Might have to give up Gunner - Owner keeping him

[georgiapeach717]

yeah i have heard that if you make your entrance not showy and exciting then they wont be as crazy when you leave...but I have no idea how well that works.

I think a plastic airline crate will work better than an open wire crate too. geeze I wish I lived closer to help you. I would come walk him with mine!

[Phay1018]

clomicalm tends to take a couple months to get into the dogs systems fully at the dosage they need so after just one week, you can't know if it will help or not.

[crs996]

Originally Posted by georgiapeach717

yeah i have heard that if you make your entrance not showy and exciting then they wont be as crazy when you leave...but I have no idea how well that works.

I think a plastic airline crate will work better than an open wire crate too. geeze I wish I lived closer to help you. I would come walk him with mine!

Keeping the coming and going low key is very effective in my experience, they can feed off of your excitement/worry, etc.

I still have a crate (plastic type) for our dogs although I don't have to secure them in it, they both enjoy napping in there. A crate and a bully stick or peanut butter stuffed Kong might be enough to begin desensitizing him. At least with a bark collar and crate, you have a "patch" fix until you can begin working with a trainer/behaviorist. It might buy you some time, don't give up!

[GunnersMom]

He's never been in a crate in his life, so I don't think he'll take to one now. I worry that it would only make him hate my leaving even more than he already does.

The collar does not work. Tried it. He got so freaked out and frustrated when he couldn't vent himself by barking that he tore a nail clawing at the gate.

I've left a stuffed kong. I've left him with a fresh beef knuckle bone. He won't touch it. He usually wants nothing to do with food or treats when he's ticked off or stressed out. He did empty the kong once, and then went right back to barking again.

I know the medication takes time to work (if it's going to) but we don't HAVE time. That's the problem.

[Syaoransbear]

Could you try maybe a board and train place so that a trainer could work on it? The process will probably be much louder than just maintaining what a trainer trained him to do.

[Sigurd's Mom]

Try dog day care. I started bringing Sigurd back to day care this week, and I've noticed it removes a lot of his excess energy that I am not able to remove with walks/play time. It helps him not feel so EXCITED at everything. Sigurd was starting to bark a bit too much.

I tried the spray bark collar. Useless, didn't work.
I purchased a shock bark collar 2 weeks, now that works. So, with removing excess energy, and getting shocked - he's really calm and doesn't bark for no reason anymore. The shock isn't that bad, the one I got has 10 settings. For each bark, the level goes up. It usually stops him on the first bark. I think it's more annoying, like shocking yourself on a carpet, not cruel, imho.

[sit,stay]

I don't think that neutering him will give you enough relief to make much of a difference at this point.

That being said, if you do in fact rehome him...NEUTER him before he leaves your home. That is the responsible thing to do in a case like this.

I know you said that you would like to place him yourself, but have you thought about asking a GSD rescue to courtesy post him on their website? Perhaps doing so would give you the control you want and yet give him the exposure to a wider adopting public at the same time? Many rescues will courtesy post, as long as the dog is spayed/neutered and a minimum of appropriate adoption procedures are followed (application, reference check and home visit).

It sure is a rough position to be in. Good luck.
Sheilah

[GunnersMom]

Originally Posted by Sigurd's Mom

Try dog day care. I started bringing Sigurd back to day care this week, and I've noticed it removes a lot of his excess energy that I am not able to remove with walks/play time. It helps him not feel so EXCITED at everything. Sigurd was starting to bark a bit too much.

I tried the spray bark collar. Useless, didn't work.
I purchased a shock bark collar 2 weeks, now that works. So, with removing excess energy, and getting shocked - he's really calm and doesn't bark for no reason anymore. The shock isn't that bad, the one I got has 10 settings. For each bark, the level goes up. It usually stops him on the first bark. I think it's more annoying, like shocking yourself on a carpet, not cruel, imho.

Originally Posted by GunnersMom

We've tried everything that we can possibly think of. I did consider daycare for him because my aunt did that with her GSD and it did wonders for him. Problems are 1) He's intact. The only daycare center around here specifies that they be altered. 2) After the move and all the expenses because of it, we just can't afford it right now. And the behaviorist said it could go either way. He said there's a chance that it could help and there's a chance that it could make matters worse and he'll hate being left alone even more than he does now. He said he wouldn't recommend it right now.

Originally Posted by GunnersMom

The collar does not work. Tried it. He got so freaked out and frustrated when he couldn't vent himself by barking that he tore a nail clawing at the gate.

I'm sorry if I seem short or bitey. (I am right now, but I don't mean to be.) I just don't have a whole lot of patience at this point. My nerves are shot.
I keep hearing things that we either can't do, or we've already tried, and I'm scared because I know that we're on borrowed time. We're working with one strike here.
I know Gunner and I know that we're not going to "fix" this before the neighbor formally complains and management says that he has to go. If that happens, we'll have two days to find him a home. We all know what the odds of that happening are.

I spoke to one woman who has a rescue here, locally. She said that they could TRY to find him a good home, but that I shouldn't count on it.
So I don't know what the **** to do right now. I'm not even thinking clearly.

[onyx'girl]

If I were in your situation, I would contact an area rescue and see if you can find someone who would foster him for a bit...that way he'll be in a different environment, and out of your apartment. Then you and the rescue/foster can plan on what to do..re-home, or re-hab if possible.
Maybe getting him in a different place for awhile(away from you) will snap his behavior. If he still has separation anxiety and barking w/ the new place, then you can truely decide what is best for him...I feel for you, bad situation for all.

[Sigurd's Mom]

Originally Posted by GunnersMom

I'm sorry if I seem short or bitey. (I am right now, but I don't mean to be.) I just don't have a whole lot of patience at this point. My nerves are shot.
I keep hearing things that we either can't do, or we've already tried, and I'm scared because I know that we're on borrowed time. We're working with one strike here.
I know Gunner and I know that we're not going to "fix" this before the neighbor formally complains and management says that he has to go. If that happens, we'll have two days to find him a home. We all know what the odds of that happening are.

I spoke to one woman who has a rescue here, locally. She said that they could TRY to find him a good home, but that I shouldn't count on it.
So I don't know what the **** to do right now. I'm not even thinking clearly.

Sorry, I usually don't read past the original posting. Maybe neutering him will calm him down a bit? My parents had a husky that barked and barked and barked, he was about 5 years old, they got him neutered and within a month he didn't bark as much (only when people came to the door and such).