GRRR....

[nikkiARNGwife]

Remember that sweet adorable ball of furry cuteness we got back in February???



Well he's now a 55 lb pain in my behind!

Seriously..he is awful..he's destroyed my yard, eaten and chewed up anything and everything he can get a hold of...my white rockers on my front porch?...he entirely chewed a leg off of one and destroyed the other as well...the other day the ups man left a package on the doorstep and by the time I got to it like 2 minutes later he'd already chewed the box open..thank goodness I was home or he would have chewed up the Christmas present inside!!!

and today??? Today tops the cake...our garage door stopped working which was weird b/c we just had a new one installed over the summer...and you know why?????? b/c that dumb dog chewed the cord in two!!!! So here I am writing a check for 150 dollars to have it repaired....I am so mad and so ready to get rid him at this point. I know..he needs attention and training and blah blah, but I seriously don't have time for that and the agreement was that DH would do it and of course that hasn't happened either.

Sorry..had to vent b/c this dog is driving me insane..

[jessica31876]

I know how you feel. hopefully once he outgrows the puppy stage he will get better.

[Tracyfish]

And this is completely the reason we do not have an animal. DH would love a dog, but I know I would be the one dealing with it and I AM NOT AN ANIMAL person!

I'm so sorry you're dealing with all this, especially around the holidays.

[Jenn Barrette]

I hear ya Nikki. My little pug is a chewer too, and it drives me insane! Lucky for us she hasn't chewed anything expensive (mostly toys....and the corners off of our shelves) but I it is so frustrating and annoying at the same time.

[HeatherKS]

Ugh. I'll have to link myself to this post the next time I get that "oooh, the little puppy is so cute and we really NEED a dog!" feeling. Hope you can figure out something that works for you guys.

[emmasmommy]

Originally Posted by HeatherKS

Ugh. I'll have to link myself to this post the next time I get that "oooh, the little puppy is so cute and we really NEED a dog!" feeling. Hope you can figure out something that works for you guys.

that was my thought EXACTLY heather LOL
we've all got puppy fever around here!

[xboxmom]

Sounds like you need to give your husband a dog training school gift card for xmas with the class already purchased and him scheduled in for it! GL I know what a pain it is to have animals that destroy your house! *hugs*

[sprauncey1]

He looks beagle or part beagle. They need constant companionship. constant. They WILL find trouble if left alone for any amount of time. Oh and raw hide chews or other chews....daily. Every time I hear about how troublesome their beagle is, they are the only dog or its when they are left alone. We have/had two and although they did get into trouble in the puppy stage, it did let up after about 12-18 months. Then... they just slept all day, ate and went outside. Total couch potatoes!

[terrab]

My dog got better around 2 years old, but I feel your pain. She would get into and destroy everything and I was ready to give up on her a number of times. Something that I found that worked really well was using a Kong toy and filling it with something to keep her busy and her mind occupied. I would fill it with yoghurt and add treats to it and then freeze it overnight and give it to her before I went to work in the morning. Peanut butter also worked really well. But I know, doesn't work for everyone. The best of luck with your little troublemaker.

[Stacey42]

My DH said the same thing about getting a puppy "oh I'll take of all the training" and I was like "when? in those spare 15 minutes you have every day? You're going to come home a couple times a day & take it for a walk? You're going to potty train it? Really?"

We ended up with a 2 year old shelter dog instead of a puppy for just that reason.

Sorry you are having to deal with it.

[g8rbeckie]

I am so totally pet free and LOVING IT.

so sorry Nikki

We had two cats that we gave away to a loving home through Craigs's list almost two years ago (one was a manx so people were interested). And every WEEK I'm so thankful we did! no hair, no meses to clean up, no extra mouth to feed, no cat litter and no hair balls on the floor.

[Gemma]

Ugh I'm sorry he's being naughty, there's nothing worse than a naughty puppy/dog! Mine is 2 years old now and still acts like a puppy sometimes and it drives me mad!!

[lovely1m]

Originally Posted by HeatherKS

Ugh. I'll have to link myself to this post the next time I get that "oooh, the little puppy is so cute and we really NEED a dog!" feeling. Hope you can figure out something that works for you guys.

I so, so agree! Too much work!

[nanienamou]

I so feel you! The first dog we had was a little cute puppy that chewed up my entire house (I'm talking shoes, furniture, books, the corner of the walls, ugh!) He had to go when he chewed my brand new 500$ glasses. Plus, he was becoming mean and snapping and I was pregnant with the first at that time, so I didn't want to take chances. We got him adopted.

