all fo sudden

[Maggie]

Hi, I could really use some advice. We have a lhasapoo (PD is his name) who is about 1 year and 1/2 old. We've had him for about 2 months. The first 2 weeks he struggled with separation anxiety-so I started obedience training along with leaving the house for short periods of time. Evyerthing was going great- Then today he chewed some of the carpet and scratched the door and I;m not sure why? I'm still doing obedience training with him and nothing has really changed in our lives.ANy ideas why PD did this? He had a tumor that was supposed to be pretty common for young dogs- I forget the name of it- hypersomething- but that's almost gone- and the only other weird thing is that sometimes when he gets really excited he wheezes or maybe hyperventilates- (he's had all the shots at the vets)
Thanks for any advice,
Maggie

[Dax]

Young dogs sometimes act more like teenagers than we would like. They can be perfect angels for months on end, then one day it's like they do drugs or something. Keep up with what you are doing - make sure he knows he was bad (verbal reprimand to start).

The wheezing, hyperness could just be puppy nerves too. As long as the vet gave him a clean bill of health - don't worry.

One mistake is fine but if he keeps it up - back to basics including crating.

[EskieKisses]

I agree with Dax. Obedience training for at least 20 minutes every day is essential for a dog in this state of mind. Since you haven't had him for terribly long, he's trying to figure out where his place in the pack is.

It's also important to walk him every day, rain or shine, hot or cold... For at least 30 minutes. A tired dog is a much happier dog! Reminding him to walk at your side or behind you will help him learn that you're the leader.

Good luck!

[FairyDogMother]

When you're not with him, I'd keep him crated until he's reliable!
Destruction can and be either separation anxiety or boredom.

[saluki-sue]

This thread is from 2004 and it doesn't look like the OP has ever come back.