Dogs and home study

ToriFan · 08-04-2007, 07:58 PM

This is a very odd question. But, one of our dogs is a very large super-hyper boxer. For the most part, we have to keep in segregated from company. Around us, he is fine and loving, but when people come over or if we go out somewhere like to the vet's office he is over-the-top hyper.

So in thinking about a home study, we have got this situation where a social worker would probably be shocked to see him act like that. He also had knee surgery last year so we keep him calm and segregated for his safety. We spent a lot on a new knee.

We have thought about going to an animal behaviorist and putting him on medication to get the hyperness to calm down.

Has anyone had experience such as this? I've got to deal with this situation before I start the home study and I feel like I am procrastinating because of our dog.

P.S. Our other dog is so normal -- a social worker will love her. Our hyper dog was born not quite right.

Miss-Meme · 08-05-2007, 12:09 AM

I'm wondering how this dog will react to a baby in the house, plus visitors to see the baby?

I think that a animal behaviorist might be a good idea.

ToriFan · 08-05-2007, 01:50 AM

Well, if it is just us and the child, he will be his normal, loving self... but, visitors are going to be the problem. Now, please don't think I am being naive, I know that pregnancy or adoption, his problem will need to be dealt with. But, a pregnancy is 9 months versus a visit from a social worker for a home study -- maybe 1 to 2 months after selecting an agency and getting started??? Very different time frame.

mommavia · 08-05-2007, 04:32 PM

Our dog is crate trained. She is a very sweet and loving dog, but sometimes gets a little overzealous. We usually put her in her crate when we have company, including when we had our social worker visit. She didn't have a problem with that at all.

I took her to obedience training at Petsmart and it helped A LOT with her behavior. She isn't hyper, but it helped us reign her in and harness her energy for good isntead of evil, and taught her how to act around new people...you may want to consider that. It sounds like you may need to address your dog's behavior, I would at least have a plan in place so you can tell your social worker about it for your homestudy.

Has your dog ever been around children? Some just don't do well with kids, some tolerate them (like ours), and others join in the fun. I was a little concerned about our dog when we brought our son home, but we introduced them slowly, utilized her crate and taught them both how to treat one another..."Jack, touch Sandie gently"..."Sandie, allow Jack to touch you them go to your pillow or bed when you are done". We also have a pillow for Sandie in our family room that Jack knows is off limits...teaching them both boundaries has made a happy boy-dog relationship!

Cynthia

ToriFan · 08-05-2007, 07:17 PM

Lars has had extensive leash and off leash training. We've never been able to get control of his hyper reaction to company. He had a laundry list of issues, but now it is this one issue which is definitely progress.

Lars has been crate trained and could most certainly go into a crate during our visit. Did your dog stay in the crate the entire time? The social worker did not ask for the dog to interact with her?

On the children issue, no he has not. My husband will tell you that yes, Lars has interacted with children. But, I tell him that my interpretation of "interacting" is being pulled, tugged, poked, etc. Honestly, I just don't have that many parents in my life and, of those, nobody has volunteered to let their children be the guinea pigs.

Well, I've just got to deal with this and stop procrastinating.

mommavia · 08-05-2007, 10:13 PM

Sandie didn't stay in her crate the entire time. The social worker never asked for her to be out, but I did let her out because Sandie needed to go outside for a potty break then I just let her roam free.

I would just have a plan in place with how you'd like to introduce your dogs and your baby...I am pretty sure a hyper dog will not prevent you from becoming a parent! It doesn't sound like he is aggressive, but he will need to be taught how to act around small children...and your child will need to be taught how to act with the dog.

Cynthia

spookycyster · 08-06-2007, 06:24 AM

I wouldn't worry too much about it, if the dog is just really happy to see visitors. If he's aggressive towards visitors, I'd definately get him some help.

We had a doberman who never met a stranger when we were going thru our home study. Shadow was very very loving, all over people when they would come to visit. We just put him outside when our SW came over. It was never a problem with her. Our bm was concerned about Shadow being around ds though, simply because of the bad rep dobes have. Just something to think about...

