I'm posting this about 2 dogs that i dog sit. So one of a 5 y.o. beagle and the other is a 4 month old beagle/pug mix. So lets start with the older one.

1. He barks ALOT when people come over, when his owner leaves and when they come home.

2.He chews & scratchs at the molding around the door when they leave.

3.He barks ALOT when they put his leash on and take him outside.

4. He pulls on the leash and doesn't walk nicly on the leash.

5. When they put them in the crate when they are gone they bark and whine when they come home. Of course they are rewarding they by letting them out.

And for the puppy

1. Potty training

2. walking nicly on the leash

3.biteing

He needs to be tained in just about everything. I have given my friend tips but she didn't like them. She talked to a trainer here and try what she said (don't let the dog out of the crate untill hes quiet and don't put the leash untill hes quiet. And redirect the puppy when he pees in the house.) She tried them for a few days and gave up. So what ideas do you have?? Thank you

Meg

I recommend a book called the Dog Listener by Jan Fennell . IMO she has a case of anxiety I have used the methods in this book and found them to be very effective. She studied Monty Roberts and adapted Natural pack training into an easy to understand format. Anxiety in a dog is often caused by beleiving it is the leader and responsible for it's pack ( aka the owners) Jan's exercises are easy to do and help the dog to understand that the owner is indeed the leader and responsible. I use the excercise such as eating order for my very dominant rescue dog all the time. :)

Puppies need consistancy and without that nothing she does is going to work. Muzzle hugs work well for biting  but again as with our horses she needs to establish leadership. A timer works well for potty training The monks of new skete have a book the art of raising a puppy that is good too

Unless the owners are willing to put in the time and the consistency needed to get these guys to be good citizens, there is nothing you can do. There are no quick fixes in dog training.

Dog training for dummies? LOL!

Mae

Tell your friend to watch "It's Me or the Dog" on the Animal Planet.  Talk about problems!!  But what a hoot watching people who have no clue... One girl got her little Chinese Crested so she could dress her up!! LOL

But tonvic is right, if the owner won't do what is necessary for the "kids" to help them become responsible members of society, there's not much you can do... unless by dogsitter you mean you keep them every day while she works.  Then, if it were me, it really would be a case of it's me or the dogs!

tonvic:

Unless the owners are willing to put in the time and the consistency needed to get these guys to be good citizens, there is nothing you can do. There are no quick fixes in dog training.

Exactly. Tell them to watch the Dog Whisperer, but if they don't want to reprimand the dog, they're not going to get anywhere. Beagles bark ALOT- it's in their nature, so it's something that has to be addressed consistently. House training is easy, if you are consistent. These people aren't. The dogs aren't the problem, the owners are. 

Clicker training!! I went to Karen Pryors website and they have TONS of advice, Q&A, videos, and forums to answer questions. (Crystal is the expert!!)

Dog Whisperer is excellent.  I also recommend any of the books by Brian Kilcommons and Sarah Wilson.  I think that Good Owners, Great Dogs and Metrodog -- A Guide to Raising Your Dog in the City would probably help here.

Suzanne

thanks everyone i was thinking the same thing. I spent TONs of time traning my kids. Granted they arn't perfect but then again they arn't annoying either, I don't have potty problems or chewing problems. I dog sit when they need it its not very often. The wife just doesn't like to have the dogs in the crates for more then 3 hours so if they happen to plan on being out all day they ask me to watch them. Also neither one is crate trained so most days they pee in there if its more then 2 or 3 hours. Also when they get home they don't take the dogs out right away. Witch in my opinion is one of the problems with the puppy.

Why, oh why do people get dogs (or horses, kids, gerbils, whatever) when they are not willing to take responsibility for them??!!  May they all get athlete's foot and an uncomfortable, but benign, rash in an embarrassing place!!!  GRRRRR!

And why would people get a puppy when thier older untrained dog is destroying their home?????  Obviously they don't care about training or learning!!!

well the story is that the older one never chewed the house down before they moved. Also before they moved he was with other dogs. So they thought that getting another dog would help him with is anxiety. I guess not. But i have showed how i trained my dogs. I showed her on her dogs and they did it pritty quickly so i know it can be done i'm just not there to do it. Oh and the werse part yet is the house smells like urine even after shampooing the carpets She has my carpet cleaner so theres some cleaning going on.

Meg:

well the story is that the older one never chewed the house down before they moved. Also before they moved he was with other dogs. So they thought that getting another dog would help him with is anxiety. I guess not. But i have showed how i trained my dogs. I showed her on her dogs and they did it pritty quickly so i know it can be done i'm just not there to do it. Oh and the werse part yet is the house smells like urine even after shampooing the carpets She has my carpet cleaner so theres some cleaning going on.

An adult dog that is healthy and will soil it's crate after only afew hours has some issues. Have they thought about putting in a dog door? I wouldn't be without one.

Hi meg.  If the owners aren't willing to put in the time while you are not there, not much will change while you are there.  When visiting friends, I often just go into my "dog mode," and say things like "off" (when most people mean down) or grab a puppy's muzzle if it wants to chew or bite.  Sometimes, if I am around enough, the dog learns that with me, it can't get away with stuff.  If the owners are serious, they will have to learn what to do and not expect you to do it.  Good luck!

Hmmm...if she didn't take your advise, perhaps suggesting puppy classes, and an obedience class or even private lessons with a trainer...

 I am not sure on books...but my geuss is that if she gave up on techniques you gave her, she probably wouldn't read a book...perhaps going on line and finding some good 'lessons' and printing them out for her may help...

If she is unwilling to take any advise though, it is highly doubtful she would enroll in classes, or even read through printed sheets; not to be prejudmental, but these people sound like they are a few furlongs short of a mile! Won't leave a dog in a crate for more than 2 hours? Seriously...that puppy will never learn proper potty etiquette if he is just allowed to use his home as his own toilet...but then, if they don't care, who else should? Poor dogs, though, they are the ones who get the short end of the stick...no dog should live a life with no job, no leadership, and no 'fun'...