Dog help !

lil-evil

Bit of a story before i get to the main question but i need help fast !!

For 5yrs we had 2 dogs a Samoyed and a Lab/Springer cross, 3 months ago we were getting rid of them both but decided to keep the lab knowing we could have issues like not eating etc due to losing his companion. He was also moved into the house had his own bed in the corner of the kitchen and was in the middle of the craic with the kids etc.

Then 3 weeks ago my parents were babysitting over a weekend and when we returned they said he had eaten food off the counter at night time. So we made sure no food was left out overnight.

Then last weekend I woke up at 4oc to find the bin and recycling bin all over the kitchen tore to shreds. We decided that best place for him overnight would be locked into the downstairs toilet but this morning when he was let out and the wife went back upstairs to feed the babies he got up on the counter and ate uncooked rashers and was caught trying to get into a packet of defrosted mince.


The wife is losing patience understandably and I haven’t a cluse what to do !!
He gets fed at 10pm so shouldn’t be hungry through the night and then at 8am .


Any help would be great
Thanks

meoklmrk91

Simplest way to solve this problem is to get a crate and crate train the dog, my fella is a fecker for doing things like this as well. Crates can be gotten cheaply enough on jebtools.

Zulu

There is so much very wrong with your post that I despair and am loath to help you. ...but putting moral outrage aside:

Don't post in black.
Don't leave food & a dog unsupervised.

It's not rocket science.

andreac

Why did you "Get Rid" of the other dog?

Buy a crate and crate train your dog, before you have to "Get rid" of this one....:mad:

How someone can even use that phrase and their beloved pet is beyond me, it really is....:mad:

anniehoo

Zulu wrote: »

Don't leave food & a dog unsupervised.

It's not rocket science.

+1 Anyone with animals knows not to leave food out in reach of them if they're scavengers, im a bit stumped as to why you need that explained to you.

The dog isn't psychic.You need to start with training him to leave it, not locking him in the downstairs toilet What is he going to learn from that???

Are you feeding him enough of his current food? 10pm is very late to be feeding him. Most dogs want to go to the toilet within 1-2hrs of eating so he must be bursting in the middle of the night. Polyphagia or "eating a lot" can also be a sign of some medical conditions eg. diabetes. Has he been vet checked recently?

nemo32

Don't set the poor dog up to fail. Either don't leave food out or don't leave the dog unattended.
Crate training is your best option here I think.

fatmammycat

Most dogs will eat unattended food, and labs are very food driven dogs in general. It's pretty easy to make sure food is not within reach. My own lad here is tall enough to reach the front of counters so I don't leave food out for him.
Bins can be kept outside or in an area the dog can't get to or get more secure bins, and make sure your dog has plenty of things to chew on occupy him (since he is now without his companion) when there's no one around.
Make sure he's getting plenty of exercise too. I think feeding him that late is odd, I'd feed about 6 or 7 instead.

cocker5

lil-evil wrote: »

Bit of a story before i get to the main question but i need help fast !!

For 5yrs we had 2 dogs a Samoyed and a Lab/Springer cross, 3 months ago we were getting rid of them both but decided to keep the lab knowing we could have issues like not eating etc due to losing his companion. He was also moved into the house had his own bed in the corner of the kitchen and was in the middle of the craic with the kids etc.

Then 3 weeks ago my parents were babysitting over a weekend and when we returned they said he had eaten food off the counter at night time. So we made sure no food was left out overnight.

Then last weekend I woke up at 4oc to find the bin and recycling bin all over the kitchen tore to shreds. We decided that best place for him overnight would be locked into the downstairs toilet but this morning when he was let out and the wife went back upstairs to feed the babies he got up on the counter and ate uncooked rashers and was caught trying to get into a packet of defrosted mince.


The wife is losing patience understandably and I haven’t a cluse what to do !!
He gets fed at 10pm so shouldn’t be hungry through the night and then at 8am .


Any help would be great
Thanks

There are so many issues I would like to address in your post but Im afraid id freak out completely if I started to pick them out on by one..

The fact that you mention you’ve had two dogs for 5 years and yet it seems you don’t know your dog / or know anything dogs in general at all.

Use your head for god’s sake…. A little cope on goes along way…
1. DON’T leave food within reach – no offence what do you think is going to happen? Put food in the microwave to defrost (or in the oven)
2. DON’T leave bins opened etc. – a bored dog will generally always investigate

Im actually shocked at your lack of common sense.