We then got an adorable fully-trained Golden Retriever form a shelter and all I can say is I miss him to this day (died in 2007 from a virus). We kmow don't have a dog, because we still mourn the last one (I know, almost 4 years ago, but we loved her so much) , but when the time comes, I'm getting a fully trained dog again. No more puppies here.

[*Celeste*]

bookmarking this so i agree with dh and get a kitten next (our poor cat is really old and not doing so hot.) i'm sorry - hopefully he'll grow out of it.

[nikkiARNGwife]

Yeah..he's bad.

I was pretty upset this morning when I posted lol...I've calmed down now but still sick to my stomach over the garage door.

He needs attention that I just cannot give him right now and DH won't and my kids are really too small to do so..DS is a big 5 year old but the dog literally knocks him down so DS is kind of scared of him now. I've been pushing for DH to find him a good home for a while now so hopefully this will convince him.

We live out in the country and have another dog that he gets along well with so he's free to run and roam..he's not penned up at all. He's just SUPER active..I dont' remember my cocker spaniel ever being this bad (this dog is a basset hound).

anyway..hopefully he won't destroy anything else that costs major money to repair

[LibbysMommy]

Oh no!! Bad Hurley!! I was just thinking to myself the other day that I hadn't heard anything about Hurley in awhile, lol. I almost forgot you still had him!! So sorry he's destroying so much Nikki!! It's so frustrating when dogs behave badly. One of our chihuahuas has some pretty bad moments too....I long for the day that we're a no pet/1 pet household...I used to be such a pet lover, but since having kids, it's changed a lot. I still love my pets and I love animals like crazy, I just don't feel like I'm a good pet person anymore...

[nikkiARNGwife]

Originally Posted by LibbysMommy

Oh no!! Bad Hurley!! I was just thinking to myself the other day that I hadn't heard anything about Hurley in awhile, lol. I almost forgot you still had him!! So sorry he's destroying so much Nikki!! It's so frustrating when dogs behave badly. One of our chihuahuas has some pretty bad moments too....I long for the day that we're a no pet/1 pet household...I used to be such a pet lover, but since having kids, it's changed a lot. I still love my pets and I love animals like crazy, I just don't feel like I'm a good pet person anymore...

lol! yes he's been on my dislike list for several months now...when he chewed up my chairs on the porch he was literally in the dog house with me...

I'm the same way though..my cocker spaniel used to be my BABY...but now with kids, I still love him, but he's just the dog you know? When DH told me he was getting Hurley, I was against it at first and he had to talk me into it..and then I saw pics of him all cute and puppyish so I fell in love..my mom was all "DON'T get a dog right now"..I wish I'd listened to her for sure. I wish we'd waited just a few years til the kids were older and could really help take care of him...right now, with a 5 year old and a 2 year old I just do not have the time or patience he needs.

My mom likes to say "i told you so" by the way

[melmos75]

Kids aren't really the biggest help when they are a little older either. I could have *almost* written your original post for you. Our little puppy (although she is a measly 6 pounds, not 55) has been with us since April and has chewed up 2 laptop cords, a speaker cord, a portable heater cord, a lamp cord (do you see a trend here?) and the zippers of at least 4 coats, including a 1week old Columbia winter jacket - twice! I am ready to throw her out and never look back. Never mind the peeing all over my carpet.

Although she is our first dog, I told DH that this will also be our last dog. I never had a dog growing up and now I know why.

[DawnMarch]

5 year old and a 2 year old I just do not have the time or patience he needs

We got a Boston Terrier when my kids were 5 and 3 and after a couple days I was completely stressed out and wishing we hadn't done it. Then my DD turned out to be allergic to her, so we found the puppy a new home (had the puppy less than 5 days) and I felt guilty but SO, SO RELIEVED!

This time around, I was definitely more mentally prepared. I knew that I'd basically have to do all the work no matter how much everybody else in the house promised. Plus, my kids are now 10 and 8 which makes a huge difference. My daughter actually does help take care of the dog (feeds, walks, clean up accidents). I still do the lion's share of the work, but in return, when I'm in the room the dog only has eyes for me. I do spend a lot of time training him, which is easier since I don't have to be constantly supervising both the kids and him now that the kids are older. I do think that's next to impossible when you have little ones like you do.

