Stumped

Sal1979 · 05-16-2008, 09:02 AM

Hi all. I am new to the forums and looking for some advice.

My Fiance and I have a 11month old Pembroke Welsh Corgi. We live in a small 1 bedroom apartment in Illinois. Tobey ( the corgi) is a very smart and wonderful dog.... however, we are having a problem.

I understand that Tobey is a herding dog and therefore needs lots of exercise. He is walked twice a day and we spend everyday we can, weather permitting, a the dog park where he is free to run and play and get nice and tired. Lately the weather hasnt been so great and it is becoming more and more dificult to exercise him. As a result he has developed a very annoying habit and I m not sure how to handle it.

Anytime I go to sit at my desk to work on my PC, he comes over and sits next to me and then just out of the blue will start barking at me. It is not an "upset" bark, but an excited "lets play" bark. when I try to correct this he takes off at a mad gallop around the apartment barking incesantly and I cant catch him. Ive tried ignoring him, but when he does this at 5am Im afraid the neighbors will get upset. Ive tried putting him on a leash next to me and he only fights and chews the leash. Ive tried pinning him to the floor and holidng him until he calms down, but he only starts again a few mins later. Ive tried time out for a few mins in his crate, but again, he starts back up once Ive let him out. I know he is anticipating my reaction, but the second I turn my head toward him, he takes off running and he is IMPOSSIBLE to catch.

This behavior is really only frequent when I am not able to get him a lot of exercise. It is getting really dificult because I feel like I cant relax or do anything in the house without him coming over and barking at me. He does it to me more than my fiance, but it equally irritating to both of us.

Has anyone here experienced this? Thank you so much for any advice.

zimandtakandgrrandmimi · 05-16-2008, 09:12 AM

do you have a treadmill?

because if you do you can train your dog to run on it. (no I didn't get this from cesar I have a pit bull and no running a pit on a mill does not make you a dogfighter)

Sal1979 · 05-16-2008, 09:14 AM

Well, we have a tread mill that is in our apartment complexes fitness room. I dont know how well recieved it would be if we had our dog in there. Ive considered this. Thanks. I may need to inquire with the powers that be to see if its okay.

zimandtakandgrrandmimi · 05-16-2008, 09:20 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sal1979

Well, we have a tread mill that is in our apartment complexes fitness room. I dont know how well recieved it would be if we had our dog in there. Ive considered this. Thanks. I may need to inquire with the powers that be to see if its okay.

word of caution: go very very slowly training a dog to run a mill.
and don't leave them unattended. you can also make a dog sized treadmill very easily. I will post a url for you in a few...

FriendsOfZoe · 05-16-2008, 09:37 AM

Two words: Doggy Daycare. I know how you feel, I used to live in a large apartment building with a golden retriever. I did great relying on dog parks most of the time, but then it would rain for a week straight and I was in trouble. Daycare is great for rainy days or even just a once-a-week playtime to burn that energy. I don't think you should really correct the bark, because to me it sounds like he just needs more exercise, and that will correct the problem itself.

So yes, daydare. Or hire a dog walker for another walk or something. He needs more exercise, rain or shine, and you'll have to get it for him. Training classes are also a great way to burn mental energy, although it doesn't get that initial burst out.

Sal1979 · 05-16-2008, 09:48 AM

The Doggy daycare is a great idea. We do have a place in town where we attended obedience classes. The only problem is the money it would cost. With the economy the way it is and our limited budget, I dont know how we could afford it. A few times a month maybe, but I could see us being able to afford an every week visit. Im going to try and press on with ignoring him more than usual when he does these outbursts. It can be really tough on ones nerves. I was reading the sticky thread on NILIF and some of the tips sound good. I am still open to any advice. THanks

zimandtakandgrrandmimi · 05-16-2008, 09:57 AM

http://www.make-and-build-dog-stuff....treadmill.html

making a canine treadmill...they are good because they are a one cost...check out the rest of the site for other doggie exercise tools....

TooneyDogs · 05-16-2008, 10:00 AM

Mental exercise is just as tiring as physical exercise. Work on basic obedience for 15-20 minutes...sits, downs, stay and come. Play Sniff and Find....have him sniff a treat and then hide it. Start out by teaching the game really close...just a few feet away then progress to hiding the treat in another room. That can keep some dogs occupied/engaged for 10 minutes.
Teach Tobey to Come...don't chase. Pinning to the floor doesn't work as you're discovering. Time-outs are used to elict NEW behaviors when the social isolation ends. For example, the dog is jumping on you....you put him in isolation and when you return you hope he gives you a new behavior...perhaps a sit instead of the jumping. That's exactly what you want to happen with a time-out but, the new behavior has to be reinforced with treats, praise and consistency.

Sal1979 · 05-16-2008, 10:05 AM

This is something I do need to do more. Tobey is very very smart and learns quickly. Mental exercise may help. Im going to try this. Thank you.

Curbside Prophet · 05-16-2008, 11:20 AM

I didn’t read anything about what you do with the dog to direct his energy. I know you walk him and take him to the dog park but neither of these activities address what he needs to do as a corgi. Don’t get me wrong, walking is important and necessary, but for a driven corgi it’s just a warm up. Dog parks are okay outlets for some, but most dog parks are jungle gyms for dogs and it’s really not teaching the dog what you want – to calm down. So what I think you need to do is find an activity for your dog - perhaps herding if there’s a trainer in your area, maybe agility, or possibly even rally. I would do this right away.

Do you practice NILIF? How is his recall?

