[PoodleParents]

Hi everyone... we are new here... and the reason we got here in the first place is because i'm trying to look up online solutions for our puppy's behavior...
Charles AKA Charlie is a pure bread standard poodle, he's black and gorgeous..
we got him at an animal sanctuary, some lady bought him for an outrageous price and decided after a week she doesn't like big dogs... whatever!

Charlie is EXTREMELY smart. (I raised 3 dogs at my parents house but none of them learned as fast has him) He learned sit in less than half an hour, he knows how to walk with a leash, leaves interesting stuff on walks when he hears "NO", actually... He was completely potty trained after one week... (first only on the newspapers, slowly reducing the amount of paper on the floor and then: no paper- no poop)

We both work full time jobs, but we keep a tight schedule, food and walk first thing in the morning 7:30 AM, going to work, coming back at 5-6 PM- food and walk, at home and then again food and walk at 11-12 PM.
This worked perfectly the first two weeks, but then... came the weekend, we were out all day with him in the park and since then nothing was the same.
he starting peeing and pooping in the house again, and slowly he started RUINING our house, if it's shoes, clothes, remote controls, every time it gets worst, first it was thing on the floor, then things on low shelves, then he opened the closet and took out clothes and today... this really broke my nerves, he opened one of the cupboards in the kitchen and had a party ALL OVER the house with flour... bed, sofa, floor... horrible... I took pictures i was so horrified...

SO... after this long introduction... what are we going to do??
We have a very small house 40 SQR meters, there are 2 doors, one- the main door, second- toilet door. the whole flat is an open space... i know we should get a baby gate thingy... but the thing is that he ruins stuff even when we go out for a short period of time. He NEVER does anything like this when we are home... he's absolutely perfect when we are around...

so so frustrated... please help...

P.S. we also have a cat... that is not very... catish... she isn't very agile.... so high fencing is out of the question for us...

[Yogi]

Originally Posted by PoodleParents

Hi everyone... we are new here... and the reason we got here in the first place is because i'm trying to look up online solutions for our puppy's behavior...
Charles AKA Charlie is a pure bread standard poodle, he's black and gorgeous..
we got him at an animal sanctuary, some lady bought him for an outrageous price and decided after a week she doesn't like big dogs... whatever!

Charlie is EXTREMELY smart. (I raised 3 dogs at my parents house but none of them learned as fast has him) He learned sit in less than half an hour, he knows how to walk with a leash, leaves interesting stuff on walks when he hears "NO", actually... He was completely potty trained after one week... (first only on the newspapers, slowly reducing the amount of paper on the floor and then: no paper- no poop)

We both work full time jobs, but we keep a tight schedule, food and walk first thing in the morning 7:30 AM, going to work, coming back at 5-6 PM- food and walk, at home and then again food and walk at 11-12 PM.
This worked perfectly the first two weeks, but then... came the weekend, we were out all day with him in the park and since then nothing was the same.
he starting peeing and pooping in the house again, and slowly he started RUINING our house, if it's shoes, clothes, remote controls, every time it gets worst, first it was thing on the floor, then things on low shelves, then he opened the closet and took out clothes and today... this really broke my nerves, he opened one of the cupboards in the kitchen and had a party ALL OVER the house with flour... bed, sofa, floor... horrible... I took pictures i was so horrified...

SO... after this long introduction... what are we going to do??
We have a very small house 40 SQR meters, there are 2 doors, one- the main door, second- toilet door. the whole flat is an open space... i know we should get a baby gate thingy... but the thing is that he ruins stuff even when we go out for a short period of time. He NEVER does anything like this when we are home... he's absolutely perfect when we are around...

so so frustrated... please help...

P.S. we also have a cat... that is not very... catish... she isn't very agile.... so high fencing is out of the question for us...

