unruley puppy

Question
we adopted a rescue dog about three months ago, she is about 7 months old now and they beleive she is a husky shepard cross.  We want to put her in training but are waiting another month for the whole family to be able to be involved.  My problem is that she sneaks out of her room when no one is home and gets into the garbage.  she does not do this when we are home, she knows its not allowed.  As well she knocks over our outside garbage cans and spreads the garbage all over the yard when i go to take my daughter to school every morning. She has snapped chains and when we remove the garbage bins from the yard she digs HUGE wholes all over the yard.  I am not sure how to remedy this and my husband is getting to the point that he just wants to get rid of her... please help

Answer
Hello Cassie,

It appears that two things are going on. (1) She's bored and (2) You've trained her that there are tasty treats in the garbage cans.

To correct this behavior, give her a job. She's a working dog and needs hard exercise. Get her a backpack, fill it with heavy water bottles and run her. Bottom line is she needs work.

To retrain her on the garbage cans, you should find some secure way to keep her out. If she snapped your chains, get heavier chains. I am confident you can outsmart your dog. If you remove or make the temptation inaccessible and give her a job, the bad behavior should stop.

Finally, the obedience training should also aid considerably. This will also help relieve her boredom and give her more respect for your rules.

Good Luck!

Sandy

Perfect Manners Dog Training