My family is soon to inherit a rather old, rather misbehaved dog from my in-laws who are moving to an apartment which does not allow pets. I know there are quite a number of dog owners/lovers out there, so please share your advice.
The dog (Sailor) is a lakeland terrier, about 9 years old. For the last 6 or so years, he has been mostly cooped up in the house with my aging inlaws - Mom’s eyesight is failing (macular degeneration), and she is confined to a wheelchair due to a diabetes-related foot injury. Dad is a stroke survivor, and as such, doesn’t have much of the common sense required to care for the dog. Sailor has basically been allowed to basically do his business all over the house, and only occasionally does he get caught or scolded due to the aforementioned health issues of his owners.
Now that my inlaws are moving on, we are basically the new masters of this naughty (but otherwise quite lovable) pooch. My biggest concern is that he’s going to make a mess of my house. Short of having him in fear for his life with me around to smack his nose for p**sing on my antique chair, or confining him to a crate in the sunroom when we are not at home, can anyone offer any suggestions or support or resources on what to do in preparation for this new addition to my household?
As a former dog owner, I would say get the crate. It’s for his own protection as well as for your furniture and floors. I would recommend the crate even if he were completely and flawlessly housebroken.
I would also not recommend taking over someone else’s incontinent dog, but it looks like you are already committed to that.
Hm. Nine years is pretty far on, but not old-aged for dogs.
Most adult dogs won’t poop in the house if they have an alternative - and if they get walked and let out regularly. From what you say, your parents don’t sound too active.
I’d cross my fingers and hope that regular exercise will encourage the dog to keep clean in the house. It’s worth putting down a litter tray (as for cats) and some newspaper in a corner, but make it clear to the dog that this is for emergencies and is not encouraged as a regular perfomance. After a week, you should be able to get rid of it with a clear conscience. At that age the dog ought to speak human to a certain extent, so you shouldn’t have to do much more than raise your eyebrows with a reproachful look and wag your finger. If the creature looks suitably hang-dog, you’ve got the message across.
One bit of advice I can offer, in addition to the crate (I wouldn’t want to train a dog without one!), is keep him leashed in the house when you’re home, so you can immediately correct inappropriate behavior and, whenever possible, redirect him to more suitable behavior. If he’s leashed to you, you’re going to know when he needs to go out, because he will start to sniff around and circle. You’ll know when he’s making a move to chew on the sofa and can redirect him to an appropriate chew object (Note: dogs NEED to chew! Provide plenty of good chew toys of different kinds at first, until you learn his preference. Also make sure he has some safe “chewies” when he’s in his crate). As his behavior improves, you can begin to allow him to drag the leash, then eventually take it off entirely when you’re there to supervise him. But be aware…this process can take weeks, especially with a dog who’s been allowed to develop bad habits. And definitely, when you can’t supervise him, crate him.
DON’T smack him! Dogs don’t really understand that hitting is meant to be a correction. Use a collar correction (just a quick snap, and no harder than absolutely necessary) if he misbehaves (another reason to leave the leash on at first)…then the SECOND he complies with what you want him to do PRAISE THE HECK OUT OF HIM. Hitting a dog is counterproductive…not only will it not change his behavior, it may actually make him hand aggressive. Collar corrections mimic the way an alpha dog (or the dog’s mother) would correct him…he WILL understand that he’s done something wrong, and further, he will understand if you then show him the RIGHT thing to do.
Decide ahead of time what your house rules will be regarding the dog and stick to them.
Sign up for an obedience course immediately. This is a great way to help the dog bond to you (and learn to look to you as alpha), and to help you learn constructive ways to train the dog (the same methods that help teach “down” and “sit” are applicable to other training issues). He is NOT too old (even very elderly dogs can benefit from training).
I highly recommend that you borrow or buy two books:
Secondhand Dog by Carol Lea Benjamin Mother Knows Best, also by Carol Lea Benjamin
These books are absolute gold when it comes to training a dog and especially when it comes to integrating a new adult dog into your home.
Good luck! Terriers can be a lot of fun, once they’ve learned who the alpha is in the household!
another one chiming in for crate training. I “adopted” a full grown dalmation from the pound. On the card it said he was not house broken. With crate training (and letting him out consistantly) he was housebroken in less than a week.
Teach the dog (either with or without obedience training) simple commands of sit, stay, etc. When you catch him doing something inappropriate, redirect by telling him to sit.
One thing - no matter who well he behaves for you, do not be surprised if he falls back into his “old” ways if your inlaws are around. It’s amazing how dogs know just how far they can get away with things with certain people.
The only other caution - I forget if you have small children. If you do, you may want to keep a close eye for a while, since the dog is not used to them.
Barbara Woodhouse? I never cared much for her training methods, myself. If she’s still alive, she must be fairly old by now.
Just edited this because I checked Yahoo, and evidently she died in 1988.
One other thing I forgot to mention…if you have other pets, especially small animals, be aware that terriers tend to have a very strong prey drive. They were originally bred to go to earth after animals that were considered “vermin”…not only foxes, but also rats, weasels, etc. Terriers CAN sometimes learn to get along with cats (with work), but I’d never trust one around, say, a pet rat or bird. Also, just so you’re prepared, they can also sometimes be combative with other dogs. That’s something you can often tone down with training, but you’ll want to be aware, for a while, and monitor his body language when you have him outside on the leash, until you’re certain he can be trusted around other dogs. Definitely don’t take him to a dog park until you’re sure he’s not likely to pick a fight!