(Non-GSD) Desperate for advice.. text heavy

[wyoung2153]

I am writing this on behalf of my sister because she is at wits end with her puppy and I have told her all I can and might need another approach. I don't live with her so obviously can only go off of what she tells me. But she asked if I can get advice from you guys because she doesn't know what to do anymore.

She has 2 pug mixes, male, 7 months old, in tact, Zues and Apolo. She has had them since they were 7 weeks old. When she got them she asked me for advice on training since I trained Titan pretty well by myself. I gave her all the advice I could and she started. Granted I don't think she did it quite as religously as I told her, but regardless, Zues is pretty well-behaved, minor issues, but Apolo is just not grasping anything. She is at the point of frustration where she is jsut mad all the time when he does anything she just yells and puts him in his crate. Direct quote from my sister on what he is doing: "...being too rough with Zeus to the point of viciousness sometimes, marking his territory EVERY WHERE, humping Zeus all the time like constantly following Zeus around sniffing his butt the jumping him. We have to put one or the other in a crate so Zeus has a moment to breathe. And he has no problem marking his territory right in front of us. The humping has gotten so bad that Zeus can't even go to the bathroom without him trying. So we have to so one at a time sometimes."

Some other details.. She six months pregnant with a part time job, and her husband is in the military working full time. They weren't planning the pregnancy which is why they got puppies, while they thought they had time and energy to train them properly, but life had other plans. They live in North Dakota, so it's below freezing for a good half of the year. They have a yard but it's not fenced in so they have a tether that they hook both of them up to when they go outside. My sister and brother in law tend to "feel bad" for the dogs when they do things. I feel they humanize them too much. So it took a while for me to convince them to crate training and I'm working on them doing somethign about them having the run of the house. They have an open floor plan but no gates or anything blocking them or containing them to one area.

I know that's a lot and if you made it this far I could really use some advice to relay to my sister. I told her to start form square one with him but she said she doesn't know.. sadly I think coming from somewhere like this would convince her more than me. Feel free to ask me any questions, I know a decent amount after all she's told me and can most likely answer them.

Thanks in advance for your help.

[MaggieRoseLee]

THere's more going on than just dog training. Responsible breeders won't even sell 2 puppies to the same person because of all the associated issues people normally don't realize that makes things so hard.

Good read so she know's she's not crazy, it IS harder --> Should I get TWO puppies/dogs at once?

Added to the fact a new human baby is coming into the home...

THere a chance they can call the breeder and have them take one of the dogs back? For the DOG'S sake?

[Castlemaid]

My recommendation is to rehome one of the dogs - not sure if she would consider it, but if the two are kept together, the dynamics between dog-dog and bad-dog/frustrated owner are not likely to change. So either she does the crate/rotate and spends a LOT of one-on-one time with Apolo so SHE becomes his center of attention (not Zeus), or her frustration level will only escalate. And with the baby coming, don't see things getting better, only worse.

A small breed, still pretty young - throw in a neuter, and should not be too hard to find a home for Apolo where the owners have the time and experience to work with him properly.

[wyoung2153]

They were not purchased forma breeder actually, they were purchased from a pet store.. right or wrong, that's where they came from. I disagreed from the beginning but again, they humanize them and think have 2 is better to entertain themselves. Which I know is incorrect. However they have them.. and I know for a fact won't give him up.. They do love him but she just doesn't know where to go from here.. any suggestions on what she can try to do herself? What more do you think is going on?

[Sunflowers]

Having been pregnant, eight months pregnant, while I had an 18-year-old incontinent and blind dog, who mostly slept, and I was barely was able to handle that, I cannot imagine having two puppies in this situation.
There's nothing anyone can advise, in my opinion, other then lightening the load.
Having two puppies of the same sex is tough enough without being pregnant and having an infant join the mix in a few months.
Crate and rotate would be the only solution, plus lots of training. But with the pregnancy… I just don't know.

[wyoung2153]

Originally Posted by Castlemaid

My recommendation is to rehome one of the dogs - not sure if she would consider it, but if the two are kept together, the dynamics between dog-dog and bad-dog/frustrated owner are not likely to change. So either she does the crate/rotate and spends a LOT of one-on-one time with Apolo so SHE becomes his center of attention (not Zeus), or her frustration level will only escalate. And with the baby coming, don't see things getting better, only worse.

A small breed, still pretty young - throw in a neuter, and should not be too hard to find a home for Apolo where the owners have the time and experience to work with him properly.

I am relaying the message about rehoming but she's not having it.. she is far too attached. she doesn't see it like we do, where rehoming isn't always a bad thing.

[Sunflowers]

Originally Posted by wyoung2153

I am relaying the message about rehoming but she's not having it.. she is far too attached. she doesn't see it like we do, where rehoming isn't always a bad thing.

Then what could we advise? This is a bad situation getting worse really fast.
The only thing I could see happening is somehow making her realize that dogs are not humans, and their needs are not being met. Maybe she loves the dogs enough to try to meet their needs, which are different from the needs of human beings.

[MaggieRoseLee]

Have her sit down in front of the computer and read what BREEDERS recommend for their dogs...

---> Should I get TWO puppies/dogs at once?

So it's not you telling her what's up but professionals (like us )

[wyoung2153]

Originally Posted by Sunflowers

Then what could we advise? This is a bad situation getting worse really fast.
The only thing I could see happening is somehow making her realize that dogs are not humans, and their needs are not being met. Maybe she loves the dogs enough to try to meet their needs, which are different from the needs of human beings.

Having rehomed one of my puppies in the past for behavior problems I admittedly wasn't prepared for, it took me a while to come to that conclusion so I know how hard it is for her. I was so attached I couldn't wrap my head around me just giving her away. Hopefully she will come to the conclusion like I did.

[Castlemaid]

If your sister is looking for some magic powder that she can sprinkle on Apolo and it will instantly turn him into a good dog, nobody has any.

There are no hints, tricks, secrets, tips, suggestions that will help. She needs to make a commitment to this dog in the form of implementing a strict NILIF, separating him from Zeus and spending tons of time working with him.

If she won't listen to you, will getting a trainer in that can work with her one-on-one on how to manage the two dogs help?