[Kat Stokes]

I totally feel your pain Nikki. Our 50 lb. puppy ( 6 month old Rottweiler) is a chewer - and a digger. Oy. If we leave her alone for more than 2 minutes she's either pulling plants out of the ground or chewing up our outdoor lighting, or digging up the wiring for the lighting. She was literally chewing the siding and door frames off the house in the kennel area we have for her. DH had to reinforce the areas with steel. On top of that, she's a brute and loves to hear the kids scream so she jumps on them and sits on them and licks/nibbles on them until I pull her off. UGH. Last week she chewed the master wiring to our sprinkler system. DH was TICKED at that one and is threatening to get rid of her. We also giver her Kongs, ropes and Nylebones to chew on but she'd rather have anything that she can't have. I know she'll grow out of it but I need to get her into some puppy classes and start running with her to help with the high energy she has.

[nun69]

this is EXACTLY why we do not have a dog....because it would be MY responsiility and with 4 kids and a new house and getting ready to retire, I am NOT READY for it. Plus once I have my last kid potty trained, I have no intentions of potty training anything else So sorry you are dealing with this~hope he starts behaving soon~

[kkstock]

This post is making me praise all that is holy!!! for my puppy dog. He is a wonderful little man, turns two in April and we seriously have had ZERO problems with him. He hasn't chewed one thing, except his toys, his accidents happen only on his pad, he only barks when he thinks he has to protect me and he is a joy to have around......man do I appreciate Cheerio after reading these

[kristijoy]

Originally Posted by Tracyfish

And this is completely the reason we do not have an animal. DH would love a dog, but I know I would be the one dealing with it and I AM NOT AN ANIMAL person!

I'm so sorry you're dealing with all this, especially around the holidays.

Totally agree. I had a friend who got a big lab puppy while her youngest child was only 2. It was like having a seriously big baby around. She almost cracked. Thankfully she has friends that are dog trainers.

[rachaelsscraps]

Our 75 pound Old English Sheepdog was exactly the same way... she chewed on everything until she turned 2 (which was this past summer). Unfortunately she still digs up our yard...

Have you tried Bitter Apple spray? You can spray it on furniture so they won't chew it... and we even spray it right into our dog's mouth if she gets into something she's not supposed to.

Most dogs need sooo much attention, if they don't get it, they get themselves into trouble because they're trying to find something to do. I've already sworn that after our OES goes, we are NOT getting another dog. ever. We're just too busy with the kids to pay enough attention to a dog too..

[Kat Stokes]

<sigh> Well, Bella decided today that she doesn't like her kennel anymore. Jumped the 4' fence once... I figured hubby forgot to shut it all the way. Nope. Moved her dog house away from the fence so she couldn't launch herself over with it and the crazy dog jumped the fence again.... without having something to spring from. YIKES!!! So, needless to say, she went to my dad today for doggie daycare. OY. I guess we're going to have to buy one of those 10x10 covered dog kennels for when we're gone.

[jocelinsmommy]

We have 2 labrador retrievers and they are NUTS....we have a trainer here that the begining of January i'm spending a hefty fee to get both of them TRAINED properly....they're both fully potty trained so that's not the problem its the barking at 6am on the dot that drives me insane when they're kept inside during the cold....and its the chewing on EVERYTHING....we have found one thing and one thing alone is AMAZING---a squirt bottle <3 oh how i love love loooooooooooooooooooooooooooove my squirt bottle.....we have gotten our female to stop chewing because one day I followed her EVERYWHERE sparying her when she would start chewing things...and my male thus far is starting to learn a squirt in the face at 6am for his annoying barking has quit ((ALMOST))...a few more nights and i'm hoping to have him trained that he goes out at midnight and then again at 7am...stubborn thing. I also have 4 unruly doxies who are 100% indoors and they have learned alot of things with the squirt bottle so i'm a firm believer that the squirt bottle is the way to at least start. The lady i'm sending my 2 labs off to for boot camp her husband is an ex MP military dog handler...so I have faith he'll come back minding his P's and Q's His sister will be the easy one to train he's a bundle of insanity....they're both now 8 months old and my female is right at 65lbs and he's a whopping 85lbs at 8 months.

[cheltzey]

I know this might be unpopular, but it sounds like you need to find your puppy a new home where he can get the time, attention, and training he deserves. It's not fair to him or to you. Maybe if DH sees that you're serious about rehoming the dog, he'll become more serious about the training. And if he doesn't, then finding a home sounds like the best choice. A pet shouldn't make you miserable.

[schock77]

Been there! Have you thought of crating him when you aren't around? That's usually when my dogs get into destruction mode- when we're gone! It was the best money I ever spent.