I have a guy like this (only MUCH milder, all he does is cry and whine). I can leave all I want, but I can NOT take any other dogs out to have fun without him... because he might be missing the fun!!! Worst thing ever! He is VERY doggy.

Al is right - he is experiencing separation anxiety, I am certain. For a dog this extreme I might consider using Relora or even Clomicalm (http://www.clomicalm.novartis.us/) to help with his symptoms while you work on it with him. (As well as a basket muzzle).

 Quote: Al Curbow

Surgery for barking? That's retarded, the dogs problem is separation.

That's what I really wanted to say........

Debarking? WTF?! Just to make him quiet? This is a training issue, possibly combined w/a genetic issue. Neither of which, IMO, warrant debarking.

I know exactly the high-pitched scream you're talking about. It's a bully thing...Pits are the worst. Simon does the same thing. It's because he is SPOILED. He screams if I am w/in earshot; he wants to be w/me 24/7. It's not a matter of being "doggy" w/him. He is quiet if I am not home. He reserves this behavior for when I can hear him, and he hopes, against all hope, that someday I will decide to listen to his screaming and do what he wants me to do. He will be two next week, and this has never happened, yet he continues to try. Ever the eternal optimist,LOL! Anyway, true separation anxiety is a nerve issue; being spoiled and wanting to do something is another. REALLY try to assess which is going on here.

I wouldn't walk all 4 at once b/c of tantrums. Every time you go along w/what the dog wants b/c it's easier and quieter, you reinforce that awful, obnoxious behavior pays off. I would put the dog in a SECURE crate away from other dogs (no good reason to have dogs staring at each other from crates anyway) and walk whoever you damn well please. They are not in charge of the walking agenda.


Bark collars don't work on that scream. The OP is correct. That crate, I can see from pics, is not nearly strong enough for that dog. I have an aluminum crate I paid about $400 for that has a lock on it. I use this for Simon now b/c there is no way for him to injure himself getting out of it. He never hurt himself escaping, but I need to know he's safely contained when I leave for work. My crate has a key to the latch, which is great. If he gets out of that, I'm donating his brain to science.

I think there are several steps to be made prior to medicating or surgery. I think that surgery is absolutely barbaric. Plus, it does not make them silent. Instead of a real voice w/different tones, you'd get to listen to the same scratchy, raspy yap all day long.

Did I miss the amount of exercise and training, daily, the dog receives?


And yeah, I second the steel or wood box.

Ruth, good luck. I have just recently found a "system" that kind of works. When you get a bit further in his new training/schedule/system, think about something like this. It might help.

Simon is a very smart boy. Any kind of routine I fall into, he picks up on very quickly. What was happening, I think, is that he was assuming how things were going to play out and trying to change them. I didn't ever give in, yet he kept it up. He's extremely confident, no temperament issues, so SA was NOT the cause. Spoiled Brat Momma's Boy Syndrome was the cause. He felt entitled to be near me at all times.

I started surprising him sometimes by actually LETTING him do the things he wanted, but only if he was quiet before, of course. For instance, 2 days ago he was a quiet angel in his kennel while I dealt w/my horses. I let him out and let him sleep in the living room that night. The next morning, he happily went back into his outside kennel and didn't make a peep. I have continued to mix it up like this. He has no idea where he will be sleeping- it could be out in his run, could be in the kennel in the garage, it could be w/me. The guesswork seems to have made him not only more content that something great could await him, but also he seems to think it's worth his while to keep his yap shut in case I'm in a nice mood. Not saying you need to let him sleep w/you, just giving an example of special treats that I had been holding back for the same reason you stated, and yet they seemed to be the answer to the problem. Simon was always an angel in the house so he was a bit spoiled in his freedoms. When I changed jobs and moved, that all changed. He didn't take it well.

I couldn't figure out what I was doing wrong, and in theory, I wasn't really doing anything wrong, which you probably aren't either. They are individuals and sometimes we need to be more creative.

I think you are on the right track, from what it sounds like here, and I wish you luck! Keep us posted!

That's really great advice. It sounds like a very similar situation to yours. Chopper's a stickler for routine, if it changes he's not a happy boy. I thought the answer was to get into a very strict routine, but that'll only mean if circumstances out of our control change, he'll flip out again. He needs to learn that every day is different and that's ok. I know that's not exactly what you were saying, it's a realisation I just had!

Any pics of Simon? I take it that's not him in your sig!

Pictures? Only 440.

Simon:
http://s32.photobucket.com/albums/d33/Jenwilliams918/Simon/?start=all

Please keep us posted; I am curious about what's really the issue w/Chopper. Your dogs are all great looking, BTW.

OMG!!! He's divine!!! We have BSL here in NSW, so I can never own a pitty. Our hands are pretty full with our current pack, but I hope to always have an SBT and an Amstaff in my life

Here's some of mine!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/26833189@N04/collections/72157611512026434/

You get away w/those dogs in a BSL area?! I can't believe that. I see very clearly that they are not Pits, but most of the BSL laws I've seen apply to those guys, too, OR AC is just too stupid and ignorant to know the difference between an SBT and an APBT. I am really shocked.