Rusty

Question
QUESTION: Hello, I'm Kory.  My dog, Rusty is about 6 or 7 years old now and all his life
we have designated a sunroom for his bed for sleeping and put up a gate at
the doorway so that he doesn't roam around the house at night.  We are
afraid that at night, as he has sometimes when he knocks the gate down, he
might poop or pee all over the carpet or sit on the couch (which we have
forbidden since he was a pup) and go into people's rooms and mess things
up.  However, the problem with this is that he barks nonstop in the night.  So,
to solve this, we got a bark collar.  I was opposed to this, but it was the only
way we could sleep.  But now, a new problem has come up.  He scratches
constantly at the gate until it is knocked down (with the bark collar on) and
he escapes.  So to stop him, we moved the gate to another doorway, giving
him some room to walk around.  That worked for a while, but now, he is even
scratching up the walls at night.  So again, to appease him, we sometimes
give him yet another room with carpet where he can sleep.  But even now he
is clawing at the gate.  We can't sleep and we hate to put that bark collar on
him, and worst of all, it could very well ruin our kitchen.  What should we do?

ANSWER: Is this a recent, or escalating behavior?If so, I'd get bloodwork done on him, including a six panel thyroid test. There could be a physical element. Is he crate trained? What about allowing him to sleep in a crate in your bedroom. He may just want to be with his people. I'd make sure he gets enough exercise, and give him rules and routine, so he feels less anxious in his daily life. Also be sure you aren't encouraging separation issues by greeting him enthusiastically, dramatic good byes or good nights or excessive petting and stroking (TTouch is a good alternative to touch your dog in more useful ways. Sandy Case MEd CPDT www.positivelycanine.com

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QUESTION: we have never kept him in a crate in his life.  to start now would probably be
disastrous.  I'm pretty sure he just wants to be with us, because he calms down
when we come to him.  and this isn't really recent.  he has just developed new
ways to get our attention, I think

Answer
He might be happier in a large crate near you than a room away from you. Teach him to go in the crate on his own volition. Feed him in the crate, give him good treats and teach him to go in and out and lay down in it with the door open. An alternative would be to tether him in the bedroom. You have to realize that when he is pitching a fit, and you come to him, you are reinforcing that behavior. But it's a difficult situation, because if you don't go to him, he damages your home. But when he can call you by barking, or scratching, that behavior works, and so he'll continue to do it. I'd also be working on house training him, which should already be consistent with a 7 year old dog. He sounds like he could really use some training - even at 7. You might look for a good trainer to work with you. Sandy Case MEd CPDT