# Correcting behavioral issues that only occur with me



## 94Magna_Tom (Feb 23, 2021)

Did you and your husband have different roles with Hugo's upbringing? Do you both train him? Seems like you're his human. I can't offer much advise, but I think I can help draw out relevant info for others to consider. He may need to go back into his x-pen for more chewtoy training.


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## a2girl (Oct 4, 2020)

94Magna_Tom said:


> Did you and your husband have different roles with Hugo's upbringing? Do you both train him? Seems like you're his human. I can't offer much advise, but I think I can help draw out relevant info for others to consider. He may need to go back into his x-pen for more chewtoy training.


Tom, we both train him, together and separately, and we both individually take him for walks. We walk him individually for reasons of scheduling. We both participated in his puppy life skills classes but I was the lead. He definitely spends more time with me overall. I have never used the xpen, which has been serving to block off our dining room! We are up at 7, I crate him at 9 while I’m working, then he’s out of the crate at noon for about 2-2.5 hours, and crated again for a mid afternoon nap. He’s always fine going into and coming out of the crate. He eats dinner around 5, and starts napping again around 8 until bedtime at 11. Sometimes he seems to have a hard time settling and will start this chewing behavior. Overtired?


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## Dechi (Aug 22, 2015)

I have two toy poodles and one of them has severe anxiety and will constantly watch me. 24/7. He is totally obsessed with me and will scream bloody murder when I come back after being gone for a few minutes. I’m sure the neighbors think I beat my dogs.

So….. if you’re this person for your dog, it’s hard to change. Tell me if you find anything…

About the chewing, it might be because when he’s with your husband, your dog just isn’t as perked up and happy. So he just sleeps through it. But when he’s with you, he’s more lively and wants to enjoy life. And puppies of this age enjoy life by chewing and doing naughty stuff !

I think it's one of these things that will just pass with time and maturity, at least for the chewing. As for being obsessed with you, well, that's what poodles do sometimes. They’re very into their humans, sometimes to the point of obsession.


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## a2girl (Oct 4, 2020)

Dechi said:


> I have two toy poodles and one of them has severe anxiety and will constantly watch me. 24/7. He is totally obsessed with me and will scream bloody murder when I come back after being gone for a few minutes. I’m sure the neighbors think I beat my dogs.
> 
> So….. if you’re this person for your dog, it’s hard to change. Tell me if you find anything…
> 
> ...


Hugo definitely gives me a big welcome after I’ve been gone for a few hours but doesn’t cry anymore, which he used to do when I went anywhere else in the house without him. He‘s not reactive when he sees me leave the house. Maybe it is just a teething issue and maturity. The funny thing to me is that as bonded as he is, he doesn’t cuddle or look for a lot of petting from me. Thanks for sharing your experience and thoughts—it made me feel better.


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## Dechi (Aug 22, 2015)

a2girl said:


> The funny thing to me is that as bonded as he is, he doesn’t cuddle or look for a lot of petting from me.


A lot of young dogs aren’t cuddly; they’re too busy discovering the world. I would bet he will be when he’s older.


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## Asta's Mom (Aug 20, 2014)

Asta has always been my dog - he whimpers when I leave and is overjoyed when I return. He will obey my husband and when I'm not around will stick close to him. This is just the way we wanted him as I depend on him to help me through rough times in my bipolar disorder.


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## Basil_the_Spoo (Sep 1, 2020)

Sounds like a mommas boy


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## a2girl (Oct 4, 2020)

94Magna_Tom said:


> Did you and your husband have different roles with Hugo's upbringing? Do you both train him? Seems like you're his human. I can't offer much advise, but I think I can help draw out relevant info for others to consider. He may need to go back into his x-pen for more chewtoy training.


Tom, I’m thinking that maybe it’s time to teach him to settle in an xpen attached to his crate. How did you get Elroy acclimated? I know I am starting this much later than you did. He’s fine being crated with a chew and toys—he actually runs in ahead of me!


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## 94Magna_Tom (Feb 23, 2021)

I just put it up and clipped it to the crate. There wasn't much accimating needed. I left the door open most of the time. All his fun stuff was kept in there and he just went in. I had to reconfigure where the x-pen door was because it wound up in the wrong place. Elroy never chewed anything that he wasn't supposed to. I took the x-pen down after a couple of months. He's such a good boy he doesn't even need it now.


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## PeggyTheParti (Sep 5, 2019)

a2girl said:


> Tom, I’m thinking that maybe it’s time to teach him to settle in an xpen attached to his crate. How did you get Elroy acclimated? I know I am starting this much later than you did. He’s fine being crated with a chew and toys—he actually runs in ahead of me!


