Nuisance Barking

Nuisance barking is never okay.  I don't care what kind of dog you have - whether they are "known" barkers or not.  In this day and age, in our society - where people live on top of one another - this type of behavior is NEVER alright (incessant barking means many things for your dog, boredom is more than likely one of them).  Part of responsible dog ownership is controlling your dogs and tending to their needs.  Barking for no reason is just as bad of a habit as peeing in your favorite shoes in my humble opinion.  There is a reason that I bring this up of course...

My backyard is approximately a quarter of an acre.  I have FIVE neighbor's yards that "connect" to my fence, even if only for a few feet.  This can be a problem of sorts.  It shouldn't have to be.  The breakdown is as follows (breeds excluded): 1) the east side of my fence is occupied by 2 very small dogs; 2) part of the south fence is occupied by a large chained dog and, on occasion, their medium-sized house dog; 3) the main part of the south fence is occupied by 4+ large and unruly dogs; 4) the last small portion of the south fence now owns no dogs; and 5) the west fence is occupied by 2 medium-sized hunting dogs and 1 smallish lap dog.

The neighbors to the east, in their infinite wisdom, decided to give their small dogs a doggy door so they could pee outside while they were at work (instead of on their floor).  Well, the dogs decided to go and pick fights and squeeze through tiny holes in the fence, in great attempts at becoming lunch for large dogs in the neighborhood.  Next on that front was the brilliant idea to make a small, fenced-in enclosure on the other side of the doggy door.  This has resulted in the dogs going outside just as soon as their owners leave for work at 6:30 a.m.- and barking all day long.  The first few days I prayed that they would become hoarse and I would be done hearing it at some point.  No such luck!!  The little things will go inside for 10 - 20 minutes from time to time to take a breather and come right back.  I like these neighbors, specifically because they don't hate my dogs.  So, I left them a note on their door regarding their dog's behavior.  They came to see me that very day and apologized profusely and asked me, "in your professional opinion, what can we do?".  I explained that I thought that the dogs were bored and that they needed to stimulate their mind and get them physically tired as well.  She told me of how they throw the toys around in the house for them.  I explained that the dogs needed more than that - they need walks around the block, rides in the car, and maybe even the ball thrown outside...!  I even gave her a mini choke collar that I had bought for a puppy and a leash too so that she could walk her dog(s)!  That was 3 months ago...I have never witnessed those dogs leaving the house - no walk, no ball, no car rides - just an occasional "SHUT UP!", either from their owners or ME!  This is a prime example of boredom and people owning dogs just because they are cute...they are still animals and need things outside of food and water.  They actually think the dogs are "naughty" because they bark...they aren't naughty - they are bored senseless!

The house with the chained dog and the house dog are not a bother any more.  I think that poor dog gave up.  How sad is that.  I moved here almost 6 years ago and I used to be so mad - this darn dog would sit on top of his dog house and just bark his fool head off.  Now, I can't remember the last time he barked.  He is still there, and occasionally I hear him at night - which is fine - but I really think he stopped caring enough to bark during the day.  I have seen him off of his chain ONE time in SIX years...what a life.

The very large thorns in my side lie due south, directly behind me.  At any given time, there are 4 or more unruly large dogs living there.  I cannot even breathe in my back yard without one of these dogs jumping on my fence and barking!  We have an older cedar fence, and I have *tried* to make the lady that lives there aware of the dangers of letting her dogs bounce up and down on it.  One day it will break and we will have the dog fight of the century and my dogs will probably be the ones in trouble, simply based on their breed...sigh.  The dogs there also have a doggy door - giving them free access to act however they would like - all day long while their owners are at work.  When their owners get home, they get to listen to my mouth on how much I despise their dogs and how I think it is bulls*it that I cannot even interact with my dogs in MY backyard without having to listen to her dogs and worrying about the fence.  Last month we even had to go to her house and fix parts of the fence where her dogs had been chewing holes in it.  This is just irresponsible all around.  There is no two ways to look at this - I don't know why they have dogs?  I have to put my electric perimeter fence back up again to keep my dogs away from the fence - they cannot even go pee by the fence without inciting a riot on the other side.  So, of course they have taken to barking back - which is NOT acceptable to me - thus, the hot wire is going back up again.  Its too bad that my neighbors can't be bothered to give a crap.

My last dog-related neighbors are on the west with their hunting dogs and lap dog.  The biggest issue here is that their house is 2 stories and mine is one.  So, this means that when their extremely bored dogs get let out of the house to use the bathroom, they stand on the deck on the 2nd story and bark down at my dogs standing in my yard.  This drives my dogs a little batty, to be stared down at and barked at too ha ha.  It is irritating as hell that every time they let their dogs out to potty- they bark like a pack of 15 dogs and act like jerks!  Every now and again they will let their ill-behaved beasts out into the front yard and throw a ball around, in which case we have to be careful not to get bitten by them...but after they throw the ball for awhile, the dogs are quiet for a few days - what a concept - physical exercise = a better disposition!  Wow!

