3YO Male with Some Work Needed
My partner and I recently adopted a rehomed 3 year old male spoo who was raised around kids, knows some basic obedience (sit, shake, crate, etc.) due to family housing circumstances that led to them needing to get rid of him. Overall, he’s a very sweet boy. He’s gotten very close with our Italian greyhound and is eager to please (when he’s paying attention to you.)
I’m more than willing to say I didn’t fully know what I was getting myself into, as I’ve had dogs for years, am used to dealing with fearful dogs/winning trust/etc. However, he’s a whole different ball of wax.
His main issues that really put strain on our relationship with him are reactivity to our cat (she’s basically become an upstairs cat now, because every time he sees her he barks/jumps/tries to climb the walls to get upstairs), barking/barrier frustration if we happen to be outside without him or if anyone attempts to deliver anything to the porch, jumping and mouthiness (he is big and strong and jumps when he gets overstimulated), and a lack of focus when trying to redirect.
He loves to play fetch, loves to chew, and loves to run full-tilt. At the moment, I’ll admit, we don’t have the best yard setup to allow him to run free, but we take him almost every day of the week to a fenced area and let him lope around.
My partner and I have different approaches when it comes to training. He is very soft-spoken and mild, and will often begin petting/giving attention while trying to get our boy to obey a command, which results in our pup not listening immediately and doing whatever he wants. I have been able to be firm with him and get him to listen, followed by a reward, fairly consistently. The issue is just that when other dad gets home, we get hyper and excited and bark and jump and have a hard time listening because we’re getting the attention we want with no need to be calm. My partner has a hard time seeing the value in rewarding calm and not excitement and setting firm boundaries, but given his size and his mouthiness, it worries me to have him so ready to bowl someone over when they walk in the door. (That person could be a child, an older person, etc.)
As far as I’m concerned, the one thing I cannot seem to get pup to understand is 1) to be calm/not reactive when he sees the cat and 2) to settle with his barking in a timely fashion. He gets focused on one thing and has an extremely hard time winding down off of the adrenaline, will pace the length of the house panting, barking, etc.
Our vet agreed he would benefit from trying Prozac as it seems his socialization was a little wanting, and he is on week one of beginning it, so I’m willing to hazard we have yet to see the effects. (Is it true that many don’t see much improvement for 3-4 weeks in everyone’s experience?) All that said, this has become a huge pinch point in our relationship. I don’t want to rehome him again, I’m willing to work with him, but I fear for the safety of our cat and of people who aren’t two adult men if he gets overstimulated.
Does age help? Prozac? I know he needs more structured training, but I am about to graduate nursing school and my partner is getting his masters, so we’re both stretched somewhat thin. In the work that I’ve done with him when I can, he’s very smart and learns quickly when he has the ability to focus on me. Will it just take time? What have been your saving graces? I desperately don’t want to get rid of him, as my partner views him as largely his dog, and he adores him, but I am having such a hard time feeling like we’re failing him.