Some good advice here:









Crate/X-pen Anxiety


Elroy is practically perfect at everything EXCEPT chilling in his crate or x-pen. I'm worried that if leave him in there until he settles, I'll be doing permanent psychological damage (or long lasting anyway). He's not afraid of the crate or the pen, so long as he is not locked in. Once he...




www.poodleforum.com





Same principles apply to the crate and the x-pen, although with the x-pen I also rewarded for not jumping up on the sides. Peggy tried this a couple of times and I paid her zero attention. Instead I instantly rewarded four-paws-on-the-floor with attention, treats, and/or freedom. (The crate version of this would be opening the crate door the _moment_ the pup settles and then slowly increasing duration.)


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## PeggyTheParti (Sep 5, 2019)

As for your original question, I do think our poodles sense our stress and try to defuse the situation. They also do what works for them, and if being “naughty” reliably gets attention....well, you know. 

Is he getting adequate physical and mental exercise before your workday begins? Or at least at the midway point? And is his routine pretty stable so he doesn’t have to watch you to know what’s coming next?


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## Liz (Oct 2, 2010)

PeggyTheParti said:


> Is he getting adequate physical and mental exercise before your workday begins? Or at least at the midway point? And is his routine pretty stable so he doesn’t have to watch you to know what’s coming next?


100%. I would track Hugo's routine for a few days to figure out how he experiences the day. You can use that record to figure out what happens differently just before he settles (versus those times when he doesn't), and identify changes that may seem small to you but huge to him. My own dog, Mia, can tell time within about a 10 minute window, so she gets antsy if I push off our usual walk from 5 to 5:30, for example. To her, I'm unforgivably late!

WFH can be tricky with dogs. Years ago I was studying for the bar exam with a 1-year old poodle, and I found that taking breaks every 90 minutes or so to walk around the block (10 minutes) kept her calm throughout the day. We maintained our usual romps in the morning and evening, and she basically slept through the day when I added those structured breaks that I initiated.


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## a2girl (Oct 4, 2020)

Liz said:


> 100%. I would track Hugo's routine for a few days to figure out how he experiences the day. You can use that record to figure out what happens differently just before he settles (versus those times when he doesn't), and identify changes that may seem small to you but huge to him. My own dog, Mia, can tell time within about a 10 minute window, so she gets antsy if I push off our usual walk from 5 to 5:30, for example. To her, I'm unforgivably late!
> 
> WFH can be tricky with dogs. Years ago I was studying for the bar exam with a 1-year old poodle, and I found that taking breaks every 90 minutes or so to walk around the block (10 minutes) kept her calm throughout the day. We maintained our usual romps in the morning and evening, and she basically slept through the day when I added those structured breaks that I initiated.


The mornings are fine—we have a routine that includes playtime, a 30 minute sniffing walk, 5-10 minutes of training and then a few minutes of playing after that. Then he runs into his crate with a frozen Kong or Toppl and is not to be heard from for 3 hours. It’s in the afternoon that the structure falls apart. After he comes out of the crate at noon, he might have a nibble—he is transitioning away from the midday meal—and we will play outside if it’s not too hot and then a bit inside with some training.

I know I feel ambivalent about crating him again in the afternoon and that may be sending him mixed messages. I want to be able to work from the living room in the afternoon with him in the room napping or playing on his own. Instead he seems to have a hard time settling down and wants my attention. I end up taking him outside for a few minutes between 2 and 2:30 pm and then crating him again and leaving the room until around 5. (His crate is in the living room) He actually seems better for having these good naps in the morning and afternoon. As I said, when I’m in the room, he’s sleeping with one eye open. During the evening, he settles down usually well, but of course I am in the room. 😂 In general, I‘m having difficulty doing anything around the house without having him underfoot or chewing on something he shouldn’t. This is my first dog as an adult so I have a lot to learn. My husband is helpful in playing and training and Hugo will lounge contentedly in the living room all afternoon with my husband. On workdays, I will try your suggestio of the structured play or walk in mid afternoon—I am doing that sometimes but not consistently. Would introducing an xpen allow me more independence in doing stuff around the house? Right now I just do household stuff when my husband is playing with Hugo in the yard or on walks or when he’s crated.


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## Starla (Nov 5, 2020)

Phoebe is my 6th dog as an adult and the only one which has required an ex-pen to allow me to do anything without her. It is set up in the living room, and I have to have her in there unless she is being actively watched because she gets into everything. I can’t even do something simple like unload the dishwasher if she is free. I also work from home. I take her out at lunchtime to stretch her legs and do a short training session, and then at 2 I’ve been taking her out for about 15 minutes to play fetch.


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## I_love_dogs (May 30, 2021)

My husband put a Petstages Chick-A-Bone in a Kong tire for Loki to chew on. Without the tire, it was too smooth for him to hold in the correct position to chew on. I have couple around the house to protect furniture.