The whole point of my ranting is that non-stop barking is not normal.  It is a really bad habit for a dog, but it can be broken!  The first thing to examine though - why do you really have a dog?  Dogs require not only food and attention, but stimulation - mental and physical!  It is your job to make sure you provide the right levels of this stuff for the breed in question (and that particular dogs preferences).  At a minimum - I believe that dogs need to leave their houses on a regular basis!  How boring to look at the same scenery day in and out - that is a recipe for boredom for sure!  I know I get cranky if I'm home too many days in a row!

Sometimes it is hard to figure out how to get the dog tired, especially in this wonderful Washington weather - some weeks we are stuck inside all week!  Days like that are awesome for big chew bones, buster cubes, indoor obedience sessions, and maybe even teaching scenting work!  You can look up online how to do lots of activities with your dog or visit your local library for books too.  If all else fails, yes it is OK to be lazy sometimes and yes, some dogs are lazy, but make it a point to spend time DOING something with each dog you own on a very regular basis - buy a calendar if you need to - but if you look closely enough, their behavior will tell you when stimulation is overdue!

Be kind to your dog and your neighbors, nobody likes a nuisance.

Crates - a piece of the foundation.

OK, there are lots of behavioral things that people want to know about.  I figure the best way to go about this is to list HOW we think you need to build your foundation - manners are really a fine-tuning of the ground floor basics that every dog needs.

Every dog needs a crate.  There is NO exception here.  A dog needs a crate for many reasons.  The most important of which are potty training and sleeping, amongst other things.  A crate is a safe and HAPPY place for your dog - never punishment.  It can be used as a time-out, but it is not a punishment.  A crate is your dogs very own home - he lives in your home, but that is his very own space within it.  Our dogs will crate up without hesitation because we spent the beginning of their life with us reinforcing how special you are once you are in your crate.  You get food, warm blankets, toys, treats, and (in our house) big, raw bones.  When we leave, we get a handful of treats and the dogs all race into kennels so fast- people tend to laugh hysterically when they see it.

How do you size a crate?  You need to know how big your dog will be full grown.  I prefer one size larger than that, simply because I think I would like more room ha ha.  I particularly like wire crates.  When the dog is a pup, you can purchase inserts which make the crate smaller.  This facilitates potty training immensely.  Wire crate also do not hold odors like plastic crates do and in our house are more secure - we have had many an intelligent pooch push open the door on a plastic crate.  On a wire crate, you can buy latches and hitch-type closures from the feed store to assist in this not happening.

What to sleep on?  Well, that depends if you've got a blanket eater!  Blankets and cloth can cause obstructions if a dog chews and swallows them, so buy the bedding according to your dog's behavior.  I used to try to get cushy crate mats that cost way too much money until the 3rd one got eaten and I got sick of paying the money for a pile of trash.  I now buy Costco (Kirkland) brand dog blankets instead.  One blanket will cover a 48" crate, which is what we have.  There is a thin layer of fluff in these blankets, so if your pooch can't resist, I usually go to the Goodwill or Walmart and get a set of cheap sheets for the bottom.  If the dog absolutely cannot help eating cloth then he/she will have to make due with the plastic bottom, which of course is better than the cold ground outside!  Whatever you choose, make sure it is easy to launder.  I aim to wash blankets at least once per week to make sure pests stay outside!

What else goes on/in a crate?  Some people buy covers for the crates, I suppose this would be helpful for inducing sleep or keeping a crate-aggressive dog at bay.  If you can trust your dog not to swallow pieces, you may or may not want to include a toy.  There are several toys which are designed to keep a dog busy while you are away by releasing a piece of kibble every so often for the correct manipulation of the toy - something like this may be handy.  One such toy is called a buster cube.  One of our dogs feels better if she has a toy in her mouth and she never eats them, so she is allowed to have her Kong in her crate with her.  Other dogs are just plain bored, so I let them have large pieces of old bones to keep the boredom at bay.  I am fully aware that giving a bone in my absence is taking a risk and is usually not recommended - I am simply sharing my practices.  Keep in mind that I know the dogs very well that I am handing these out to.

Behaviorally, I think crates are an absolute necessity.  There is a big camp of people that think that crates are cruel - these are often the same people that have serious behavioral issues with their pets.  Dominance issues, potty training, separation anxiety and more can all be seriously curbed  by regular and predictable use of a good crate.  Of course there is a point where crates are abused or overused...I am not advocating that your dog spend its entire life in there, but a reasonable amount of time each day goes a long way in your training endeavors and keeping the line in the sand between the people and the dogs.

How do you get your dog to love his crate?  P.S. our cat likes the dog crates too!

Finding Another AmStaff After Yours Is Gone

This is a recent e-mail question to me.  I have removed names and specific information.  I am sharing this because I get these from time to time and I thought it would be helpful to share my advice here.  As always, this is just MY opinion...

Question:

"I am looking to adopt a young retired Amstaff  show dog maybe next year. Right now I am mourning the loss of my seven year old American Staffordshire Terrier from cancer. I am not ready for a dog right now but I know I will be in the future and I want to spend the time to find the right companion.

