I need a little dog advice, and a lot of roommate advice. Help me get a good night's sleep!

April 18, 2008 9:33 PM

Can I train my roommate's dog if she's not doing it? Can I live without a full night's sleep for 5 more months?

Last October, with permission of all roommates and landlords my roommate adopted a "small dog." This 25 pound male jack russell/ corgy mix is the most energetic two year-old dog ever. The first problem (peeing everywhere) was solved by going to obedience school.

All was going well until about six weeks ago... when the dog decided he didn't want to listen anymore. He no longer sits or stays, but jumps ALL over the living room to burn off energy. He's nipping at people, and sometimes full out bites my roommate. It's annoying, but not worth a fight. Here's what I can't take anymore: the early morning barking. As soon as the dog wakes up, he starts to bark for attention. Rather than taking him out for a walk, my roommate moves to the living room. She goes back to sleep on the couch and lets him run all over the room. Once he's settled down a bit, he'll curl up with her for a bit, but then the whole barking/ running process will start over again. He really is a good dog, but is SO full of energy. He's kept in the kennel all day and only has two walks a day-- late morning and night.

I don't have to be at work until 10, and work subsequently later hours. In a perfect world, I wouldn't wake up until 8, but the barking has foiled that plan. I have my door closed, and keep a white-noise fan RIGHT next to my head. Ear-plugs are out because I won't hear the alarm clock. My roommate knows that he wakes me up every single day, and hasn't done anything to change. I've tried talking to her, but she's extremely defensive. Even after-work napping is out-- he barks all through it. Today, when I asked if she would take him back to obedience school, she rolled her eyes and said she was "doing the best she can."

There's five months left on the lease, and then she and the dog are moving out. The landlords don't like dog after the whole peeing thing, but don't feel as if they can do anything because the dog was approved on the lease. The other roommate is moving out soon for other reasons, and doesn't want to get involved. Just today, the dog lunged at a pedestrian turning a corner and tore his jeans-- she offered to pay, but later laughed it off like it was no big deal when she told me about it. How can I make her see that learning to shake should not be this dog's priority? Can I try the pennies in the can training trick even though it's her dog and I only see it in her presence? Please help... Thanks.

posted by veryhappyheidi to human relations (15 comments total)

That dog sounds like a lawsuit waiting to happen. I think I'd tell her either the dog goes back to school or the dog goes, period.
posted by konolia at 9:46 PM on April 18, 2008 [1 favorite]

It sounds like it would be difficult for you to train the dog unless you get to take over it's time for a while. Konolia's advice looks right to me.
posted by anadem at 10:12 PM on April 18, 2008

Two ideas:
Ask her, if she is doing the best she can, does she have any objection to you helping out? If she's good with that then you can feel free to go ahead and train the dog.

This dog needs to burn more energy. Check out doggy day care and/or dog walkers. It may even be worth it to you to offer to split the cost.
posted by metahawk at 10:15 PM on April 18, 2008

Can I train my roommate's dog if she's not doing it?

You can try. If you're assertive enough, you might even make some headway. The main thing, in a multi-person household, is that ALL of the humans need to be the "pack leader" (everyone needs to be seen by the dog as an authority figure). If your roommate isn't carrying her own weight in that regard, then your efforts certainly can't hurt.
posted by amyms at 10:43 PM on April 18, 2008

P.S. Maybe I should expand on my answer. I live in a household with four people: myself, a husband, a teen son and an adult daughter who recently moved back home. I have told everyone that they are a "pack leader"... We ALL have to cooperate in letting our dogs know what is expected of them (dogs crave leadership). Every human in the household needs to be able to be assertive with the dogs in letting them know what's acceptable and what's not. (e.g. peeing, jumping up, etc.)... So, as I said, if your roommate isn't taking control, at least maybe YOU can take control when you're home. The dog will love you for it.
posted by amyms at 10:48 PM on April 18, 2008

Ain't gonna happen. Roomie will indo whatever good you do. What you really need to do is retrain roomie. Convince her it is in her best interests to walk the critter in the morning. Weather is nicer, time to get up and go (pun intended).
posted by JohnnyGunn at 10:50 PM on April 18, 2008

