chameleongirl
New Member
Hi all. I hope I dont bore you with a long post but it may end up as that...
Basically my husband bought a doberman last year. He is 1 year and 2 months old... My husband said he used to train dogs and of course I said ok if that is what you are going to do then no problem geting a new dog. Well he hasnt done any training except walking him around the yard on the leash about 10 times since we GOT HIM. He says he is so well behaved on the leash but inside the house he is NUTS.
The energy that Panzer has is causing a lot of disruption in our home... I am told I am too hard on him but then my husband just sits back and lets him do whatever he wants 97% of the time. Since we got Panzer, my husband sleeps in the living room on the couch with him... still does. I cannot be disrupted during sleep due to my anxiety/panic attacks... so each night i take the pug and go to the bedroom while i hear my husband saying "go to sleep" or "Lay down" at night because Panzer wont go to sleep.
Panzer still doesnt know sit OR down. I can say he does not know it because when I say "sit" he will go to the down position... sometimes he gets it right but its like he will go right to "down" from a very lazy sit because he knows its the 2nd thing to do after sit. I try and mix it up and say down first and he may sit... or say sit from when he is lying down and he wont do it. Sometimes I try and push his butt down gently as I say "sit" so he knows what I want him to do.
Panzer likes to bite my pug. A lot. I cannot leave them two in the same room (say I want to go to the bathroom) without him biting at her and then in turn she will chase/growl/bite/snarl at him. She used to be more tolerant but lately will attack Panzer even if he smacks a paw down close to the bone she is chewing on. I also know there was some horseplay when I see the back of my pug's neck matted down with drool from panzer's mouth.
I have a cat as well. she is 13. Kind of a strange story as to why I have the cat but it was my grandparents... since they died (one in 07 and one in 2010), my husband and I bought the house April 2012. So the cat has been here the whole time- my dad would come over twice a day to feed her and let her out when no one was living here. Since my other relatives did not live up to their word in taking the cat, I have her... Panzer LOVES the cat. thing is he will block her from going upstairs or down to the basement (where her food/litter pan is)... he will step on her by getting too close... he also has jumped on her twice outside where they both went down. Thankfully she wasnt hurt either time but really freaked out. The cat will come see him if he is sleeping or laying down but once he moves she runs off. My husband hates the cat (just doesnt like them) and couldnt care less if he bit her or jumped on her. I care though. I dont let Panzer stare at the cat (he is fixated on her)... I also dont like letting her out when he is out because he will not let her come into the fenced yard to sit on the porch. She sits in our neighbors yards just ouside the fence we have and will wait for me to walk her in. Panzer still tries keeping her out though and then if I say NO or block the cat he will turn to me and jump up and down and bark at me. So please... how can i keep him apart from the cat? He will sniff out the spots she was sitting in after she has walked away... like I said she is old and I worry for her.
Panzer also likes to dig. We have an area in the corner of the yard where a tree stump is at where he CAN dig. He still digs multiple holes in the rest of the yard. Any tips for this?
I dont like dogs in the kitchen... Panzer drives me nuts putting his chin on tables and counter tops (still does it in the living room to my coffee table and I cannot stand it). How do i teach him that things on counters/tables/end tables are not for him? For now I made a cardboard gate with a cat door cut out of it... Panzer will charge through the cardboard if he feels like it but not ALL of the time. I will take him to the cardboard gate (its so ugly lol) and say NO and touch the gate a few times in a row then let him go. A week ago someone rang the doorbell and the dogs went running. panzer flew through my ghetto gate and I couldnt get him out of the kitchen and from the doorway. I held his collar as I opened the door and he pulled and twisted my arm. The Jehovah's Witness promptly left because I was struggling with the dogs (my pug girl is tiny and easy to handle compared to Panzer)... Seriously though I cannot have him charging for the door when the doorbell rings... I dont care if its my parents or a stranger- I just dont want him doing that. I have tried getting him to sit and stay (then open the door with him still sitting/staying) but he is too excited. he will push me out of the way to go out if I tell him- time to go to the bathroom or time to go outside.
Another thing I would like to correct is- you cannot put a jacket or coat (or shoes) on from our front room closet without being jumped on. He thinks you are getting ready to go out and play with him. My husband "trained" him i guess because he always wore an old jacket out with him to play and when he sees him open the closet he barges into it then starts to jump up on him. I told my husband not to just let him out when he is excited but he will just let him out because hes too much to handle. <-- not fixing the problem at all. I told him all it does it enforce the behavior. Then it leads to an argument. So I want to know how to be able to put on shoes/jacket without being "attacked"... i cannot even open the closet without panzer going nuts to get the vacuum out of it.