ProudPCOMom · 08-06-2007, 03:01 PM

Our dogs are very loud and excitable when company comes. We either put them outside or crate them (except for one that always stays out and she's the loudest) when people come over. We haven't had any issues with social workers, CPS, ECI or CASA workers. Of course, ours will quiet down after a few minutes. The various workers have never had any issues with them.

Does your dog remain hyper the entire time company is over, or does he quiet down somewhat after a while? Either way, I would probably keep him crated when they come over for various visits.

ToriFan · 08-07-2007, 12:27 AM

Susan, interesting question. The back of our house is a sunroom, office and then private patio. That's where we watch tv and hang with the dogs. There is a large baby gate back there. The kitchen, dining room and living room are pet free and the upstairs, too. When we have company, Lars will get excited, but as long as they don't acknowledge him or start baby talking, he will remain calm and we can have visits and such without a bunch of barking.

People that come around us just know that you cannot do the baby talk, excitable stuff with Lars and they respect that.

So we could definitely have a visitor or visitors without even interacting with Lars. I still feel though that I should be prepared if a SW wanted to interact with him.

But, you know, this has given me the opportunity to see that it isn't all bad. I have made progress... we just have a little further to go.

JFKobold · 08-07-2007, 01:25 AM

I have a boxer too, she's about 2yrs old. They can be very hyper dogs for about up to 4-5yrs or more (I think). Fortunatley we started training young for ours. She is the most calm, loving dog to be with but can sure have fun when she wants to play. I have to agree with the training. I think it would help over all. And of course socialize them alot especially with kids, noises, and people. Our first dog loves eveyone (he's not a boxer) especially calm with children. We started socializing him right away. Our boxer is in the process of socializing, especially with kids, since we know we want a family soon (and we are actually looking into adoption). I don't think the sw will be too concerned with the dog, our friends who just adopted had a dog and all her sw did was want to see the dog. I guess they just want to make sure our dogs are not aggressive. Good luck!

Btrflybeetle · 08-09-2007, 05:51 PM

I would consider crating the dog...and not just putting them in the room because the social worker will look in most of the rooms, but in an actual crate. I would be wary how this dog would adjust to a new child in the home as well. Before putting your dog on meds, however, I would more try to call in a dog whisperer or animal behavior therapist. Your dog may have to be trained to be calm around the new child. If your dog were to ever hurt the child (even unintentional) during the first 6 months before the adoption is finalized, you are required to call animal control and at that point, since the child is considered a "foster child". your dog will be put to sleep.
Medications are not the way to go (in my opinion) because there is no way to have results for what medications they give animals. Since they do not speak, we have no way of knowing what the meds do to them. I don't put my animal on anything unless they have to be. Dogs deal with medications very differently than people...that is the one thing they do know. Just be careful...

mluvsd · 08-09-2007, 07:21 PM

this is definately gonna be long, but pls read it all, b/c i've tried just about everything and this method definately works!!!!

our dogs were spastic sometimes, imagine 6 super excited hyper dogs, waiting to lick the face of whoever comes near. For the homestudy... that morning or two hours before the home study... take the dog for a fast walk, as far as you can both handle. play with him really hard and when you come home keep him active, don't let him just plop right down. don't let him sleep until just before the social worker comes. then he's bound to sleep. same principal as kids. that is what we did and ours didn't make a peep when our social worker came to the house. try this before and have someone come over that the dog hasn't seen before. if it doesn't work then drsfosterandsmith.com sell some calming treats. (for things like lightening etc) they contain things like camomile i think. i don't know how they work but you could try them in conjunction with the exercise. drs foster and smith are vets.

THE BEST DOG TRAINING BOOK EVER: WORKS WONDERS!!!!!! is
by Cesar Milan (Cesar's Way) you can get it on amazon.com. He also has a video that is great. (He has a TV show called the dog whisperer as a pp mentioned) He talks a lot about being the pack leader. There are only two positions in the pack, leader and follower. If you dog isn't paying attention to you and doing what you want it to do then it sees itself as your leader. Not the other way around.

