Hi,

My sister and her boyfriend have two pure bred staffordshire bull terriers
one female 5yrs old and a male 7yrs old. Both are great! dogs but they have
as most dogs do some little annoying habits they'd like to break if possible
through some training or changing the situation to make it better for
everyone ;-) These are the problems and any tips would be great..

At night both dogs have a cosy bed, one of those big off the floor type ones
(I'm not surewhat they're called..) and due to renovations on their house
the dogs sleep inside in the backroom and this is we're they're fed as
well..it's basically there area for sleep and things. They have always been
both inside and outside dogs but due their short coats they have always
slept inside at night or if weather is bad during the day and no one's home.
They're pretty spoilt but they had the same situation in the previous house
they were at.. they haven't recently moved and settled in fine at this new
place but their owners (my sister and her b/f) bedroom is near the dogs
'bedroom' and every single night they bang the closed door and whimper
because as Staffys and most dogs are very people orintated and want to be
with their 'people.' Yet although my sis and her b/f love them they still
want some boundries and want them to learn not to do this especially as it's
starting to drive them insane.. The male staffy is a big sook he usually
intitates it and he's a gentle giant but the female is a perfect angel, hops
into bed and is always quite while the male is a bit more clingy and hates
to be 'shut out' BUT once he starts the female is teh one who gets things
going as she is the dominant one and most likely the one who starts banging
the door, she's pushy and only needs a bit of a motivation from the male and
then they like 'egg' each other on. hehe

They have tried rewarding them when they're quite(ie treats etc), ignoring
them when they whinge, they don't make a big deal and get all excited when
they're arrive home or when they leave so the Staffys are now used to the
fact it's not a bad thing when they're not home.. but they have figured out
how to bang, scratch and even bark, cry until they are let out.. and they
know they shouldn't give in but they don't know how to stop them. They've
tried being tough and saying "NO!" when they're bad and they're very stern
with them.. So need some behavoural pointers?! or ideas? pleeeaaasseee :-)
hehe

The male staffy also when there is food around makes like this pouty
sound(he does this often), sooking and being really sooky, wanting the food
the people are eating until all plates and food is removed from eye sight..
he will sook, and sook, and sook and sook until it's gone.. any idea to
break that habit? He also does the same sound when he wants other things,
like his people to get up in the morning. He's not fed from the table, yet
I think he was in the past by friends and things that visit so is most
likely how this behavour came to be.

They do have mostly quirky, wonderful, funny habits though and they're
gorgeous but mainly the banging on the door and crying, barking, is not only
damaging the house but keeping them awake at night as well. Once they let
out they're quite because they get what they want. They're doing it when
they're not home now... and my sis & her b/f got home recently to find the
neighbours in the driveway worried like crazy cos they could here this
banging and thought someone was trapped, they didn't realsie it was the
digs, they get THAT loud as their neighbours aren't that close by really!
hehe

Thanks!
Jo

Carly wrote:
Hi,

My sister and her boyfriend have two pure bred staffordshire bull terriers
one female 5yrs old and a male 7yrs old. Both are great! dogs but they have
as most dogs do some little annoying habits they'd like to break if possible
through some training or changing the situation to make it better for
everyone ;-) These are the problems and any tips would be great..

At night both dogs have a cosy bed, one of those big off the floor type ones
(I'm not surewhat they're called..) and due to renovations on their house
the dogs sleep inside in the backroom and this is we're they're fed as
well..it's basically there area for sleep and things. They have always been
both inside and outside dogs but due their short coats they have always
slept inside at night or if weather is bad during the day and no one's home.
They're pretty spoilt but they had the same situation in the previous house
they were at.. they haven't recently moved and settled in fine at this new
place but their owners (my sister and her b/f) bedroom is near the dogs
'bedroom' and every single night they bang the closed door and whimper
because as Staffys and most dogs are very people orintated and want to be
with their 'people.' Yet although my sis and her b/f love them they still
want some boundries and want them to learn not to do this especially as it's
starting to drive them insane.. The male staffy is a big sook he usually
intitates it and he's a gentle giant but the female is a perfect angel, hops
into bed and is always quite while the male is a bit more clingy and hates
to be 'shut out' BUT once he starts the female is teh one who gets things
going as she is the dominant one and most likely the one who starts banging
the door, she's pushy and only needs a bit of a motivation from the male and
then they like 'egg' each other on. hehe

They have tried rewarding them when they're quite(ie treats etc), ignoring
them when they whinge, they don't make a big deal and get all excited when
they're arrive home or when they leave so the Staffys are now used to the
fact it's not a bad thing when they're not home.. but they have figured out
how to bang, scratch and even bark, cry until they are let out.. and they
know they shouldn't give in but they don't know how to stop them. They've
tried being tough and saying "NO!" when they're bad and they're very stern
with them.. So need some behavoural pointers?! or ideas? pleeeaaasseee :-)
hehe

The male staffy also when there is food around makes like this pouty
sound(he does this often), sooking and being really sooky, wanting the food
the people are eating until all plates and food is removed from eye sight..
he will sook, and sook, and sook and sook until it's gone.. any idea to
break that habit? He also does the same sound when he wants other things,
like his people to get up in the morning. He's not fed from the table, yet
I think he was in the past by friends and things that visit so is most
likely how this behavour came to be.

They do have mostly quirky, wonderful, funny habits though and they're
gorgeous but mainly the banging on the door and crying, barking, is not only
damaging the house but keeping them awake at night as well. Once they let
out they're quite because they get what they want. They're doing it when
they're not home now... and my sis & her b/f got home recently to find the
neighbours in the driveway worried like crazy cos they could here this
banging and thought someone was trapped, they didn't realsie it was the
digs, they get THAT loud as their neighbours aren't that close by really!
hehe

Is the door making noise partly because there's some
"play" in it? IOW, maybe when it's latched closed it
can still rattle. If so, that can be adjusted.

I'm unclear as to why the dogs can't come in at night
to sleep in their people's beds, and go back out during
the day when their people aren't home.

If the dogs must be confined when they're inside at
night, a better solution than keeping them in that
storeroom would be to let them sleep in crates in the
bedroom.

flick 100785


Thanks!
Jo