My husband "wrestles" with the dog... like everyday... I dont like horseplay in the house because normally it turns into panzer running around hitting stuff and jumping on and off the couch multiple times. He also lets Panzer jump on him and he walks with panzer up on 2 legs. I dont like him play fighting or wrestling because Panzer already has a had enough time distinguishing playing with me than when playing with my husband.
Also Panzer will not come inside when told... he will bark and jump around instead like he is mad at me. When the neighbor's kids are out, I take panzer in when he starts barking at them. he has met them a few times now so the kids are not total strangers. Usually their father walks them over if i am out washing my car or something to chit chat... panzer licks their hands through the fence.
Is there any way to make it less messy when Panzer eats? its either food in the water bowl or water in the food bowl. I must step in water spots around the house about 15 times a day (he walks when he eats/drinks too). its gross. I also find food in strange spots like on the toilet, on my cricket bin which is on a shelf...etc. Definitely not from my pug. lol
How can I get Panzer to jump on the couch and lay on it-- not jump on and off 10x... or walk across it all? The couch is weakened because Panzer will not just lay down but SLIDE down the upper part of the backrest of the couch when he lays down. he does it to my one wall constantly and I hate it because he has a collar that scratches it. I also just painted a million stencils on the wall and want it to last at least a year before I do it again. We also have a recliner that is destroyed... well almost. Everything creaks and is pulling apart... panzer will get next to it and "pull" on it to bring himself closer (its my husband's spot)... then if he drops a bone, panzer will get between the recliner and couch and you can see the whole side of the recliner moving. the recliner does not sit square on the floor, it feels like the while bottom is round- that is how weak the chair is. He also will stand up on it while my husband is in it and I am waiting for the whole chair to collapse and eventually take out my glass end table/lamps with it. How can I get him to NOT destroy this chair- we dont have extra money for new furniture...
Evenings around here suck. They just plain suck. You know when its after dinner and you want to watch tv or a movie? I cannot remember a time watching an entire tv show without interruption. Panzer will sit and stare then whine/groan. Sometimes he will just look me in my face like 6 inches away and If I say "no" or "go lay down" he just stands there and stares... even if i try to move him to get him to lay down he pushes back.
Another thing is dog liners- Panzer doesnt use them but he will mess with my pug's liners. my pug still has liners in the house (she doesnt go out too much but its nicer now out there)... panzer will go tear up her liners even if they had been used. I cannot tell you how many times he has shoved a liner against a wall to leave a poop smear for me. So not cool.
My husband doesnt really play with him much. I have taken that responsibility now... i can only play with his 2 ball toys because if you grab the snake toy or rope toy, you will get attacked (not in a bad way but its way too rough). Another thing I can thank my husband for doing-- play rough with him with these toys so that if someone touches the wrong one, Panzer thinks its ON and goes crazy.
I have showed my husband online articles on dominant/aggressive behavior and he just plays it off saying Panzer is a puppy. I dont know what to do. its like I have no support. I am tired of arguing over the dog. That is ALL we argue over (even though we havent had income in over a year and my husband still cannot find fulltime work)... funny we argue over the dog more than income (and things are TIGHT-- just look at my cardboard ghetto dog gate in the kitchen).
I gave it about a year until I started to really get on my husband for not training... i would have rather gotten rid of Panzer because he does not fit our lifestyle. My husband now tells people he didnt think this through when he got him... etc. Too late now. My husband is about to start work here and basically up til now had time to train/play with him... now i am left with panzer. I dont really like him and I am sad to say that. I have a variety of other pets and Panzer is the most problematic for me.
Am I being too demanding? I have had plenty of panic attacks/anxiety attacks due to Panzer... like when he jumped on the cat. I had a really bad one a few weeks ago too because he wasnt listening to ANYTHING for like 3 days in a row and it just built up and I had to be alone for a while... Everyday and night all day from when he is awake I feel so stressed and annoyed by things he does. I guess its why my husband says I am too hard on Panzer. Panzer does not fit *my* lifestyle... I am not as active as I was or outgoing... but my husband is and he isnt taking care of his end of the deal by training him. can anyone give me some advice or training tips please???? I am very near my end here because its been over a year of the same thing pretty much.
There is more but I am just going to go with the main things that I would like help with. Thanks for reading.
Basically my husband bought a doberman last year. He is 1 year and 2 months old... My husband said he used to train dogs and of course I said ok if that is what you are going to do then no problem geting a new dog. Well he hasnt done any training except walking him around the yard on the leash about 10 times since we GOT HIM. He says he is so well behaved on the leash but inside the house he is NUTS.