What I need from you is advice. My dog was a loving family dog but animal aggressive. She came from a great family of show dogs and I had her since a pup. I can’t picture myself with any other breed of dog. I love their “human like” personality and family nature. We have 2 young boys and lots of time to spend with a dog as I stay home.

I was thinking about eventually adopting a young adult because I don’t want to take a chance of having another animal aggressive dog. Mine had a great life but she missed out on coming with us to a lot of activities because other dogs might be there. I want this dog to be able to participate with us in anything we do. That is why with an adult you know what you are getting. As for a retired show dog, they have been properly socialized with other dogs and come from a known stable background, so I figure that will help. I don’t plan on showing the dog. I don’t want to go to a shelter because of the fact that I have young children and I won’t know the background of the dog. I would do this maybe when the kids are much older.

What is your advice, as an expert on the breed? Do you think this is the right way to go considering my family’s needs? If not, what would you recommend?"

My Answer:

I am very sorry for your loss -  7 is WAY to young to lose this breed!  I also wish you the best on finding your next family member.

AmStaffs are allowed (by standard) a level of dog aggressiveness.  How much or how little depends on many factors.  These factors all basically come down to the age-old debate of nature vs. nurture.  There are many strains (or lines) of AmStaffs that are considered "hot", which basically means dog reactive - in the same token there are many that are not known for this type of behavior, and yet they still have it.  So, then you have to look at their basic personality traits from birth (or as an adult, from an experienced trainer or breeder).  Puppies exhibit all that they will be in life from wee little pups - there is the alpha, and there are many steps down from there.  How the mother raises them and how the breeder nurtures this also matters a great deal.  However, even given all of that from the best home - you have to raise the dog accordingly from there.  Socialization is key, as well as training and positive behavior modification.  I firmly believe that you can take almost any dog and turn it around - there are exceptions to everything, and I will confess there are probably hopeless cases, but overall any dog can be a good dog.

Many people are willing to accept dog aggression from this breed - I am not one of them.  You must be the pack leader in your house and that means that you control acceptable behavior.  I am NOT saying that this is a breed that should frequent dog parks, but it is a breed that should be able to travel with you wherever you go and behave too!  Dog parks are a bad idea because in my opinion, an AmStaff should not usually back down from a challenge.  Many dogs in the parks are ill-behaved and brought there specifically to exercise and let off steam...this is backwards, the dog should be thoroughly exercised and THEN be allowed to play with others...but many of them go there and act badly and an AmStaff usually will not put up with that.  So, they are not bad dogs, they just don't put up with BS most of the time...although I know several people that faithfully take dogs from me to dog parks and don't have issues - so, as I said above there are always exceptions.

I don't know the right way to tell you to get your next dog, honestly.  It makes logical sense that you would think that getting a retired show dog would be the way to go because they are social animals, but I am sorry to tell you that is not always the case.  Many dogs are just brought out to show and are not handled much beyond that - the people showing them know how to manage the behavior, so it is not a problem if they are dog aggressive as we all just act like everyone else's dog is BAD and we keep our distance to be safe.  I am not trying to paint a bad picture because there are those of us that extensively socialize and train our dogs and they are a-ok with all other animals - but being a retired show dog isn't necessarily a guarantee of that...

You also shouldn't discount a shelter as some shelters do extensive behavioral testing prior to adopting out bully breeds, mostly because of bad stereotypes and media attention - they want every dog coming out of their shelter to NEVER appear in the news - make sense?  So, don't count them out.  The problem here (in my eyes) is lack of knowing about their pedigree for health reasons.  For instance, Cerebellar Ataxia is a growing concern in our breed and the dogs affected with this horrible disease usually have to be put down about 7 years old or so, there are no telling signs until it hits one day...a knowledgeable breeder will test their breeding stock for this and make sure that your dog won't get this later on - the same theory goes on with hips and elbows and heart problems...and as you know, cancer.  You can't test for cancer of course, but what you can do is look for dogs whose ancestors have lived long lives!

A puppy is the way to go IF you are willing to go through all of the potty training, crate training, socialization, and obedience work.  This will only work if you work with a breeder that will pick out a dog for you based on it's personality - NEVER LOOKS.  I am sorry to tell you that, as most people want to choose their pup based on how cute it is - you only get that when it is the right fit temperament-wise too!  I have never had a dog returned to me for temperament issues - period.  I make sure that the dog suits the family - it is not a good relationship without that.  I think you would have had a better relationship overall if you would not have had a dog aggressive dog.  I know you loved her, but if you want to bring your dog with you places, then your family deserves a dog that can do that.

I wish you the very best in your search!  Feel free to ask me more questions or for help along the way - I will do my best.  Ask lots of questions about the temperament of the parents, the health of the parents/grandparents and great-grandparents, how the pups are raised, and anything else that you can think of!  Any breeder worth their salt will take the time to talk with you at length about all of those things and make sure that you are happy and that you make the right choice, even if it is not with them.