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Food hours + Misbehavior

814 views 7 replies 6 participants last post by  ChiLeeLee 
#1 ·
Hey everyone :)
Okay so right now I'm thinking about changing the food hours. You see my 2 dogs are overweight they eat A LOT. Almost 2 bowls per day.
I was thinking about feeding them only twice a day so we can control the food they eat and because now my dog's are controling the house.

Since like a week ago they started doing their buisness EVERYWHERE around the house. On the floor, on the carpet, in the rooms, in the BEDS/PILLOWS.
It's really nasty and they're old enough now to know it! We're trying to show them it's bad but they keep doing it and doing it and it's driving us bananas!
Is their something I can change to try to make things better?

Bambi is like 1 year and a half and Angel almost 1 year. This isn't normal I think ...
 
#2 ·
I just experienced the business doing and posted here for help too. Several posts advised that around the one year mark, they start 'testing' the rules. They mentioned really re-inforcing, and I have to say a few ecstatic hoo-haas from me when she went in the right place, and catching her going elsewhere and bringing her to the spot where she has to go, and saying 'here', a lot, seems to have curbed the behaviour. However, I didn't have the food problem... good luck
 
#3 ·
cutting back the food will help with the weight problem, at a year old 2 meals a day will be fine, but just schedualing them wont help, you need to cut back the food.

as for the pooping in the house, dogs dont see things like we do, they dont "know better" all they know is they need to go.
start out by restricting access to all areas of the house that they typically poop and pee, the bedrooms should be off limits. and buy a crate or a playpen or pick a room in the house thats easy to clean and gate it off, kitchens and bathrooms are easiest.
are they potty pad trianed or only outdoor trained.
assuming there only outside trained keep all rooms off limit, and when you cant watch them like a hawk they go into the crate/room/playpen/whatever you pick. a crate is the best way since dogs dont naturally like to lay in their own poop. they should be allowed acces to other areas of the house ONLY when you cant watch them like a hawk. the moment they even look like there thinking about going potty, outside they go, lots of praise when they go where there supposed to.
if they go somewheres there not supposed to (like on your carpet) thats YOUR fault, you wernt watching close enough, dont yell dont hit, your dogs have no idea what they did wrong by the time theyve finnished justs suck it up and using a GOOD enzamatic cleaner clean it up.

treat them as if their puppies just learning where to potty. start all the way back at step 1.
after a while, once there doing great you can give them SUPERVIED acess to one of the rooms that has been shut, again ONLY when watched like a hawk...the idea is to slowly provide them more and more freedom when your around. When you cant watch them they go into an area where it doesnt matter so much if theres an accident.

are they spay/neutered?
getting them fixed will also help with any of this being territorial.

alot of dogs go through a "teenage" stage between 9months and a year or so where they essentially forget all you taught them as puppies.
Be patient, be persistent, and rember, if they make a mistake, you wernt watching them close enough...
 
#4 ·
I think it's definitely a good idea to feed your dogs only twice a day if they are overweight. Actually, my baby isn't really overweight but she only eats twice a day. She used to eat 3-4 times a day as a puppy, but I gradually switched to two. She pretty much let me know when it was time. Also, maybe you could put them on a special diet product. There are many out there. I would think that going number 2 more than two or three times a day is excessive. Good luck, and let us know how it goes.
 
#5 ·
Thank you guys,
Yeah they are spay/neutered both of them. I wasn't around for the weekend my aunt baby sitted them and she said they peed really everywhere. For the first time they did it in MY room, MY bed. They NEVER did anything like that before there.
I came back and now they're okay, Angel still has problem but we always had with her. Bambi pooped one time where he wasn't allowed too but his pee pad was full and he doesn't go if it's full.
Maybe it was a revenge thing or they we're mad or something?
With school I don't have time anymore to play with them as often
 
#6 ·
very well could be their way of sayign your not paying enough attention to them...while they dont "get you back" often when unhappy they will display unwanted behvaiour if it gains them attention (much like a child) they dont care what kind of attention there getting so long as its attention!
 
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