Actually I take that back the fact that you were getting “rid” of the two dogs until 3 months ago says it all really.

kylith

Any dog, cat, rat, or gerbil will eat any food that they can get their paws on, even if they've just been fed, it's just an animal thing. Make sure that you don't leave anything within his reach, and train him to stay off of counters and tables. I'd also advise getting a proper trainer in to help because it seems like you might be a bit confused about the best way to move forward.

lorebringer

OP - why did you feel the need to "get rid" of your dogs 3 months ago? Did something change in the household?

Also, the fact that his situation has changed quite a bit (that is, going from 2 dogs to 1) may be causing the dog stress resulting in the unwanted bahaviour. Changing it further by putting him in a different room may just add to this, resulting in him being quite excitable when he is let out in the morning (thus the food stealing).

I can only reiterate what has already been said - don't set the dog up to fail and keep food away from areas he can reach. Defrost food in the fridge and keep counters from smelling like food. My lot have knocked over a bin a few times but in all of these situations the bin has been full of "yummy" (to a dog) scraps. Ensuring your bins are clean (I'm not trying to say you have dirty bins but they will smell strong to a dog) and difficult to knock over/get into will make them less enticing to the dog.

A bit of "leave it" training would be a good idea too - if your dog is doing something he shouldn't be and you catch him, you cna then reward him for doing as he is told (that is, "leave it"). Feeding the dog at equal intervals (for example, 8am and 8pm) will help with him not getting hungry over night (10pm is a bit late to feed a dog, unless you all stay up until after midnight!) and will give him a routine.

lil-evil

Thanks for all your help!

1st - this was written in anger and the dog is well loved and looked after. I've had dogs all my life and they are part if the family.

2nd - the reason 1 dog was given to a new home was we had to open up our garden due to our children needing more space torun around ( garden was split in two a section for dogs and a section for the children) but she was incontinent so couldn't become a house dog no matter how much medicine she was given.

3rd - food is generally kept from his reach but also understand this is the first situation where he has ever touched food.

4th - I came on here to get some help and advice not to be abused by know it all's. So to those who gave advice thank you but to those who decided it was best to give me abuse - you know where you can all stick it !!

Warning issued for uncivil behaviour towards other posters: OP, you don't have to become offensive just because you don't agree with what others are telling you here.
To other posters: please keep it civil.

ShaShaBear

IMO, going from 8AM until 10PM at night without food would be the alarm bell for me. I don't know about you, but I certainly could not go 14 hours daily without food, and if this is the way you feed your dog, its no wonder he has taken to scavenging for scraps to tide him over. Make his morning feed later or his evening feed (much, much) earlier, and possibly consider upping the amount of food you are giving him.
My Shadow is well fed, and even he will chance his arm at people food left unattended, however, going 14 hours with just one meal in your belly is a sure fire way to increase his interest in what you leave lying about.

planetX

You've only had him inside for 3 months, so it sounds like everyone's still learning. You'll have to put in the time training him not to swipe from the counters, and even then leaving meat out is a big temptation. You just need to get into the routine of putting things somewhere safe - inside the microwave works here...

cocker5

lil-evil wrote: »

Thanks for all your help!

1st - this was written in anger and the dog is well loved and looked after. I've had dogs all my life and they are part if the family.

2nd - the reason 1 dog was given to a new home was we had to open up our garden due to our children needing more space torun around ( garden was split in two a section for dogs and a section for the children) but she was incontinent so couldn't become a house dog no matter how much medicine she was given.

3rd - food is generally kept from his reach but also understand this is the first situation where he has ever touched food.

4th - I came on here to get some help and advice not to be abused by know it all's. So to those who gave advice thank you but to those who decided it was best to give me abuse - you know where you can all stick it !!

Based on your tone in both your posts I can see we're dealing with a mature / intelligent adult

- so in your own words ..... "you know where you can stick it"!

Mo60

One of my dogs is the greediest I have ever come across. She sits beside me when I am preparing food hoping something will drop on the floor and the kitchen waste bin has to be shut in the cupboard permanently. She eats fruit and vegetables growing in the garden if she is able to, and even ripped a hole in my polytunnel to get inside at what was growing.

With animals you have to realise that they will eat anything they are able to get their paws on, be it good for them or not.

So OP the best thing is to keep any food out of your dogs' reach and take heed of other advice that has already been given.