The energy that Panzer has is causing a lot of disruption in our home... I am told I am too hard on him but then my husband just sits back and lets him do whatever he wants 97% of the time. Since we got Panzer, my husband sleeps in the living room on the couch with him... still does. I cannot be disrupted during sleep due to my anxiety/panic attacks... so each night i take the pug and go to the bedroom while i hear my husband saying "go to sleep" or "Lay down" at night because Panzer wont go to sleep.
Panzer still doesnt know sit OR down. I can say he does not know it because when I say "sit" he will go to the down position... sometimes he gets it right but its like he will go right to "down" from a very lazy sit because he knows its the 2nd thing to do after sit. I try and mix it up and say down first and he may sit... or say sit from when he is lying down and he wont do it. Sometimes I try and push his butt down gently as I say "sit" so he knows what I want him to do.
Panzer likes to bite my pug. A lot. I cannot leave them two in the same room (say I want to go to the bathroom) without him biting at her and then in turn she will chase/growl/bite/snarl at him. She used to be more tolerant but lately will attack Panzer even if he smacks a paw down close to the bone she is chewing on. I also know there was some horseplay when I see the back of my pug's neck matted down with drool from panzer's mouth.
I have a cat as well. she is 13. Kind of a strange story as to why I have the cat but it was my grandparents... since they died (one in 07 and one in 2010), my husband and I bought the house April 2012. So the cat has been here the whole time- my dad would come over twice a day to feed her and let her out when no one was living here. Since my other relatives did not live up to their word in taking the cat, I have her... Panzer LOVES the cat. thing is he will block her from going upstairs or down to the basement (where her food/litter pan is)... he will step on her by getting too close... he also has jumped on her twice outside where they both went down. Thankfully she wasnt hurt either time but really freaked out. The cat will come see him if he is sleeping or laying down but once he moves she runs off. My husband hates the cat (just doesnt like them) and couldnt care less if he bit her or jumped on her. I care though. I dont let Panzer stare at the cat (he is fixated on her)... I also dont like letting her out when he is out because he will not let her come into the fenced yard to sit on the porch. She sits in our neighbors yards just ouside the fence we have and will wait for me to walk her in. Panzer still tries keeping her out though and then if I say NO or block the cat he will turn to me and jump up and down and bark at me. So please... how can i keep him apart from the cat? He will sniff out the spots she was sitting in after she has walked away... like I said she is old and I worry for her.
Panzer also likes to dig. We have an area in the corner of the yard where a tree stump is at where he CAN dig. He still digs multiple holes in the rest of the yard. Any tips for this?
I dont like dogs in the kitchen... Panzer drives me nuts putting his chin on tables and counter tops (still does it in the living room to my coffee table and I cannot stand it). How do i teach him that things on counters/tables/end tables are not for him? For now I made a cardboard gate with a cat door cut out of it... Panzer will charge through the cardboard if he feels like it but not ALL of the time. I will take him to the cardboard gate (its so ugly lol) and say NO and touch the gate a few times in a row then let him go. A week ago someone rang the doorbell and the dogs went running. panzer flew through my ghetto gate and I couldnt get him out of the kitchen and from the doorway. I held his collar as I opened the door and he pulled and twisted my arm. The Jehovah's Witness promptly left because I was struggling with the dogs (my pug girl is tiny and easy to handle compared to Panzer)... Seriously though I cannot have him charging for the door when the doorbell rings... I dont care if its my parents or a stranger- I just dont want him doing that. I have tried getting him to sit and stay (then open the door with him still sitting/staying) but he is too excited. he will push me out of the way to go out if I tell him- time to go to the bathroom or time to go outside.
Another thing I would like to correct is- you cannot put a jacket or coat (or shoes) on from our front room closet without being jumped on. He thinks you are getting ready to go out and play with him. My husband "trained" him i guess because he always wore an old jacket out with him to play and when he sees him open the closet he barges into it then starts to jump up on him. I told my husband not to just let him out when he is excited but he will just let him out because hes too much to handle. <-- not fixing the problem at all. I told him all it does it enforce the behavior. Then it leads to an argument. So I want to know how to be able to put on shoes/jacket without being "attacked"... i cannot even open the closet without panzer going nuts to get the vacuum out of it.
My husband "wrestles" with the dog... like everyday... I dont like horseplay in the house because normally it turns into panzer running around hitting stuff and jumping on and off the couch multiple times. He also lets Panzer jump on him and he walks with panzer up on 2 legs. I dont like him play fighting or wrestling because Panzer already has a had enough time distinguishing playing with me than when playing with my husband.
