Family Argument?

[Woollyhats]

Thanks for the advice everyone; the whole dog issue reached an okay agreement.
(Just editing the intro so someone doesn't passionately respond 3 weeks from now!).

[MisterTinkles]

Sorry, I laughed when I saw "the dog ate her phone"!!!

Well, not to be a total bitch here, but WHO'S dog is it?

If it is your dog, then it is your responsibility to train the dog how to behave inside the house.
If it is your mothers dog, then it is her job to train her dog.

From what you said about "dog proofing" your room, why did you not do this with the whole house?

I can understand your mother not wanting to have to constantly babysit a dog inside her own home, but then again, she should be wary that animals (even trained ones) get into things they should not sometimes.

If I were you, I would have the dog professionally trained, or learn how to train it yourself.........how to behave when it is inside the house.

Dogs are usually easily trained, it should not be a problem. There are tons of free dog training videos on Youtube. I think you and your mother should look at them together and see which ones would fit your home style, and use those to BOTH train the dog with. The dog needs to learn commands from both of you, no matter who the dog belongs too.

I would also offer to replace her phone for her (if you can afford it).


Hope that helps.

[Woollyhats]

Sorry, I laughed when I saw "the dog ate her phone"!!!

Well, not to be a total bitch here, but WHO'S dog is it?

If it is your dog, then it is your responsibility to train the dog how to behave inside the house.
If it is your mothers dog, then it is her job to train her dog.

From what you said about "dog proofing" your room, why did you not do this with the whole house?

I can understand your mother not wanting to have to constantly babysit a dog inside her own home, but then again, she should be wary that animals (even trained ones) get into things they should not sometimes.

If I were you, I would have the dog professionally trained, or learn how to train it yourself.........how to behave when it is inside the house.

Dogs are usually easily trained, it should not be a problem. There are tons of free dog training videos on Youtube. I think you and your mother should look at them together and see which ones would fit your home style, and use those to BOTH train the dog with. The dog needs to learn commands from both of you, no matter who the dog belongs too.

I would also offer to replace her phone for her (if you can afford it).

Hope that helps.

Thanks, she is mine. I paid for her, pay for her food, vet bills, everything. I'm usually in my room doing homework with my dog when I'm at home and not walking her.

When I'm not home she has the choice of leaving my dog in my room, or the kennel (which she likes, oddly). She doesn't have to let her out, though she does.

I actually go through the house and pick up things like hair pins, but it's not my fault if she leaves her shit on the floor when I'm not there. She'll give the dog things like old remotes to chew on, and then be confused when she eats the new ones. She doesn't seem to get that dogs have no sense of value affixed to property... if she's trained that it's okay to chew on garbage that looks the same as "not garbage" she's going to be trained to chew on both.

I explain this is training her to eat her stuff, and she's like, "well why don't you fix that.". This is why I'm furious.

I think a fundamental not understanding of how she's creating her own monster is at work.

The reason she lets the dog out is because even though she belongs to me, she enjoys having her around. I'm FINE with that --- but she trains her to be destructive to her stuff, and then takes it out on the dog.

The dog listens to me completely.

You did say though about learning to train the dog together so she listens to us both, I think this is a good idea. I honestly think my mom does enjoy being with the dog,


I will definitely bring this up tomorrow and have some information prepared and videos to watch. I think the issue here is that I can and do train my dog one way, but she does it differently, thus the totally different results we have with the same dog.

So that's what I'll have to try to fix.

[MisterTinkles]

If the dog listens to you, then you need to "retrain" your dog, but this time have your mother do exactly the same as you do.

Instead of having the dog caged up, why not just have it muzzled? It does not hurt the dog, and if used correctly it can be a "punishment" tool for when the dog does something bad like chewing on something it shouldnt.

[Woollyhats]

If the dog listens to you, then you need to "retrain" your dog, but this time have your mother do exactly the same as you do.

Instead of having the dog caged up, why not just have it muzzled? It does not hurt the dog, and if used correctly it can be a "punishment" tool for when the dog does something bad like chewing on something it shouldnt.

This is simple but brilliant. I would prefer to have her listen to my mom as well as me, but if this proves to be difficult (or in the mean time), a muzzle would help her a lot . I don't expect to use this for very long though, or very often.

EDIT: I also talked to an aunt about this, she thinks the muzzle and re-training together is a good idea. She also pointed out that there are some backround issues stressing my mom out, thus her unrealstic response. So she'll probably be much easier to talk with if I give her some time.

So I'll bring this up tomorrow.

[swalter]

You absolutely should not muzzle your dog in the home as a method of preventing it from chewing. It's inhumane and cruel. Dogs cannot drink water when they are muzzled, or breathe well at elevated heart rates. I can think of at least a dozen scenarios in which muzzling a dog in the house can lead to its death.

In always keeping things out if the dogs reach, you have effectively neglected to actually train the dog not to chew things. And now the dog is doing what it naturally does, and is terrified by your mother's reprimand.

You need to actually teach your dog that she can only Chew certain things (her toys). You'll want to use bitter spray on things you specifically want her to avoid, and put her in situations where she has access to things she shouldn't Chew on. Then, when you see her grab something she's not supposed to chew, you verbally reprimand her (not by screaming at her and terrifying her), and immediately give her one of her toys. When she takes the toy, praise her. Every time you catch her chewing what she's not supposed to, reprimand her, replace what she's chewing with a toy, and immediately praise her when she takes the toy. Do this consistently, and in 2 weeks you won't have a problem with the dog getting into things.

Muzzles are only to be used for short periods of time, under constant supervision, in certain stressful situations where the dog could possibly bite another dog, or person. They are not training or discipline devices. Please, don't use it as one.

[BorneoJake]

It's only an accident. Just let your mom calm down a bit and let her think about the situation. Once your mom has cooled down, talk to her about training the dog together. I don't think a muzzle is the way to go. You can find different types of doggy training programs or find some humane techniques online to use. The number one thing I know about training a dog is they are responded to sound and tone. Yelling at the dog is not the right sort of disciplinary action.

[jimcrackcorn]

I hate to say this, and I don't mean this in a bad way,,, but it is your Mother that needs to be trained................

Dear Mom is the one who's teaching the dog bad habits, and she probably doesn't realize what she's doing wrong.

Good Luck,
Jim

[loserguy]

I thought a dog would only do something like that if he felt bored or neglected. Like you I asked mine to do something, she didn't and the dog was killed and like you the dog was with me all the time. By nature a dog has one master and while it is likely he might start listening to her when you are not around it depends on her way with him. So if she cannot control him or is not prepared to look after him when you are not around she should comply with your requests. Simple as. Why do some women think they know best and try to re-invert the wheel?

[southbiochem]

Ugh...

Your mom needs to be retrained

But she will probably keep blaming you for it.

You need to either keep that dog away from her which is not feasible I pressume or teach her your techniques to put that dong out of the bad habits she is promoting.

I swear when it comes to animal tenance, some f the human need more training than the actual pets.