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Canine Behavior/Shepherd/Chow Mix

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Expert: Lee Charles Kelley - 10/15/2008


Question
I have a shepherd/chow mix pup that's neutered and about a year and a month old. He's fine when I'm with him, but has severe separation anxiety when I leave. I have him confined to one room with his crate, but he still chews the wood trima and anything else he can get a hold of. How can I lessen his anxiety? Also, he has problems with not just chewing, but ingesting what he chews. He's eaten all 3 beds I've gotten him, towels, blankets. I'm sure it's uncomfortable sleeping on a hard wood floor and a metal crate. What can I try? He also bites and nips my boyfriend, unprovoked. We've established that I'm in charge and so he's fine with me, but when my boyfriend comes home, the pup goes crazy and keeps biting him. Why might that be? Any help you could provide me would be so greatly appreciated. Thank you so much!

Answer
Hi, Jennifer,

Thanks for the question.

This sounds like a pretty severe behavioral issue, one that's difficult to resolve through the internet. Have you discussed this with your vet or professional dog trainer in your area?

If I'm going to be able to give you even the slightest help I'll need to know a little more about your situation:

How much hard vigorous playful activity does your dog get every day? Does he get a chance to play with other dogs? Do you confine him inside his crate when you leave? Where does he sleep at night? How have you established that you're "in charge?" (There's no such thing as a pack leader in wild wolf packs, so the idea that a dog owner needs to imitate or try to become this mythical figure in the dog's "mind" is completely false, and can create some very negative behavioral patterns -- such as fear, aggression, and anxiety -- as a result.) When he's acting anxious do you a) ignore him, b) chastise him, or c) comfort him?

Meanwhile, here's some homework:

http://www.leecharleskelley.com/thetop10myths/mythofthepackleader.html

http://www.leecharleskelley.com/thetop10myths/dominancesubmission.html

http://www.tiny.cc/sepanxiety

http://www.tiny.cc/playbenefits     

I look forward to hearing back from you,

Lee Charles Kelley
www.LeeCharlesKelley.com
(212) 615-6659
“Changing the World, One Dog at a Time”

Canine Behavior

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Lee Charles Kelley

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I've been training dogs in New York City for nearly 20 years. My training approach and philosophy are based on the way police dogs, search-and-rescue dogs, and detection dogs are trained--through the prey drive, inherited from the wolf. It's true that there's been a shift away from using the "wolf model" in dog training recently, and to some extent, there's a good reason. That's because trainers have been using the wrong model, the one that says you have to be the "alpha" or the pack leader in order to control your dog's behavior. This simply isn't true. In wild wolves there is no dominance hierarchy, no "alpha" wolf, and no pack leader (not in the traditional sense). The pack instinct only exists to enable wolves to hunt large prey by working in harmony. (Wolves who live near garbage dumps, for example, and who don't hunt together, don't form packs.) So if wolves don't have an instinct to "follow the pack leader" or "obey the alpha wolf," how could dogs have inherited it from them?

Years ago, before I became a dog trainer, I noticed that the happiest, most obedient, and best-behaved dogs I met weren't the ones who'd been to a dog trainer or behaviorist; they were the dogs whose owners always had Frisbees and tennis balls on hand. And while it might seem that my approach would only be relevant to high-drive dogs who love fetch and tug-of-war, it isn't. Even something as seemingly unrelated as a housebreaking issue or greeting behavior are often the direct result of a dog's predatory energy not having an acceptable outlet.

All behavior is an expression of energy. So when a dog's energy isn't utilized in a way that feels satisfying to his or her instincts and emotions, that's when behavioral problems develop. Giving the dog an acceptable outlet for its energy will almost always bring the dog's behavior back into alignment with its instincts

Feel free to ask me questions about any training/behavioral issue.

LCK

Experience

20 years as a dog trainer. I'm also a bestselling author, writing a series of dog-related mystery novels for Avon.

Organizations
Dog Writers Association of America

Education/Credentials
Just a natural gift I have for understanding and training dogs

Past/Present Clients
Too numerous to mention.

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