I actually don’t think using the Zen roll or time-outs as a means of calming him are bad choices, but I think you need to do it as part of an activity to teach the dog the behavior, and teach him the activity will resume once he does settle, before using it as a punishment. Otherwise, you’re just confusing the dog which can add to your dog’s frustration.

Dogstar · 05-16-2008, 12:54 PM

One thing that I noticed? Tobey's got you trained. He's bored, he comes over and barks at you, and when you get irritated, you chase him! Awesome game, form his POV. :P And since it's already worked a few times, ignoring it is going to be a real chore now- he'll bark longer, louder, and may escalate- since being annoying has gotten a rise out of you in the past.

I'd recommend signing up for some obedience or agility classes, or getting a few good books and working nightly (2 20 minute sessions, ideally) on SERIOUS training. Corgi brains need work. Teaching tricks (or working on real precision in competitive obedience behaviors- heeling, formal recall, formal retrieve, etc) can be a great way to provide this, even beyond just running him. I'd actually AVOID running him, at this point- the last thing you want is a fitter, higher-energy Tobey!

McBeck · 05-16-2008, 10:12 PM

I live in MO and the rain's been a total bummer. My puppy is a herding dog too so I feel your pain. My company lets me work from home and I can't have the barkity bark bark going on in the background, so I've been trying to find some creative things to entertain her and burn off some energy.

One thing I do no matter what is walk her for at least 30 minutes in the morning. Yes, I do get wet; yes, she gets wet, but the tradeoff is totally worth it. She LOVES getting toweled off when we get back. I can towel her off and then leave the towel with a toy on it and she roll around on there for a while after our walk. I also stuff a kong with pumpkin and a biscuit and freeze it. It doesn't take long to freeze and it keeps her quiet for nearly an hour. This is also great for reinforcing how wonderful crate time is.

I keep a basket with LOTS of toys. If she starts going berserk, I take a few minutes to work on sit/stand/down and then give her a fresh toy. If she hasn't seen it in a few days, it's like a new toy to her.

The food puzzles are great too. I have one that looks like 4 balls melted together into a pyramid. I feed her breakfast or lunch with that and it keeps her busy for a while. The dice cube looks promising too, but I haven't found one locally yet.

Oh, another favorite is a bowl full of ice cubes. She plays with them and eats them. It's best on a hard surface floor unless you don't mind the cubes melting on your rug.

I've also anchored her chewy fleece man under one leg of my kitchen table. She gets to play tug without me playing tug with her. Obviously you have to have the right setup for this, but you might be able to figure something out. Maybe a long rope on your locked sliding glass door. Just don't leave it there 24/7.

The last thing that works for us is fetch. If I toss a toy and let her fetch it a few times, she's usually satisfied to play with it by herself when I tell her we're done.

Hopefully some of these will work for you. The morning walk is really key for us b/c it uses all that early morning puppy energy. 30 soggy minutes beats the heck out of 6 manic, crazy, barkapalooza hours. :lol:

melgrj7 · 05-17-2008, 12:15 AM

Try feeding him in some of these:
Squirrel Dude
Twist-N-Treat
Tug-A-Jug
Buster Cube

They will help mentally stimulate him and relieve some boredom on the days you can't get to the dog park. You can also play hide and seek with him, put him in a sit stay somewhere and hide treats around the apartment. Once they are hidden tell him to "find" or "seek" or whatever you want to use. At first put them in obvious places, once he gets the idea start hiding them better.

Sal1979 · 05-19-2008, 07:33 AM

Thanks to all for your advice. This past weekend we had some success. I think. Whenever he does his attention barking outbursts we are completely ignoring him. Not looking at him or anything. The result as been good. His outbursts are now much shorter. He is a smart dog, so he is quickly learning that he is not getting the result that he used to get. We were praising him more when he was calm and relaxed and I started playing the "find it" game that someone suggested as well. Hes really good at it and I can tell that he is trying really hard to find the treat when I hide it.
We will continue the process this week and hopefully see more improvement. It is a headache to ignore him when he is barking at us, but I think we can persevere.

poodleholic · 05-20-2008, 04:20 AM

Quote:

This behavior is really only frequent when I am not able to get him a lot of exercise. It is getting really dificult because I feel like I cant relax or do anything in the house without him coming over and barking at me. He does it to me more than my fiance, but it equally irritating to both of us.

At least you know why he's doing it, so you're way ahead of those who don't!

I have two very athletic and active dogs who require hard exercise (not just walks) to release pent-up energy. When I can't see that they get it, I play games with them designed to make them think and problem-solve. Engage the brain - it really helps and will tire them out.

Sal1979 · 06-06-2008, 03:47 PM

Thought Id post a follow up. I came here for help a few weeks ago and so far we have seen some improvement. Ignoring his barking fits for attention has helped tremendously. I have been ignoring him until he pauses for a brief moment and then tell him to sit or lay down and then praise him. We also found a few kong/treat toys that keep him very busy. It will be a slow process, but I wanted to post and thank everyone for your help.

Chicster · 06-06-2008, 04:46 PM

I know I'm coming into this a little late but I just wanted to offer some other advice

I know Corgis aren't THAT small, but I recommend this book I got on Amazon called The Little Dogs Activity Book. It has a lot of mental excersizes and fun training tips that you can do with your dog in a small space. I'd also second the recommendations for a training class... or if you can't do that clicker training at home is pretty easy to pick up on as well.

I'd start at clickersolutions.com, they have a lot of really helpful articles and tips for beginners. Smart dogs pick up on this type of training really quickly. My Pom Cody loves it, it's like a game to them!