At this point for your sake and the dogs, I would look to crate when not at home. The dog obviously has far to much energy that being home all day when others are gone needs outlet but with no one there the dog is left to his own devices to exercise how he sees fit, which is get into anything and everything. This is not uncommon behavior but at this point crating the dog would be the first step.

[chiclet]

I would also suggest the crate, but introduce it slowly. He could be experiencing separation anxiety (not an expert here) and now that you have had him for two weeks he is likely starting to feel at home. Is it possible to get him to the dog park more often?

[PersistantPuppy]

Yes, i would agree about the crate. Maybe a fenced off area within your flat using a playpen kind of thing - that way he could play with toys safely without ruining your stuff. And the cat wouldn't be restricted either. Also, is there anyone close that could maybe take your dog out when you can't? This would help burn off that excess energy.

[cigwyllt]

I have experienced something similar with my rescue dog and know what a nightmare it can be when they find their own amusement! You don't say how old your dog is?

My guess is that he was pretty overwhelmed when you brought him home and slept a lot. Now he is waking up and bored! He is clearly a very intelligent dog and to be left for that long with no company and no direction he is entertaining himself. Also as a puppy his control over his bodily functions will be less than perfect and he still needs training.

Can you look into finding day care or a walker at least?

[PoodleParents]

so...
Charlie is 5+ months old, and we've had him for 6 weeks. (since he was 4 months old)
I think it's a combination of things that makes him go crazy when we are home...
the holding of bodily fluids is less of problem in my opinion just because we've seen him not messing up the house at all and after just a week so... we know he has it in him even though he is young.
About the separation anxiety... I have to agree... me and my partner have had thoughts in that direction, especially because if for example we have a nap on the weekend, during lunch time- kind of hour of the day he would soil the house, nothing will be touched, the shoes under the bed won't move, but if we go out for 2-3 hours we'll come back to a... "flour party" like yesterday...
Toys... oh... we don't have children, and the not so catish cat we have... we saved her from an abusing house... she doesn't plat AT ALL... so we gave up buying her toys a long time ago... so... Charlie has... i must say... too many toys... i'm thinking about taking some away and introducing them later again... I especially got the kind of toys that are hard silicon and you fill them up with treats so he will keep on playing with it for a longer period of time...
And another thing i didn't mention before... he is ALWAYS hungry.... we feed him... we do... he's 16 KG that's about... 35'ish LB... we feed him the most expensive food there is (not sure if it's allowed to mention specific food brands here...) the amount it says on the pack is 3 meals of 150 G each... which is 450G per day ... about 1 LB per day. and he is still... so hungry all the time...

I can't put him in a crate... first thing i really dislike that method...on top of that... Charlie is a big dog! he's not half his final size and he's a Medium-Large dog... a crate for him would take up half of my apartment! haha
The baby fence... i MUST get one of those...
the only reason i can't just shut him in the balcony all day when we're not home is cuz the kitty has her poop house, food and water there, and she doesn't like to adjust.(the cat pee on the kitchen floor and bathroom is a different story we managed to solve in very artistic ways...)

What we're thinking is making a "cat door" in the balcony door... hopefully she'll get the idea... as i said she isn't the catish of cats...
and in the meanwhile keeping them both in there for the day... we don't see any other option considering the fact that we just can't deal with our stuff being ruined...

**Our balcony is just an extension of the living room (ceiling and all) that has double doors and from that point there are no walls, just big shades from ceiling to floor. Winter over here is 24 C -- 75.2 F... and if you know poodles even with short hair there is no chance he'll be too cold... he has his bed there with blankets and all.**

I don't want a dog sitter... i don't know any around here... we're new in this city we just moved here 3 months ago and really don't find myself giving someone the key to my house... more than that... i want the dog to get used to this king of life style.... this is how things are... and i don't expect much change in this routine in the next year...

Thanks so much for your replies!!!
BTW... i think i'm going to get a bell so we can bell train him when he needs to go out of normal hours... that way we will prevent accidents when we are home as well...

