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#1
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Habits I REALLY need to break
Lola is almost 7 months and she has 2 habits that I just cannot seem to break!
1) She goes into the laundry and anywhere else she can find mine or the kids underwear and chews them up! 2) whenever the kids are undressed for the bath or bed the dog has to be locked in her crate otherwise she runs at them and tries to lick their private parts this is freaking me out!! I have to try and find a way to break these habits, the kids HATE it and so do I
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Mum to Autumn 5, Evie 3, both of the human variety Taiji age 10, of the feline variety Ziggy age 3, of the reptile variety and Lola age 3 months, of the fluffy bichon poo variety |
#2
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The laundry is easy, this is your fault. Keep the door closed to the laundry room, the kids need to learn not to leave it laying around. If she gets something, offer her a trade so she learns other stuff is waaay better than underwear.
The second issue can be resolved by tethering Lola to you when you get the kids out of the bath. The minute she moves in to lick you give her a firm correction. If she's on her leash and in your control you are the boss and can stop this before it starts. Reward her for listening to you. The other option is also to lock her out of the bathroom until the kids are dressed and don't give her access until they are old enough to correct her themselves. Hope some of this helps. Others may have way better advice, but this is what comes to my mind. |
#3
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I agree with DD, just pick up the laundry and put it all in a hamper where she can't get to it. We childproof our homes for children, we should puppyproof our homes for puppies . That being said, every now and then one of my boys manages to drop socks around the house. We just taught the puppy to bring it to us in exchange for a treat/praise/lovings. Kinda neat when I can tell my boys they ought to be ashamed of themselves that a puppy has to clean up after them .
As for the second issue, shut the bathroom or bedroom doors. As DD mentioned, you can also tether her to you but teach her an opposing behavior, like "down" (as in lay down) and "stay" and reward her. Once she learns it well, your children can practice it too.
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"Education is a progressive discovery of our own ignorance." -Will Durant |
#4
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With the laundry -
Set her up to succeed as previous posts said, pick up the laundry. You can also try "leave it" training. Have her on a leash, put undies on the floor just out of reach, when she goes for it (hold her so she can't get at it, this is critical) say "leave it" once she looks at you, she could do it right away or not, if it's been a little and she's still staring at the undies, make a kissy noise and once she looks at you say "good leave it!" and give a VERY yummy treat! Keep practicing this 3-4 times per day. By 1 week you will have her leaving it. but have treats somewhat handy. With the kids, go about as normal, when she goes for them you can either shake a shaker can (pennies in a can) used for a startle to stop a behavior, and you want to redirect her, say "eh eh" , then go stand infront of her and walk towards her to push her out of whatever room you're in. Don't grab her collar and drag her out. Just stand there and slowly move forwards, she'll try to get around you, just block her with your hands until she leaves the room, then stop there and wait until she sits or lays down then walk away. Repeat if necessary. This will take time, probably a couple weeks, depending on her persistence. |
#5
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I've heard (and experienced!) shoe chewing, but underwear!?!
Anyways, puppies will chew something like shoes (or in your case, underwear) when they are feeling uncertain or even stressed. Is there something going on BEFORE Lola dives for the laundry pile that might be uncomfortable or stressful for her? She's learning to associate comfort and belonging to a "Pack" by smell and things in contact with the groin area and feet are going to have the strongest (and therefore the most comforting and secure) smell. Can't add anything to the training tips, but maybe the process can be sped up if you find a "trigger" for the behavior and can eliminate it while you are re-training.
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If you're green, you're growing...if you're ripe, you're rotting! I try to greet the world like my pets do...boundless enthusiasm, intense curiosity and no concept of yesterday and tomorrow. |
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