I met with a highly recommended pet trainer on Sunday. She spent about 2 1/2 hours with Benny and I, and we went over some basics about training. While I had assumed he had been potentially abused before the shelter, she confrimed that he was at least a year older than I thought and had definitely been abused or trained with fear.
I understand these things happen. It's hard to think of anyone hurting my dog, who after less than a month aready has me completely wrapped around his paw. But I understand, and I want to make it better for him. I've tried to give him everything he wants, perhaps to the point of spoiling him (which the trainer said was a big "no-no"); he gets four walks a day (3 from me, 1 from the walker); he's fed good, healthy food and has tons of toys and chewy things to play with. HOWEVER, he still rips up the room when I'm gone and he still likes to drag my clothes out of the dirty laundry basket.
I've tried reinforcing the training with treats when we walk, and after buying him the Easy Walker harness, not only does he not pull me halfway across the county anymore, he stops at every street corner and he waits until I say "let's go."
I need to figure out a way to make him more secure. I can't leave a radio in the room because he chews through everything in there. I gave him an old blanket that smells like me to put in his crate, but he tore it up. He has begun to bark a bit when I leave now, and in the mornings, I'm just not ready to walk him at 5a even when he rusn in and jumps up on the bed.
He's def getting better, and he's def bonded with me. But like the trainer said, I need to make it clear that he's my dog, and that I'm not his person ...