[PoodleParents]

I posted the longest reply and i can't see it here...

[petsrule]

I feel for you, this situation can be so frustrating. My son had the same problem with the dog he rescued. She's part terrier, so she isn't as big as your standard poodle, but she was just as destructive when my son was at work. He finally fenced off a little area in his house (like what was suggested above). He also started exercising her a lot more which seemed to help. She's been with him now for about 2 years and doesn't have to stay in the fenced area because she's learned that it isn't appropriate to trash the house when he's gone or maybe she just feels safer.

Best wishes with your new puppy.

[PersistantPuppy]

May I kindly suggest that the crate would be best for him because it would give him a sense of security....I know its sounds horrible..."crating" your dog, but its like a den to him (or would become so, once he got used to the idea). I was horrified when I found out about crates, and imagined that poor dogs were being left in a prison for hours, but our puppy goes to her crate all the time when she wants to sleep. Its even better since we put a blanket over it.

I also think that being out and about with him would be a great opportunity to meet your neighbours! Once you got to know them a bit, maybe they could help out.

Your pup is trying to fit in with your big strange world and rules, and make you happy. You can help him do this by understanding his instincts and the way he has been led to believe things work.

It will all be fine in the end, its just an interesting path that leads there!

[cigwyllt]

He is *very* young to be left all day. Here in the UK no reputable rescue would home a pup in a home where it would be left all day so what you are experiencing wouldn't arise. I'm not saying that you are wrong to have him - believe me, some rescues have the most ridiculous rules and regulations and I am sure that in many, many cases a dog is better off in a home like yours than in a concrete pen all day every day.

Ok so you don't like crates but just wonder if you could make him some sort of den - if storage is an issue what about a small collapsible tent that you can stick behind the sofa when its not in use - something that he can hide in.

[PoodleParents]

We decided to close him in the balcony... him and the cat (which doesn't mind at-all! we put all her stuff on the table and added a pillow and she just lies there even when the balcony door are open!)
That way we give him some space to move around, he has his bed, food, water and company there...
and... we manage to teach him the lesson about not to poop where you eat like many sites recommend (some even advice to put a leash on the dog and leave him with the poop for a while so he doesn't feel comfortable to poop in the house anymore)
he doesn't seem like he's suffering... he knows that area is "his place" (when he does something wrong we tell him "go to your place" and he knows that is the area we mean)

i think this will work... i have a feeling this will work...

regarding the long hours... i can say, i know what kind of ppl take a dog home, i see the dogs at the animal sanctuaries, and i KNOW our house is NOTHING like that... honestly i don't think there is anyway to compare the two at all...
We're from Israel, where there are no rules about raising dogs (VERY sadly...) anyone could take any dog... and when we came along to take Charlie, they were more than happy that we took any dog, they didn't even care the size of our house or anything...

He has plenty of toys, the best food, a comfortable bed, a cat friend, and two parents that love him to death...
We take him out 3 times a day which is more than most dogs i know... we take him out for an hour walk at night and he plays with all the dogs of the neighborhood. -- we are part of this "dog gang", everyday at around 23:00 everybody goes to the same spot in the park and all the dogs play together--
Charlie is growing normally, he's healthy, he gets all his shots and went to the vet 3 times already since we got him just to be super sure he gets all the medical attention he needs
I went to University for two years (ran out of money... had to go back home...) studying Veterinary medicine...
Believe me... we do our very best for this dog and i think he has a very good life although the long hours he stays at home...
Sorry if i sound so defensive... but i i guess i get touchy when it come to Charlie's well being...

Will update if there is any positive or negative change Anyway i'm sure that as a first step we have to restrict his movement around the house when we are not around...

BTW- Talking to the "dog gang" ppl, there are ppl there that take out their dog out once a day... which i think is horrible...
**wanted to add a pic but i don't know how i'll manage to compress a picture... when i'll manage i'll add one **