Also Panzer will not come inside when told... he will bark and jump around instead like he is mad at me. When the neighbor's kids are out, I take panzer in when he starts barking at them. he has met them a few times now so the kids are not total strangers. Usually their father walks them over if i am out washing my car or something to chit chat... panzer licks their hands through the fence.
Is there any way to make it less messy when Panzer eats? its either food in the water bowl or water in the food bowl. I must step in water spots around the house about 15 times a day (he walks when he eats/drinks too). its gross. I also find food in strange spots like on the toilet, on my cricket bin which is on a shelf...etc. Definitely not from my pug. lol
How can I get Panzer to jump on the couch and lay on it-- not jump on and off 10x... or walk across it all? The couch is weakened because Panzer will not just lay down but SLIDE down the upper part of the backrest of the couch when he lays down. he does it to my one wall constantly and I hate it because he has a collar that scratches it. I also just painted a million stencils on the wall and want it to last at least a year before I do it again. We also have a recliner that is destroyed... well almost. Everything creaks and is pulling apart... panzer will get next to it and "pull" on it to bring himself closer (its my husband's spot)... then if he drops a bone, panzer will get between the recliner and couch and you can see the whole side of the recliner moving. the recliner does not sit square on the floor, it feels like the while bottom is round- that is how weak the chair is. He also will stand up on it while my husband is in it and I am waiting for the whole chair to collapse and eventually take out my glass end table/lamps with it. How can I get him to NOT destroy this chair- we dont have extra money for new furniture...
Evenings around here suck. They just plain suck. You know when its after dinner and you want to watch tv or a movie? I cannot remember a time watching an entire tv show without interruption. Panzer will sit and stare then whine/groan. Sometimes he will just look me in my face like 6 inches away and If I say "no" or "go lay down" he just stands there and stares... even if i try to move him to get him to lay down he pushes back.
Another thing is dog liners- Panzer doesnt use them but he will mess with my pug's liners. my pug still has liners in the house (she doesnt go out too much but its nicer now out there)... panzer will go tear up her liners even if they had been used. I cannot tell you how many times he has shoved a liner against a wall to leave a poop smear for me. So not cool.
My husband doesnt really play with him much. I have taken that responsibility now... i can only play with his 2 ball toys because if you grab the snake toy or rope toy, you will get attacked (not in a bad way but its way too rough). Another thing I can thank my husband for doing-- play rough with him with these toys so that if someone touches the wrong one, Panzer thinks its ON and goes crazy.
I have showed my husband online articles on dominant/aggressive behavior and he just plays it off saying Panzer is a puppy. I dont know what to do. its like I have no support. I am tired of arguing over the dog. That is ALL we argue over (even though we havent had income in over a year and my husband still cannot find fulltime work)... funny we argue over the dog more than income (and things are TIGHT-- just look at my cardboard ghetto dog gate in the kitchen).
I gave it about a year until I started to really get on my husband for not training... i would have rather gotten rid of Panzer because he does not fit our lifestyle. My husband now tells people he didnt think this through when he got him... etc. Too late now. My husband is about to start work here and basically up til now had time to train/play with him... now i am left with panzer. I dont really like him and I am sad to say that. I have a variety of other pets and Panzer is the most problematic for me.
Am I being too demanding? I have had plenty of panic attacks/anxiety attacks due to Panzer... like when he jumped on the cat. I had a really bad one a few weeks ago too because he wasnt listening to ANYTHING for like 3 days in a row and it just built up and I had to be alone for a while... Everyday and night all day from when he is awake I feel so stressed and annoyed by things he does. I guess its why my husband says I am too hard on Panzer. Panzer does not fit *my* lifestyle... I am not as active as I was or outgoing... but my husband is and he isnt taking care of his end of the deal by training him. can anyone give me some advice or training tips please???? I am very near my end here because its been over a year of the same thing pretty much.
There is more but I am just going to go with the main things that I would like help with. Thanks for reading.
Structure, structure, structure....exercise, exercise, exercise and what Jess said about NILIF. That's a great start! And a finding a class will help guide you too. 
There's no easy solution for messy eaters except to maybe gate them off until they are done. Buddy's water bowl is in my laundry room and sometimes he can leave a slippery mess all the way out the door! 
Sometimes I lay down towels to catch it. Either way, I just have to clean it up and chalk it up to dog ownership.
Sounds like the ball is in your court. We're here if you need us. You can do this!!
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