Every Dog Has Its Day

By Budd Riddle

So I get a phone call from a lady that has a big Yorkie problem. The dog is out of control. He is a loud, small rocket with hair, and has been running the house for over a year. Her voice breaks as she says the dog will have to shape up or ship out. He's 16 months old.

I go by to visit the lady and her Yorkie. She is explaining that Yancy barks, demands attention, jumps up on things, and recently ate what he could of the Christmas turkey. "Ma'am, be glad he's a Yorkie," I said. "At least he left you some."

Yorkshire terriers are very intelligent dogs. They know when they can get over on you. As the lady is spinning her tale, Yancy has made a high-speed circuit of the room dozens of times, usually at high volume. From the front door, up the back of the recliner, and to the back door to snarl at the squirrels, who were almost as big as he is. My head is moving like a spectator at a tennis match.

She tells me he's too small to spank when I make a nice backhand catch as the yapping meteor goes by. "DOWN!" I bellow with dog in hand. The dog sits and watches me for a long time carefully convinced that I'm a dangerous guy. As I mentioned before, "Yorkies are very intelligent dogs". HEEL was only moments away.

Dear Budd:

My mutt insists on digging in the flowerbed. Since he weighs about seventy pounds, you can imagine what he does to the roses. It looks like a herd of piney woods rooters have gone through. Is there an easy way for me to keep him out without spending a whole lot of money?

Rosie

Dear Rosie:

At the risk of stating the obvious, the cheapest way to deal with the problem is for your dog to understand that he isn't allowed in the flowerbed. Unfortunately, this mechanism is also the most time consuming. May we ask a personal question? Does your dog understand the meaning of "No"? If not, we'll have to get more exotic. The ideal solution is to have a well-mannered dog that knows when you don't want him to do something, and that you intend to enforce your point of view.

Remember that your dog's nose is more sensitive than yours is. In spite of the mysterious delights of rolling in things like carrion or cow pies, dog's have very strong opinions about what constitutes acceptable nasal turf. One of the things that work pretty well is tobacco dust.

Since I don't know what you consider a lot of money, barriers are always an alternative. Maybe it could be as simple as a low picket fence, as most dogs really aren't interested in flowers. It's just another place to Fido; plants are just plants. He's not going to go out of his way to offend you; the yard is simply "there".

Another solution, but admittedly a more costly mechanism, is the electronic barrier. In this way, you get to keep the same beauty in the backyard, without fences and such, while Mr. Dog learns in very short order that certain parts of the yard are more unpleasant then others. These things come in different names and flavors, but the general theory is the same. Your dog wears a collar that is activated by the transmitter. When he sees the fence, he knows that a zap will follow. Actually, once he learns the routine, you probably won't have to pay for the juice. Dogs aren't stupid!

Dear Budd:

My husband and I work the usual nine to five jobs, and we do not have a yard for the dog at this time. We have a six-month-old chow, Angel, who seems intent on destroying the house with chewing everything from furniture to shoes or anything she can get a hold of. She also defecates in the house. This has been going on since she was six weeks old, and we're at the end our ropes. How do you teach a dog to do something when the behavior occurs when we're absent? We've tried spanking her with a newspaper, but that hasn't worked at all.

Up to Here

Dear Up to Here:

Angel, at six months old, has (or should have) passed the stage in her life that she needs to chew since she's not cutting any teeth. The unfortunate truth here is that she is tearing up your house out of boredom and habit, and she knows she can get away with it. It's a form of entertainment in an otherwise pretty humdrum life. An unsupervised dog will amuse itself as it wishes since there is really not much a dog can do for laughs. You've got some tough choices to make. Whacking your dog with a newspaper is a waste of time.

Your dog will probably never understand the lesson you're trying to get across. To Angel, you're just coming in at the end of a long day and beating her for no reason at all.

Depending on your circumstances, a move is not out of the question. Because dogs are such social animals, Angel doesn't really know when one of you will be home. You can also buy a Sky-Kennel and restrain the dog while you are away or you can invest in a comprehensive, regimented obedience course.