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## For Want of Poodle (Feb 25, 2019)

Many people don't like to do this, and it's not a good idea if you have dogs that swallow things, but I satisfied a lot of Annie's puppyhood urges for destruction with newspaper, cardboard, or sticks in her ex pen. They seem to need to chew a variety of textures. A frozen Kong is a good thing too.


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## PeggyTheParti (Sep 5, 2019)

For Want of Poodle said:


> Many people don't like to do this, and it's not a good idea if you have dogs that swallow things, but I satisfied a lot of Annie's puppyhood urges for destruction with newspaper, cardboard, or sticks in her ex pen. They seem to need to chew a variety of textures. A frozen Kong is a good thing too.


I did this, too. Activating destroy mode in a safe space is good for frustrated puppies.


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## For Want of Poodle (Feb 25, 2019)

Here's a picture of 1 year old Annie, when I had the audacity to try and work from home to try to focus on deadlines...

















Working from home...


Annie here. My human stayed home today and tried to do this thing called "working from home". Apparently she had a bunch of deadlines and wanted to focus? It was SUPER FUN. I got paper to destroy, and played ball, and got put in my crate with a chicken wing, and got a chewy, and ate a pen...




www.poodleforum.com


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## Starla (Nov 5, 2020)

I also let (encourage?) Phoebe destroy cardboard boxes in her pen. She loves to rip them apart!


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## 94Magna_Tom (Feb 23, 2021)

Starla said:


> I also let (encourage?) Phoebe destroy cardboard boxes in her pen. She loves to rip them apart!


I do too, but be sure to watch them. Once pieces are too small, I take them away. Elroy's friend Roddy (Beagle) scratched/cut the inside of his mouth/throat on cardboard that he (apparently) tried to swallow. He was laid up for a week+.


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## a2girl (Oct 4, 2020)

I_love_dogs said:


> View attachment 480098
> My husband put a Petstages Chick-A-Bone in a Kong tire for Loki to chew on. Without the tire, it was too smooth for him to hold in the correct position to chew on. I have couple around the house to protect furniture.


Thanks for the suggestion but as I said in my OP, Hugo will not touch anything that is synthetic like this---he has Nylabones and Benebones and has no interest in chewing on them.


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## a2girl (Oct 4, 2020)

For Want of Poodle said:


> Many people don't like to do this, and it's not a good idea if you have dogs that swallow things, but I satisfied a lot of Annie's puppyhood urges for destruction with newspaper, cardboard, or sticks in her ex pen. They seem to need to chew a variety of textures. A frozen Kong is a good thing too.


Hugo has displayed very little interest in tearing up things like boxes or paper. It holds his attention for less than 5 minutes. The only boxes that he really liked were the stacks filled with books in my office--he liked to chew on the corners and try to get to the books.


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## I_love_dogs (May 30, 2021)

a2girl said:


> Thanks for the suggestion but as I said in my OP, Hugo will not touch anything that is synthetic like this---he has Nylabones and Benebones and has no interest in chewing on them.


Mine didn't either until we put them together. I also trained him to chew on it by catching him chewing on furniture and giving this instead. It took several times before he started looking for it on his own. Since my desk chair is one of the things he likes chew on, we had ample training opportunities.


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## For Want of Poodle (Feb 25, 2019)

a2girl said:


> Hugo has displayed very little interest in tearing up things like boxes or paper. It holds his attention for less than 5 minutes. The only boxes that he really liked were the stacks filled with books in my office--he liked to chew on the corners and try to get to the books.


Try taking a box, crumpling in paper, and then tossing in a few treats. When he gets good at that, close the flaps,. Annie also likes me holding the paper for her to chew. 

For things like Kong's - stuff them and freeze them to make them more interesting. Annie also had no interest in just chewing a plastic toy.


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## a2girl (Oct 4, 2020)

For Want of Poodle said:


> Try taking a box, crumpling in paper, and then tossing in a few treats. When he gets good at that, close the flaps,. Annie also likes me holding the paper for her to chew.
> 
> For things like Kong's - stuff them and freeze them to make them more interesting. Annie also had no interest in just chewing a plastic toy.


Thanks, I will try the box idea. He gets frozen Kongs and Toppls daily.


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## Deere (Jun 25, 2021)

For Want of Poodle said:


> Many people don't like to do this, and it's not a good idea if you have dogs that swallow things, but I satisfied a lot of Annie's puppyhood urges for destruction with newspaper, cardboard, or sticks in her ex pen. They seem to need to chew a variety of textures. A frozen Kong is a good thing too.


I also give Ivan empty paper towel and toilet paper rolls to play with. He doesn't ingest them. He just plays with them and it keeps him busy.


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