Hi, I have not posted here for a long time, because I really wanted to be able to post some good news about our puppy Kiko. He is now over 7 months old, and he is a nightmare! I do have photos all the way up to this point, but I just haven't posted them. Some day I will post them, as he is a beautiful pup -- but right now I am seeking advice and I am pretty much exhausted physically and mentally from this dog, as is my boyfriend.
Kiko has a heart murmur, for one ...fine, because that is the least of our problems. We are working with the vet on that, and the good news is the X-rays don't show an enlarged heart, so finally he is going to be scheduled for an ultrasound by a canine cardiologist who comes to town once a month.
But the main thing is his behavior. He is literally crazy. I mean he is extremely hyper-active, more than any dog I have ever known. I have trained many puppies ...well, 8 puppies, in my life, and this one is not normal. All of my other puppies learned to sit/stay/lie down/come by the time they were 10 to 12 weeks old, and do those things consistently. Even Tundra, my last Siberian Husky (who was 18 months old when I rescued him and had severe separation anxiety), learned to behave and already knew basic commands and followed them. He was very gentle and sweet.
Kiko terrorizes our home. Seriously. My boyfriend is retired and I don't work outside the home, so we are always here, at least one of us and usually both of us. This dog terrorizes us from before sunrise until after sunset, that is the only way to put it.
#1 - House Breaking: Kiko goes outside during the day. He asks to go outside. But every night he poos and pees in the house. He poos two or three times during the night. We don't understand this. He is 7 months old. I have never even heard of any dog who goes this many times, especially during the night. And yep, in the house. When he knows to go outside during the day. He gets his dinner at 5pm and we take him outside at around 10pm or 10:30pm for his last poo/pee. But every single night I am awakened by the horrible smell and I have to get up and clean like crazy. Most often twice per night. It is a very strange smell. Kiko's poo has always smelled very much like burnt rubber. It has a very odd smell.
#2 - Wakes us up before dawn (related to issue
#1 above) Even though he goes outside at 10:00pm or 10:30pm to poo/pee, and THEN he still poos and pees in the house two or three times during the night ...he STILL wakes us up crying to go out at anywhere between 4:00am up to as late as
5:30am (which is like "yay" we get to sleep in!).
This is a horrible situation, because if we don't get up and take him out, he will go in the house yet again. So either way, I have to get up and clean clean clean. Or take him outside in the dark (and then we are up for the day). I basically get maybe 4 or
5 hours of constantly interrupted sleep every night for almost seven months now since we have had this dog. My boyfriend too. We are both so exhausted, and I cried today.
#3 - He doesn't understand the word "NO". He doesn't understand ANY type of discipline or training efforts. He fights us. He fights back, I mean. I have successfully trained/disciplined other dogs, but Kiko is just impossible. Okay, I know he is a siberian husky, but omg you have no idea what this guy is like. See next point (
#4) below.
#4 - He bites us and makes us bleed. We have listened to our vet and tried her suggestions. He constantly jumps on us and scratches us and bites us ...she said to turn our backs and ignore him when he is like that. It doesn't help, he just goes crazy. We are both so beaten up and scratched from him. He does not let up, no matter what we do. He seems to think it is all a game. I have never ever known or seen any dog like this
#5 - He eats/chews/destroys everything!!! We can take him out on a 30 minute walk, or let him run and run and run at the dog park, but even after that he is hyper and crazy. He gets what we think is the best of food/nutrition (?) (TOTW High Prairie Puppy Food) along with soooo many toys and good safe healthy treats ...but he still goes absolutely crazy the minute we aren't looking and even if we ARE looking. He eats the carpet, the couch, the bedspread, the floor, the linoleum, the shelves, etc ...and I mean he actually ingests them, not just chewing. He digs and digs on the sofa and eats anything that rips, and does the same on the carpeting. If we stop him he bites us and then keeps going. Our entire house is basically ruined and chewed up in the last seven months. And we are so worried he will get a blockage or a rupture from eating all this inedible stuff that he eats.
I know I have probably left much out. Like how we love him, and how he is so cute when he finally is sleeping.
I must reiterate that I have raised and trained many other pups. But we are just at our wits end with this one. I know I will hear it from the behaviorists and trainers here on this site, and it's okay, I can take it. Let me have it, any ideas or suggestions or criticism. Anything that will help, please. We can't give him up. Nobody would keep this dog. If we did give him up he would be put down. I want to be able to live with this dog. Please help!
Any suggestions or even commiserations welcome.
Like ...do any of you have any similar stories? Have any of you had similar troubles but it turned out okay?
Sorry I am just so tired. Please help!
Thank you.