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I'm not really a dog "hater," but I've had the worst experiences owning dogs. A lot of you might say that it's because I'm irresponsible pet owner, and it might honestly come off that way in my post, because I feel a lot of frustration. I'm pretty sure I'm not alone in my experiences with animals that have displayed less than pleasant behavior. Likely, it's because I've approached it wrong. From what I've read, dogs are pretty labor-intensive pets.
Here's a list of the main problems I've had:
Housebreaking:
This is impossible! It seems like they either choose to respect you and not soil the house, or they decide to disrespect you and soil. What's the proper way to do this? Everything I've tried has not worked.
Once I owned a border collie / healer mutt who stayed inside with me after previously being an outside dog. The dog requested to go outside every time and didn't soil anything the whole time he was inside. Later, after I got him home, he decided to mark the Christmas tree! Immediately, he went back outside.
I had a Chihuahua / Poodle mix who would go in my bedroom directly after she ate. I even tried to crate her up in a cat crate because I heard that they would not soil their crates; well, she soiled the crate in a big way! I had to get up in the middle of the night and give her a bath. I also tried paper training her. She couldn't tell the difference between the puppy pads and the floor.
I also had a Shi-Tzu that went in its crate, really a medium dog-sized cage, and in various places around the house. I tried to litter train the dog, because I thought that would be cute and convenient, but even though the dog went in the litter several times, it did not seem to associate the litter box with elimination when I gave it more room to run around (and choices to go to the bathroom). I also tried training it to go outside. By the time, I adopted it out, I had no indication it understood where to go to the bathroom.
Barking:
Puppies and inside dogs bark incessantly. They recommend crate training, but a puppy in a crate is a recipe for lost sleep.
Chewing:
Most of the dogs I've owned have developed chewing habits. A good way to prevent this is to just have a small dog that can't get its mouth around things. I've tried that, but that's come with a host of its own problems.
Stinking:
Most of the dogs I've encountered absolutely stink, even after a bath. The smell makes me feel like not petting or handling them without being somewhere I can wash up. I've encountered this more with little dogs than big dogs. Maybe the outside gives them a chance to air out?
Please don't act outraged. If I've just been doing it wrong, explain how to do it correctly.
I'm honestly going to ignore outraged comments. I really have had these problems off and on trying to own and care for dogs.
Also, I don't currently own any kind of pet, so don't get too frustrated.
What's your motive to make this post? I see no constructive purpose.
Okay, I changed the title. Is that a little better?
I'll give you some background. This is carried over from the Cats vs. Dogs thread in Great Debates and a pet question I asked on the Renting forum. It seems I really do have some kind of animosity for dogs based on negative experiences I've had with them as pets in the past. They're cute fuzzy bundles of endless painful responsibility. You may be thinking, "then don't have kids," but I've never been able to get any of the enjoyment out of dog ownership that dog owners claim to have. I've seen owning puppies as a big headache and frustration; a large price to pay for a cute wagging tail. Now, the problems I've listed have mostly been associated with inside dogs, small breeds, so maybe that has something to do with it.
Now, I like hanging out with someone else's kids and someone else's dogs okay, but I'm really missing something when it comes to raising my own puppy. I call myself an animal lover, but am I really?
I will say this as politely as I know how. Maybe you and dogs just aren't a good fit. To say you aren't a 'dog hater' really concerns me, it implies you are also not a dog lover so I think the best thing to do is not get any more dogs and save you and them the grief. Why put yourself through something that makes you very unhappy and which the dog will most certainly pick up on? You have a choice about this, the dog doesn't.
I don't think you are irresponsible more like uninformed. There are a lot of training books out there that would provide solutions to your problems. I think you are expecting too much and not putting forth effort and time to train the dogs. You are better off not owning a dog.
Well, I know, but I'm impressed with well-trained dogs and think the dog that "other person" owns would make an awesome pet, but, as is evidenced in my post, the other guy's pooch never becomes my pet. I've owned some smart dogs in the past, but I eventually let them down. I would like to hear more than, "I don't think you can do this." I know I don't know what I'm doing right now, but maybe there's a way to inform myself so that it's not such a hassle if I can't say, "no" to a wagging tail in the future.
I'm wondering how long you've had most of these dogs. Chewing, for instance, is something most dogs do when they're young, and most dogs grow out of by the time they're around 2 or so. They grow out of a lot of other bad behaviors as they get past those puppy and then "teenage" years too. Maybe you're giving up on them just when they're about to be good dogs. Chewing is also a big symptom of boredom. So is barking. Boredom causes a huge amount of bad behavior among dogs. You need to give your dogs physical and mental stimulation, and outlets for things like chewing such as kongs.
As for the housebreaking, it sounds like you're all over the place trying different things, but you don't appear to need the advice right now, so I won't address that. But I do want to say that peeing on a Christmas tree isn't misbehavior. It's an honest mistake. It's a tree! That needs to be gently corrected, and then you move on.
But I really think you are a little too high strung to own a dog. Stick to visiting your friends' dogs.
Are there any dog trainers who might be able to explain to this cat lover what I need to do if I actually want to enjoy the company of my next dog, assuming I ever get one, instead of feel frustrated with myself and the pooch? I know just abstaining from owning a dog might be the best thing, but there are breeds that I absolutely adore, and I've owned some really smart dogs, even though they eventually made too much of a nuisance of themselves thanks to my lack of involvement.
The thing that really gets me is my dog-loving friends seemed like they were able to train them in two days once I handed them over. Those dogs started doing neat things that I didn't know they were capable of. Obedience training, housebreaking, establishing good habits. It all seems to happen like magic for the dog lovers. I heard no complaint about the dogs I couldn't housebreak soiling inside. The dog who tried to pull me along like a rag doll learned to heel. What on Earth did they do that I didn't do? I know they did something different, unless the dogs just hated me.
Are there any dog trainers who might be able to explain to this cat lover what I need to do if I actually want to enjoy the company of my next dog, assuming I ever get one, instead of feel frustrated with myself and the pooch?
I would do things by the book. I read Puppies for Dummies and I have the perfectly behaved poodle.
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Immediately, he went back outside. 