chews, Destroys, Pees, Mouths, ect.

Question
We recently rescued a beautiful and loving dog from a shelter. We believe she is probably a Golden Retriever/Border Collie mix and about a year old. She, Ginger, started as an inside/outside dog but that quickly changed when she started chewing on everything that wasn't nailed down as well as picking pieces out of the trash, one by one, and taking them to another part of the house to chew on. She had many chew toys but couldn't be bothered with them. Then we started stepping in pee spots which alerted to us that she was not housebroken. So she became an outside dog with limited supervised access into the house. The family did interract with Ginger a couple of times a day and eventually taught her how to play 'Fetch the ball'. Not long after she was outside did she begin destroying the entire backyard. Trees, patio cushions, Adirondack chairs, some unfortunate stuffed animal...but the chew toys left untouched. Even when we had just played with her, she'd chew, chew, chew. And we played with her until she tired out. She is crate trained, most likely by the previous owner because she goes right in and stays with no problem.
I've tried many methods to get her to stop jumping on me and others. Mainly, just standing in front of her and placing her back on the ground telling her "Down" repeatedly. Eventually (10 minutes later) she gives up and sits, lays or walks away but later when she gets excited, we are trying the same thing all over again. I've done this method several times a day, everyday over the last 2 weeks. My consistancy doesn't seem to be paying off.
The other thing that drives us absolutely bonkers is her mouthing. Constantly. I know it probably has to do with her wanting to play. When she first came home, I'd rough house with her a bit and she immediately started bite down on my arms and legs like some dogs do when they wrestle. But her bite progresses to the point that she's hurting and breaking skin as I pull away. I stopped playing like that with her. But sometimes when I run with her ball and we are playing, she'll jump up and grab on to my arm or hand. Other times, she tries to get my attention (even after I just finished playing with her a long time) by grabbing ahold of my arm and pulling on it. She's indiscrimate who she does it to, myself, my wife or the kids.
We are at wits end but don't want Ginger to become burdensome. She does ok with other dogs. We've thought about getting another (younger) dog to keep her company and relieve some of her  anxieties. Will it help?  

Answer
Bring her back in the house and use the crate when you can't watch her. Accidents and damaged possessions are the fault of whoever was watching the puppy.  When you are watching it, immediately correct it as soon as it goes for anything except its own toys.  In a quiet, but firm voice ''Bad dog, its name drop!''.  Gently remove what ever and replace it with one of her toys, or if older, hold eye contact until the puppy drops it.  Somebody will have to spend a big chunk of time with her.  Another way to give her more attention is a short chain fastened to the computer desk.  It allows her to be next to you while limiting her mischief.  You can also use leashing her to you.  I have never done that, but you may have to with some dogs.  

All this stuff, peeing, jumping, chewing, mouthing needs to be met with an instant correction.  Exactly what is less important than the timing and the consistency.  A verbal ''Ut,, ut, ut!'' or ''Bad dog!'' can be very effective because of the timing if you are watching her the way you need to.  Where appropriate, offer her a chew toy.  They need to carefully selected safe ones.
The pet stores are full of toys that many dogs will quickly chew up into
pieces they could choke on or cause intestinal blockages.  If you are not
there to watch, stick to sturdy stuff such as Nylabones and Kongs.  Keep a
close eye on chew toys and quickly discard anything that is coming apart in
pieces.  Rawhide is especially bad because it swells after being swallowed.
These problems are the worst with, but not limited to, large, aggressive
chewers such as Labs.  Try offering her the Nylabone dinosaurs, they really seemsx to apeal to dogs better than the regular ones.  Another thing is to take a regular Nylabone and jam it into a Kong.  


With somebody the right age in the family, 4-H dog training is a great idea.
In my area, clubs form soon after the first of the year.  Even many urban
areas have 4-H.  For info look in your phone book under government listings
for extension or cooperative extension offices.  Ask specificlly about a dog
or canine club.  The dogs see all the people and dogs in the household as a
pack with each having their own rank in the pack and a top dog.  Life is much
easier if the 2 legged pack members outrank the 4 legged ones.  You can learn
to play the role of top dog by reading some books or going to a good obedience
class.  A good obedience class or book is about you being top dog, not about rewarding standard commands a treat. Start at http://www.dogsbestfriend.com/

I encourage people to adopt dogs and always do my best to help with tough cases like this.