Training can save your home and help Fido

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The Seattle Times

By Susan Hall


How bored is that doggie in the window? Dogs that spend their days alone at home can be trained to chew on toys instead of expensive furniture.


As we become a more urban society, dogs often find themselves alone at home as owners go off to work. In turn, many of those owners are asking: If dog is man's best friend, why is he eating my couch?

Well, it could be that Fido is bored. Bred for centuries to work at jobs such as rooting out vermin, herding cattle or retrieving game, most of our pets are expected to do little beyond serving as a companion. But dogs need work to do, says Allison Jamison Woosley, a trainer for the Kentucky Humane Society, who lives with seven indoor dogs.

"If you don't find a 'job' for your dog, they will often create one, and you might not like it," says Woosley, who became involved in dog behavior after returning home one day to find that her dog had ripped off the back of a sofa and dug up the carpet.

Through training and giving your dog a "job" or something to do while you're away, you can protect your home and create a healthier environment for your dog.

Dog-proofing

Take control from the start, says trainer Marilyn Donlon.

"When you get a dog, at first you should assume the worst — it's not housebroken, it will chew up everything and dig through the trash," she says.

Like babies, dogs explore the world with their mouths. So "baby-proof" your home. Make anything you don't want in his mouth inaccessible.

Training tips

Here are some tips from trainers Woosley, Donlon and Debbie Owen for keeping the home-alone dog out of trouble and teaching him how to behave when you are not around.


• If you're gone all day, crate the dog or use a small indoor pen. Have a friend or neighbor come in at midday to give the dog exercise and a bathroom break. If necessary, hire a dog walker.

• Dogs find food-filled toys (such as Kongs and Goodie Bones, both hard rubber toys that you stuff with treats) more exciting than chewing the coffee table, Woosley says. Dogs will chew, she says. The trick is to direct them to something appropriate.

• Dogs need exercise, both physical and mental. Walking is not enough. Games such as fetch and hide-and-seek burn mental and physical energy.

Puzzles also can provide mental stimulation. Try the I-Cube, a soft cube with balls inside that the dog has to figure out how to get to, or the Buster Cube — fill it with kibble, and a bit falls out here and there as the dog rolls it.

Obedience class and other training also provide mental work.

• Be the pack leader. Says Owen: Teaching " 'sit' and 'stay' helps establish your leadership in the household. When they get used to complying with your commands, over time that will transfer over to what you say about chewing."