High energy=Im a MESS!

Question

Need all kinds of help with our rescue dog?
We have rescued a Pointer mix, female, about a year old, from a high kill shelter in Ga. She is a sweetheart, but of course, there are many things that we didn't know about her. 1. She is not housebroken. 2. She pulls horribly on the leash.3.She eats her own feces.4.She might pee on the leash, but will come right back into the house & pee again.She actually pees more than our male dog.5.She's learning about our cats, but its hard to know if she just wants to play or kill.[Don't worry, she is well watched]6. She's very high energy.Our other dog is a Boston, 7 yrs old.
We will not quit on our girl, but some mornings I don't want to get up.

Any help would be appreciated.


Answer
Pointers are bred to be working dogs, so she's going to be high energy. Your poor Boston doesn't have a chance when it comes to keeping up with this girl who can certainly outplay him. Get her out to some doggie play dates (try Meetup.com for this) or send her to Camp BowWow where she can play with other dogs her own size a few times a week to get some of that energy out.

It's quite possible that her original owners got her to be a hunting dog and that she was never kept in the house. But, unless she was kept in a filthy cage where she couldn't escape her own mess, she probably still has the instinct not to mess her own den. You'll need to crate train her and treat her just like a puppy who can't hold its bladder (also, check with the vet to make sure she doesn't have a urinary tract infection). The key is Watch & Confine that is, any minute you can't watch her and have her within "grabbing and getting out the door now" distance, she must be in her crate. Keep her on the leash at all times during this stage, so you can get her under control quickly. Just let it trail behind her. If you catch her going in the house (and you must catch her every time!) grab the leash, give her a firm NO and take her outside to potty and give her a treat and tell her she's good when she does. After you've gone a week or so with no accidents, let her run around in the main area of the house, but keep less used areas (bedrooms, bathrooms, offices, the formal dining room, etc.) closed off at first and introduce them to her gradually.

Cats and dogs usually work their own business out and there's not too much we can do about it. It helps if your cat is not declawed. You can praise and treat the dog when it's being nice to the cat, but I find the best cure for a dog that likes to pick on cats is an assertive cat.

Poopeating is a tricky habit to deal with. You can try putting something containing MSG (like Accent) in the dog's food. This apparently makes the poo taste bad (as if it tastes good). Also, sometimes if a dog has worms it makes the poo bloody which makes them want to eat it, so you'll want to check with the vet on that too. It will also help to catch her eating the poo and yank her away from it with a firm NO.

To teach her leash manners is a pain in the butt. This is my least favorite thing to teach a dog because it takes so long and you spend alot of time going nowhere. Start at the door, leash in hand. Let the dog know you want to go for a walk. Make her sit nicely while you put the leash on. If she gets up when you bend down, stand up again and make her sit. This can take awhile. Once the leash is on, stand in front of the door, block it with your body. Tell her to sit and stay. Open the door behind you. If she gets up, tell her no and close the door again. Make her sit and stay and try it again. Then, back out the door. The minute she gets up, step back in the door and close the door again. Start all over. (See, I told you) Once you're out the door and holding it open and she's sitting there waiting (and probably vibrating) tell her "Let's go" or "Okay come on" and usher her through the door (she will probably bound through the door and yank your arm off, so be ready). Once you have her under control again, make her sit and stay while you close the door, lock it or whatever. If she gets up tell her no.

Now, for the walk. Begin with her sitting nicely on your left side. You can use treats to encourage this. Step forward with your left foot and say "Let's go" or "Let's walk". The minute she starts pulling, about face and walk away quickly. When she pulls again, about face again. Keep doing this for 30 minutes or so. You may go nowhere but it's a great workout. Then repeat the whole door scenario (it is usually easier coming back). It'll take awhile, a couple weeks maybe, but eventually your dog will pull less. She'll figure out it gets her where she wants to go faster if she doesn't pull. When she's walking nice tell her she's a good girl.

Once you've stopped spinning your wheels on her walks, you can teach her more walking manners, like to sit when you stop walking and stay until you say "Let's walk" again.