Some advice please!!!!

[vichy]

My Buster is 6 months old and he has picked up a bad habit. Whenever he is alone on the terasse he starts chewing on the plants, I have tried to put pepper on them(someone told me that should do it) but he didn´t even notice it. I´ve tried spraying water on him when I catch him doing it, but he goes back the minute after and does it again. Now we just try to keep an eye on him whenever he is out there alone, the big problem is that whenever I try to tell him off, he runs away from me... I try never to scream at him, but I do tell him off in a strong angry voice!!

Do any of you have a good tip on what to do...!!! Thanx Vicky

 

[lafsalot]

Since a lot of household plants can be toxic to your pet, it might be a good idea to raise them (if at all possible) out of his reach. If not, I would not let him out on the terrace unless he was supervised at all times. Good luck ~ Cathy

 

[Tulsa-Dan]

If you are out supervising the dog, you need to redirect his behavior from the plants to something more acceptable. Fussing and scolding the dog is only giving him attention for the bad behavior and if he doesn't know what ELSE to do, he's going to go right back to the plants.

When he gets in or near a plant, call him to you with a tasty treat, praise and reward his coming to you and then engage him in some other activity. If performed consistently, the dog will soon learn that there are much more satisfying things to do out there than get into the plants and will be more inclined to engage in proper behavior rather than chewing plants.

Also, while training, try putting wire fencing around the plants to keep his little muzzle out of the pots, etc. Put them out of reach if possible and always PRAISE the dog for good behavior. Scolding the dog for being naturally inquisitive is not very nice. Think about it. What if you went to a car dealership and every time you got near a car to look more closely at it the sales man would yell at you! I'm sure you'd go to another dealership where they actually guided you to look at the car rather than scold you and make you feel like you were in trouble.

Put yourself in your dog's paws once in a while. You'd be surprised what you can learn if you just start thinking like a dog instead of a dumb human!

 

[vichy]

Thank you so much for your replies. I´ve started it right away and I already feel like the treaty treatment are a great one. He already looks up when I call him to see if there´s a toy or a treat in my hands......

The put yourself in the boxers mind thing was great also as I´ve not really thought of that before. Thanx Dan!!!!

 

[Starlitew2]

Good luck with your "plant training!" =)

Tulsa-Dan, you crack me up! I have been reading your posts since my Jessie was just a tiny pup and I can't tell you how much your advice has helped me. I love the dealership analogy. I will have to tell that to my friends who scold their dog a lot.

LOL! =) Thanks for the smile.