Dog being a nightmare

[LowAndBehold11]

I don't know what to do. Dog is 11.
He's always been disruptive. Steals things. Rips things up. Has separation anxiety.
We've had support from dog behaviourists before.

We now have a 3 month old baby.
He is so much harder work now we have a baby. He's the same really. And doing things he used to do but it just feels harder now.
I'll be feeding the baby and he'll run off with something .. anything! A letter, a tea towel, a sock from the maiden! And he'll rip up whatever it is! Stealing food. We might be seeing to the baby during tea, and he'll literally jump up and steal from the plate!
We will have just got the baby off to sleep and he'll start barking and won't stop!
He's crying in the night etc.
as I say, he's always done these things. They seemed to get a bit worse when I was pregnant but he's still always done things like this.

We've had a really bad night with him tonight. Crying and growling all night. He basically wants to go downstairs but we can't trust him down there on his own. He actually ripped the settee the other day.
I don't know what to do.
I absolutely love him. But it just seems harder now with the baby.
Any ideas what we can do? The behaviourist we used to see has moved away.

I’m starting with the basics so apologies. Is the dog getting enough exercise, like a full hour with some off lead time ideally? Easier said than done with a new baby I know.

It sounds like pent up energy rather than bad behaviour per se, especially the whining at night and ripping the sofa. But stealing food off plates must be trained out of him before he competes with a toddler..

How much and what type of exercise does the dog get each day?
How much and what type of interactive play do they get a day?
How much training and training reinforcement happens each day?

We walk him every day but he can't walk too much as he then suffers with a bad leg. Vets said he has arthritis. If he has a longer walk he will sometimes struggle walking for a few days so we usually walk him for 1 hour but no more than that.
Maybe he does need an extra walk during the day.

We do some enrichment training with him that the behaviourist showed us. We did that today for a while and went for a walk. Then tonight he's been crying and barking all night.
Baby has woken up. Which is normal during the night but his barking etc can't be helping. It definitely disturbs her sleep.
He is crated during the night.
He always has been. He never liked being out of it during the night. But now he literally tears the crate door off with his teeth sometimes during the night. That is rare but he does do it sometimes.

Is he only getting one walk? What sort of walk is it? He may benefit from more frequent shorter walks in different places.

How much training is he getting, a minute or so a day, or multiple short sessions?

Sorry to ask again, how much interactive play does he get a day?

Apart from appropriate exercise, what else is in place to manage his arthritis?

Instead of one long walk, split it into 2-3 shorter, sniffy walks so he's getting outside regularly and having the chance to explore his surroundings and tire himself out mentally.

He doesn't sound badly behaved to me - it sounds like poor environmental management and lack of exercise and stimulation. So for example, if you know he jumps up at meals, why don't you put him in another room, or in a crate, or behind a babygate? Or use a tether on him so he can't physically practise that behaviour?

The same applies to the stealing - he does it (for attention) so you need to manage your environment so he can't do it anymore.

His entire life has been turned upside down at an old age so I'm not surprised he's confused and his sleep is disturbed. Did you do any preparation before the baby came along to get him used to crying etc?

@Simonjt
It's usually a walk during my lunch break and then another walk early evening.
Or if I don't have a long enough break, it will be a longer one in the evening.

The training will be for around 15 mins at a time. Once or twice per day so isn't lots.

Interactive play isn't lots. We used to have a dog walker take him out during the day with other dogs but we haven't done that in a while. My partner will play with him at times during the day.

We only found out about his arthritis a few weeks ago. He was really struggling to walk. He has X-rays, ultrasounds, blood tests, he was at the vets for a whole day having lots of tests. They prescribed anti inflammatory meds etc. then when we took him again a couple of weeks ago to have his jabs etc, they said he has arthritis.

@mountainsunsets
He has always behaved like this, but it feels harder for us now we have a 3 month old baby.
If we put him in another room at mealtimes he will cry, bark and scratch the door. We have a baby gate which he has found a way to open it.

We do manage the environment in terms of him stealing. We have always moved things well out of his way. We became experts at it. But now we have a baby, her bib might be on the settee while I'm feeling her so he'll steal that. Her dummy will be in her bouncer and he'll grab it and run off.
That's why I'm saying it's harder with a baby because we can focus on moving every single thing out of his reach every single minute of the day.

He doesn't seem bothered at all about the baby crying. She rarely cries. It's him who cries in the night. He's done this on and off his whole life. The behaviourist said for us to let him sleep in our room in his crate which he has been for a year. But now when he's crying, he wakes the baby up. Not the other way around.

If we put him in another room at mealtimes he will cry, bark and scratch the door. We have a baby gate which he has found a way to open it.

You can pet gates that are much higher than average baby gates. Or pop him in his crate at mealtimes (in the same room as you) or tether him to something so he can't physically jump up and steal. The more he does it, the more he'll do it as it's a self-rewarding behaviour.

That's why I'm saying it's harder with a baby because we can focus on moving every single thing out of his reach every single minute of the day.