For example, my friend's dog would always bark and bark and bark when her son was at the table eating until finally her son would give the dog some of his food to shut him up. she would wonder why her dog would always jump on her son whenever he wasn't in his chair eating etc... well i told her that when her son gave the dog the food b/c the dog made a fuss. essentially the dog was saying 'Give me some food, i'm in charge' and not viewing the son as pack leader. and her son would oblige. the dog then thinks.. ok i'm the boss. so what she started doing is whenever it came to feeding time for the dog her son would hold the bowl up and make the dog sit before he got his food. that way the dog had to do something for the son prior to his reward (food) that way the dog thinks 'oh, he's my boss'.

if your dog is hyper when you or people come into the home, IGNORE THE DOG. don't look at him, don't pay any attention to the dog UNTIL the dog is calm and quiet. If the dog jumps in front of you, turn your back on it. don't say anything. When the dog is quiet, you make a big deal... "Good boy" etc. pet the dog and give him a treat. NOT UNTIL THE DOG HAS SETTLED DOWN.

Do this CONSISTENTLY for several days and the dog will start to learn that when he meets you after work and other people, when he is calm you'll pay attention. this was the hardest thing for me to do b/c i have 6 and they would whine and moan until i let then into the main part of the house. finally i'd come home, read the mail, start dinner and then when they were quiet i'd let them in... now when they see me they sit at the door to their fenced area and wait to be let in the main part of the house. Quietly!!!
My big mistake was when they were pups i'd be excited to see them so i'd be all worked up, letting them jump all over. it's cute when they are 15 lbs, not when they are 60lbs.

It really works. ANY dog can be taught. Many dogs are hyper because they have no way of burning off their energy. Many people don't walk their dogs. You need to walk the dog every day and do the training sessions after you've walked the dog when they are in a calm submissive state. If the dog is freeking out and you are trying to teach it, it won't learn anything... however if it is tired out and calm it will absorb everything. Honestly it really works.
Dogs live to walk,run,play and be part of a pack. you are your dogs pack.

if it is raining out we walk our dogs individually on the treadmill. they frickin love it. how we started was putting them on a leash and standing next to the treadmill, start it on 0.6mph. let them get used to the moving belt. we have one that walks while leaning on my leg. then you can gradually up the speed. the only problem we EVER had was one day i was on the treadmill and sadie all of a sudden decided to jump on with me. (she was facing the wrong way) she walked right off the belt and i almost went flying off, but with some creative hopping i managed to stay on and upright.

IF you decide to crate train: be sure to use the crate as a reward for the dog, a safe haven. NOT a punishment. otherwise it won't work.

As far as when you have a baby... have your friends who have kids come over on a regular basis and get the dog accustomed to kids. The first few times keep the dog on a leash in the house. Only let the dog near the child when you say its ok. no matter what kind of fuss the dog puts up.

Animal trainers are awesome but stay away from any that use punishment as a training tool. if the dog respects you as pack leader then you'll be able to use little rewards and the dog will catch on and you can teach him anything.

The key is consistency, consistency, consistency. Sounds cookey i know, but remember IF you are the pack leader, then the dog WILL follow.
it's not always about training the dog, but training the dog owners. learn to think like the dog, and don't assume that the dog thinks like a human.

if you really try and the homestudy is too soon, and you are worried you can always kennel the dog for the day. just tell the social worker that you were stressed b/c you are nervous. just tell her the dog barks with new people, or you didn't know if she was allergic...etc... get a few cute pics of the dog if she asks, maybe one or two of the dog with someones kid, so she sees you down own kujo. i'm sure she'll understand. Good luck.

ToriFan · 08-09-2007, 11:36 PM

Thanks for the info. Lars has had extensive leash and off-leash training. And I mean more extensive than you can probably imagine. He cannot overly play or exercise because he had TPLO surgery last year on his knee so he has hardware. Exercise and play are out. I totally support the tiring him out theory, but we have to be careful with his knees.

I think we are going to see a behaviorist and see what we can do.