This is not a training issue, it's an exercise issue. This is a mix of two high-energy breeds intended to run around and work all day. Pennies in a can and obedience classes and being assertive will not and cannot change the fact that this dog is not getting anything like enough exercise - it's behaving badly because it's bored and massively underexercised. Take the dog for a good long walk twice a day if you want to see an improvement in the behaviour. I don't agree with the so-called "dog whisperer" about much, but he is absolutely right about the importance of exercise, and a HUGE number of "behaviour problems" are simply problems caused by people who don't exercise their dogs enough - there are VERY few breeds which were bred to lie around on the couch eating bon-bons all day, and a herding breed mixed with a terrier like this one sure ain't one of them.
posted by biscotti at 10:58 PM on April 18, 2008 [6 favorites]

Seconding biscotti. You need to tire the dog out. My dog would do exactly the same as this little fella if I didn't take her out for 45 minutes in the morning and at least an hour in the evening (often longer).
posted by idiomatika at 4:53 AM on April 19, 2008

Thirding. Jack Russells are bundles of energy and need to be tired out. It may pain your flatmate but she needs to be walking him as soon as he wakes up for anyone in the household to get peace.

He'll most likely calm down after a walk and if tired enough take a nap to recharge for the next round.
posted by gomichild at 4:56 AM on April 19, 2008

Check what kind of food the dog gets. Some have additives (e.g. taurine) which increase the energy level of animals. Changing the food to a less additive-intense might not solve the problem completely, but could help.
posted by lord_yo at 5:12 AM on April 19, 2008

Nthing the excercise, and not just walking but running. A tired dog is a good dog. Could you all pitch in to hire a dog walker/runner? I know it's your roommate's responsibility but desperate times call for desperate measures.

It also might help to change his food to one with higher protein. EVO and Solid Gold (and a couple of other brands I forget) make grain-free kibble that has a much higher protein content than other foods. My dog is definitely a little calmer since switching.
posted by Enroute at 8:29 AM on April 19, 2008

I'm sure all the previous answers concerning exercise are correct, but it sounds like you're having a good deal of trouble getting your roommate to cooperate. A quick fix that you may want to look into is a dog whistle or one of those new "anti-bark" machines that claim to emit a sound that stops dogs in their tracks when they begin barking. I have no personal experience with these things but several friends have used them with varying degrees of success. May be something worth trying if it's only for five months...
posted by btkuhn at 9:33 AM on April 19, 2008

I've never heard of a dog barking like that unless it's being kept outside. It sounds like your roommate is completely depriving the dog of attention and exercise. I'm a huge dog person and would typically never suggest this, but you need to demand that the dog be given to a better family. I don't believe your roommate is ready to care for a pet. Either she makes a drastic change immediately or she gets rid of the dog. (thats what I would do in this situation)
posted by Sufi at 2:13 PM on April 19, 2008

My roommate and I are great friends, and the only reservation I had when we moved in together was her 25lb. cocker spaniel. I'd known the dog since it was a puppy, and it was a frickin' hassle, you know? jumping on everything it could reach, peeing everywhere, and a yap that wouldn't stop. Since we've lived together, however, he's been a better dog than I expected. Not only is it naturally calmer having lived through puppyhood and finally getting fixed (is this JRT fixed? that can help a LOT when it comes to excitability) but I've helped a lot just being here. I'm now Jager's 'Uncle' and can be counted upon to take him out for potty breaks and exercise if the roomie's not available, and I feed him occasionally too (which has helped establish me as one of the pack leaders).

What I'm getting at, I guess, is that when we moved in together I kinda adopted the dog too. It's decidedly not my dog, but we all live together and I'd rather work to be the dogs loved leader than defer to my roommate all the time. Maybe you and your roommate can talk about you helping out with some of the responsibilities whenever you can; maybe just the offer to help will get the owner back on track to being a good dog owner. Then there'll be less pressure on her to act on your account, and she might even appreciate your contributions to the pup's training.
posted by carsonb at 4:42 PM on April 19, 2008

Thanks everyone for the advice! I'm going to talk her and see if I can take a more proactive role in doggy training and see if that helps. We'll take it from there...
posted by veryhappyheidi at 6:31 PM on April 19, 2008