But ultimately if he can't be trusted not to steal things you don't have much choice - you either need to stop putting things in his reach or put him out of the room while you're focusing on the baby. If he steals (say) a bib and swallows it, he could end up needing life-saving surgery for a blockage.

WRT to the crying - what happens when he wakes up at night? Does he need a wee? Comfort? Reassurance? Is he scared?

@mountainsunsets
When he's crying at night, he just wants to go downstairs and sleep in the living room. He never used to do this but has been for around 18 months.
I'll take him outside for a wee and then he won't want to go back up. If he stays in the living room he will sleep but he will scratch the settee. When he's doing his digging thing before settling down, hence why he has ripped it.
He ripped our last one. We've bought a new one and he's done it again with this one.
If we crated him in the living room, he'd break out of it. He wants to be on the settee.

It's a big crate with a double lock but he can get out of it. He used to put his paw through and pull the lock across. Which is why we changed it to a double lock one. And now he just pull as it with his teeth and it bends inwards and he climbs out.

I would find a new behaviourist. Not a trainer but a behaviourist.

Some ideas might be counterintuitive. Stealing is fulfilling some need in him so instead of stopping him you could plant “safe” things for him. He sounds quite complex though so you won’t find the answer here

@Burnamer
Sometimes he'll steal something and if I don't chase him, he'll just drop it and come back. But other times he will totally destroy whatever he's stolen.

He is actually an adorable dog. He's so lovely in so many ways. When we are out with him, people always comment on how well behaved he is. We take him everywhere with us. Even to work! He is really well behaved when he's out. But at home, he just has these times where he does all of this and it is so much harder to deal with now we have a baby.

When we did see a behaviourist, she pretty much said I was the problem as I showed him too much affection so he was walking all over me basically. But I can't help but be like that with him. We could look at trainers etc. although he is 11 years old, he's very intelligent and still picks up tricks very quickly.
We can teach him a trick and it takes him just minutes to learn it. Only if treats are involved.

It took 3 behaviourists for us to find the right one. Look for one that focuses on your dog’s needs. Your last one sounds rubbish.

Sometimes he'll steal something and if I don't chase him, he'll just drop it and come back. But other times he will totally destroy whatever he's stolen.

So he isn’t stealing, but playing a game that you play with him.

If he’s got arthritis he may be struggling with the crate if it’s too confined and lacks comfort. Is there a way it could go into a dog proofed room with the gate open so he can move around to a more comfortable spot?
I am fine with crating unlike most of MN. But an older dog may be suffering.

Sometimes he'll steal something and if I don't chase him, he'll just drop it and come back. But other times he will totally destroy whatever he's stolen.

So you've turned it into a game 😉 He knows that if he wants your attention, all he needs to do is steal something and he knows you'll get up and chase him around the room so he doesn't destroy it.

So again, I know it's not what you want to hear, but it's mostly about management - don't leave stuff lying around in his reach or don't allow him in the room until you've tidied up. I know that's hard when you have a baby but that's the reality when you have a dog who behaves like that.

He's had you all to himself for 11 years and now all of a sudden that attention is going on the baby. He's stealing because he wants your attention.

Has he been taught a drop or a swap command?

yep, it sounds like it might be uncomfortable/restrictive for him sleeping in there at night. Could he have a bed in your room instead of the crate?

@mountainsunsets
He will only drop what he has taken in exchange for a treat! And then it looks like a reward!

@MyDogTails
The crate is quite large. He can lie down and fully stretch. Plus stand up and walk about a bit.

He's feeling left out. All the bad behaviour is attention seeking. Make more time for him just petting and cuddling. He was here before baby.

Far better that he comes to you for a treat than eats the item destroys it, though.

His behaviour sounds like classic attention seeking - the only way to solve it is to ignore it or not allow it to happen to begin with by keeping everything out of his reach or shutting him out of the room.

You've mentioned that a previous behaviourist told you to stop giving him so much fuss and attention - it looks like they may have a point. The more you reinforce these behaviours (by chasing him or giving him attention for them), the more he'll do them and the harder you'll find him to manage.

Your (former) behaviourist is wrong IMO. Your dog's issues haven't been caused by showing him too much affection.

A couple of things occur to me. He may be in pain due to arthritis. Dogs can be quite stoic but I wonder whether that might be at least in part responsible for his restlessness at night.

Perhaps the crate needs to go. Do you have a room that can be dog-proofed? And maybe invest in a new bed for him that would be as comfortable as the settee that he prefers.

As for stealing objects, just think of him as a large hairy toddler. 😀If you had a toddler as well as a baby, you'd have to think ahead to prevent the older child from taking things like bibs and dummies. If he manages to grab something, I think it's fine to swap for a higher value treat or toy. This does sound like attention seeking behaviour, so it's important to continue giving him positive attention (which it sounds like you are already doing).

Consulting an accredited behaviourist is probably a good idea in any case.