Zorro13

He chews things I around the house. When I'm out of the house it's definitely a stress-coping behavior. There are instances that I can generally leave him out of sight in the house though (i.e. when I take a shower) and 99% of the time he just lays down and waits for me but sometimes he also chews things in those instances. I've caught him in the act before too and he gets really startled without me even acknowledging him. This surprises me because I never gave him any adverse reaction as a small pup that would make him think he had to hide and chew things away from me. I generally just stuck a toy in his mouth.

Zorro is just turning 14 months now and is showing no signs of stopping his destructive behaviors when I'm not watching. I'm still containing him so he can't practice the behavior when I'm gone and just waiting it out until he grows up. Is there anything I can do to hasten the process? He never does it in front of me and 99% of the time is sufficiently stimulated and has things to chew on when I'm gone. I've tried a few test runs outside of containment to see if he will still chew and he does every time. I'm (and my wallet) is worried he may not grow out of it...

I've been just as frustrated for a year with the same issues. I've been making good progress lately doing a couple simple things. One was doing a few walks just around the yard. I realized I was getting really frustrated trying to get through an entire walk and finding a little success really helped with my attitude which is really important to do effective training. Second was going back and re-watching all the leash training videos (kikopup has some really good ones). I realized I didn't remember as much as I thought I did and was making a lot of the common mistakes. If you're dog is overpowering you I would also recommend a leash that you can tie around your waist so you can use you're legs to help counter the force.

So apparently the sitter gave him raw meaty bone that didn't agree with his system and it was all digestive back-up. We've had a fun past few days out in the bathroom area of the yard but he is back to normal size again!

Same scale. He is noticeably bigger, my jaw dropped when I first saw him. He is not the same skinny dog I left a week ago. He has had some hair loss on his side and back legs over the past few months that I thought was just him shedding his winter coat but is apparently also a symptom of hypothyroidism. Hopefully the vet visit will provide some answers.

I left Zorro with a pet sitter this past week and he came back 5lbs heavier (37 to 42 lbs). I found out that she was feeding him an extra half cup per day (2.5 cups vs 2 cups) since he was getting a lot of exercise. That extra amount shouldn't equal a 5 pound weight gain though should it? I'm taking him to the vet this week but am a little worried. Seems like it might be a thyroid issue...

I'm right there with you. I started as soon as I got him and was making some good progress, then over time it just seemed like he started getting worse and worse. It's been frustrating because like you I feel I've done well teaching every other behavior/trick he knows. About a month ago I decided to pretty much start from the beginning. Here's what I've done and it's been showing some progress. - I did a week of walks just in the yard to reduce the environmental stimulation and really show him what I want on the leash. - Close to 100% reward for looking back/making eye contact. I plan to reduce this very slowly. - Frequent direction changes to keep him paying attention to me. Running away from him when he wasn't looking was something that really helped his off leash skills so I've been trying to apply that concept to the leash. - Red light/green light. I now use the leash in the link below that I can tie around my waist which has helped stop his forward progress as soon as I stop. I noticed that often times he was getting to the thing he wanted because my hands moved forward a bit when he yanked on the leash. - Stopping and having him sit frequently. - Sniffing trees/etc on command as opposed him pulling over on his own. Good luck and let me know if you do something that works! I'm all ears to get this thing figured out! http://www.amazon.com/Kurgo-Quantum-Dog-Leash-Black/dp/B003NSCCMA/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1403456797&sr=8-1&keywords=quantum+leash

No dye!, no girlfriends either until he's at least 2!

Zorro's been shedding his rough coat which has now turned into a mohawk on his back. Fits perfectly with his current "rebellious" adolescent attitude....

Does your pup chase you if you run away from him? I taught Zorro to bring it back separately from chasing it. I would put the ball on the ground and when he picked it up I would run away. If he dropped it or left it I would stop and tell him to get it and repeat once he picked it back up. Once he got the point that bringing it back was fun I added the throw. I would also recommend teaching a drop command separately. Fetch is really a lot of different skills and can be difficult to learn if you are expecting him to do all of them at once.

It's generally at night when he's laying down and is definitely caused by random noises outside. It is a very different bark than his normal voice, It's more of a howling at the moon. In some ways I like it because he's being a good sentry dog but it's been getting out of hand lately. The acknowledgement command seems like a good idea. I was doing that at first to check and see what he was barking at but have since stopped once I figured out it's always nothing.

Zorro has started to bark at nothing quite a bit. I've heard ignoring it is the best to avoid reinforcing the behavior but have also read that fear is not something you can reinforce and that you should comfort them to help them get over the fear. What is the best reaction for this?

I've read that most dogs are not truly house-trained until a year old. Zorro (9 months) had been good for a few months and then just last week left me a present out of nowhere. Sounds like you're on the right track, just be patient and let him grow up a little.

Ok, good to know. I'm still feeding him more than the recommended amount, I just couldn't get over the greyhound comment!

Just a little paranoid.... Based on everything I've read my guy is a good weight for an 8mo puppy. He's 20-21in and a hair over 36 lbs. EVERYONE that sees him though comments on how skinny he is. I tell them he is a puppy and should skinny but the final paranoia straw came when someone asked if he had some greyhound in him! So...am I starving this poor guy?