My roommate's puppy eats everything. She doesn't eat underwear or socks. She eats whole tennis balls, corners of my table, electrical cords for my computer, and the rain spout outside. I try to watch her, if I'm not, she's in her kennel.
I've tried the cayenne pepper thing, unfortunately, she likes the cayenne pepper, so that didn't work. And because she isn't my dog, I'm not going to pay the couple hundred dollars for training. I'm a huge animal lover, so I take time to train her myself. She hasn't learned a thing.
I have an Australian Shepherd of my own who learned very quickly. I know it takes time. But she doesn't know when or how to tell me its time to go outside, (she doesn't even sniff to warn me), she just squats and goes. She doesn't understand "kennel" or "sit". And she still poops in her kennel almost every night, after she had been outside already. I used to assume she was on a schedule, so I got up earlier, now that doesn't work, it's like shes trying to beat me up in the morning. What do I do?
By Kenzie from Omaha, NE
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Where is your roommate? Why isn't she taking care of, cleaning up after and training her own puppy?
If the puppy is going in the kennel, it's possible the kennel is too big. It should be just large enough for her to sit down, stand up, turn around and lay down in. If it's larger than that, then you (or your roommate) need to block off part of the kennel until the puppy gets bigger.
My daughter had a dog that refused to stop chewing no matter what she tried, so she bought a muzzle for it, and the dog learned quickly to only chew it's own toys.
Simply tell your roommate to get their dog under control 'immediately' or both of them need to leave! There's absolutely no excuse or reason why you should have to deal with such irresponsible behavior (from the roommate or the dog) and have your personal property damaged too!
Oh, and if you rent you're going to be financially responsible for the damaged landlords property caused by this pooch also!
Deeli is spot-on with her post about responsibliity; if you're both on the lease, you're both responsible for the damage.
If the apartment's in your name, I'd lay the law down with your roomie and give it a reasonable period of time--two weeks should make a difference if someone is actually consistent with the dog--and if there's no change, start looking for a new roommate and give the current one walking papers.
If the apartment's not in your name, still have the talk and the time frame. If the situation's still the same, I'd make other living arrangements.
Remember that one of these days, Puppy Dearest is likely going to get into some major trouble. Being allowed to chew electrical wires is a big invitation for a house fire--or a dead dog or roommates.
I agree with those that said you need to confront your roomie and give her a choice - train the puppy, find a new home for her, or you yourself need to move and leave her to her untrained dog and the financial fall out. She is using you, and you are allowing it b/c you love animals. Don't let her do that to you.
That said, the puppy needs MUCH more exercise (a very tired puppy will sleep more and get into trouble less). During the day, when not being exercised, she should be in the crate and then taken out every hour and rewarded when she goes potty outside. When she is not having accidents in that time period, move to 2 hours etc... This can be accomplished pretty quickly if she is smart. This can be done when someone is home, but do not leave her more than 3-4 hours in the crate at a time, and put her in TIRED from exercise. If your roommate can not do this, HIRE someone. If you want to be that someone, charge her accordingly!
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