[streibi]

We adopted a Redbone Coonhound 7 weeks ago. He is a neutered, approximately 18 month old boy of 70lbs. From what we can tell he was probably an outside hunting dog that was dumped. He has absolutely no house manners and is quite wound up. He joins our 6 month old lab puppy (male). He is our 3rd redbone, the other two were never like this. Much more laid back.

Issues:
obsessed with toys- breaks down baby gates, jumps over couches, etc to get to them and then destroys in minutes. We put them all in a closet to stop the obsessive behavior.

He can't settle or relax- if he's out of his crate he's running around the living room at full speed, up and down the stairs, etc. We shut doors but he breaks through 5' baby gates and jumps over other things to explore. To manage this we have to keep him leashed now and make him sit and settle (very difficult).

We have to supervise play with our lab pup because there is a good 20lb difference between them. The adopted Redbone plays hard and I don't want the pup getting hurt. No growling or bad behavior- just full on wrestling.

Both dogs get two 30-40 minute walks daily and a 20 minute play session every night.

Are we doing the right things? Not sure how to get him to calm down and stop being so obsessive.

 

[Lillith]

You're okay! I would expect this behavior from a dog with no house manners. He was never taught to respect baby gates, never taught that they mean stay out! Leashing him and forcing him to settle is the right thing to do. Just make sure to reward him for being calm. You might try watching "Capturing Calmness" by Kikopup on YouTube, which may be helpful.

Try getting him rubber toys meant specifically for aggressive chewers. Really, I would have no problem with him laying down and worrying on a toy if that meant I didn't have to leash him for a while! Make them freely accessible, and he might not be so obsessed with them.

Yes, you should always supervise play between your two dogs. This likely won't be a problem for long when the lab is fully grown. As long as neither dog is getting hurt and the play is give and take, it's fine. The redbone should be handicapping himself and letting himself "lose" so as not to hurt your pup. Dogs who like to play with other dogs are usually pretty good with that, because if they don't their friend won't play anymore!