Diesel1
New member
Hopefully, I can get some help here. Already have a call in with a trainer for the most serious of issues but I'm guessing they may all be related. I saw another post where they described their dog as Jekyll and Hyde and that's how I describe Diesel. He's a good dog for the most part, chill etc but rarely seems happy.
1. When he's sleeping or "sleeping with eyes open" usually near or at someone's feet or under kitchen table, he could be snoring and just fine but if he gets startled (someone moves a chair, coughs, drops a spoon, etc., he wakes up with the aggressive bark, growl, biting at air. I have a recliner chair that he sometimes likes to sleep under and if I move the footrest slowly, knowing he's under there, he often wakes up in full blown attack mode. He got me on the big toe (don't laugh) enough to draw blood. In the moment he seems viscous but immediately after, he snaps out of it and looks around like "what did I do, sorry if it was wrong ".......cue sad face.
2. If I catch him sitting on the outdoor couch with the cover on it, I try to move him, he will give me the growl and if I try to pry enough, he'll growl and snap/bite. What methods work for showing him he's not the alpha?
3. Marking in the house (He's intact for now and never considered that I would castrate, but reconsidering). For whatever reason, if he somehow gets into my daughters room, he loves to jump up on the bed and mark. My wife and I are at our wits end trying to wash comforters 4-5 times this week. Yes, we should keep him out of her room, but I would ideally like a dog that can just not mark or pee in the house. I have him trained for the most, to use a small dog run I made for him outside. He's pretty good at using the artificial turf in the run and I try my best to positively reinforce anytime I let him out. I know he KNOWS where he's supposed to go. I get EB's could be stubborn.....but damn, he's wearing my patience thin. He can easily go hours in his crate without making - even in the AM he would rather eat first then go out to empty for his 2 minute long pee so I know he can hold his bladder long enough to go to the door and ring his bell to go. The marking in the house is not because he HAS to pee....it's because he WANTS to pee.
4. Walking - I get it, many EB's aren't big walkers, but holy crap, I figured I could get him to walk at least 2-3 blocks. When he was smaller I was able to get him around a very large block once. I'm hoping it's the weather that is making him lethargic and maybe in the fall he will do walks again. It's been like pulling teeth to get him to walk .....even to my daughters bus stop.....it's literally a couple hundred feet away.
5. Ear Infections - had none from when we got him at 8-9 weeks old on Jan 31 of this year and now he's had 2 in the last month. I try to keep his ears dry, I clean them a minimum of once a week as needed. I always check them every day and clean when there is some gunk. Not sure if it's us not drying his ears enough after a bath or what. I have switched food a few times - started with the breeder used which I felt was not the best stuff. I eventually switched him to Kirkland Signature grain free for puppies, did fine on that then he started regurgitating phlegm more and more frequently so tried switching food to ACANA based on recos from here. Seemed okay, but still very phlegmy. When I tried giving him drops for bad breath etc, he had a morning where he actually vomited (vs regurgitated) several times so I cut that out. In the meantime, put him on chicken n rice diet for a few days and he loved it as well as seemed to no longer be as phlegmy.
6. Breeder told me to wait at least 1-2 hours after eating to give him water.....is that right/wrong? I do see that many times, he will regurgitate his meal after taking some water. I leave a full bowl but have read somewhere that only a couple of ounces per hour or so is enough.
I'm at a loss as he was for my daughter/family and the more I research everything, the more different answers I get. Going crazy trying to find what works, what doesn't. Positive reinforcement is great, but what do you use when he snaps? That needs correction no? What's the best/correct method?
Apologies for the rant. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Hopefully the trainer/behavior specialist calls me back although after 2 days of reaching out and not getting a return call, I'm kind of getting pissed.
1. When he's sleeping or "sleeping with eyes open" usually near or at someone's feet or under kitchen table, he could be snoring and just fine but if he gets startled (someone moves a chair, coughs, drops a spoon, etc., he wakes up with the aggressive bark, growl, biting at air. I have a recliner chair that he sometimes likes to sleep under and if I move the footrest slowly, knowing he's under there, he often wakes up in full blown attack mode. He got me on the big toe (don't laugh) enough to draw blood. In the moment he seems viscous but immediately after, he snaps out of it and looks around like "what did I do, sorry if it was wrong ".......cue sad face.
2. If I catch him sitting on the outdoor couch with the cover on it, I try to move him, he will give me the growl and if I try to pry enough, he'll growl and snap/bite. What methods work for showing him he's not the alpha?
3. Marking in the house (He's intact for now and never considered that I would castrate, but reconsidering). For whatever reason, if he somehow gets into my daughters room, he loves to jump up on the bed and mark. My wife and I are at our wits end trying to wash comforters 4-5 times this week. Yes, we should keep him out of her room, but I would ideally like a dog that can just not mark or pee in the house. I have him trained for the most, to use a small dog run I made for him outside. He's pretty good at using the artificial turf in the run and I try my best to positively reinforce anytime I let him out. I know he KNOWS where he's supposed to go. I get EB's could be stubborn.....but damn, he's wearing my patience thin. He can easily go hours in his crate without making - even in the AM he would rather eat first then go out to empty for his 2 minute long pee so I know he can hold his bladder long enough to go to the door and ring his bell to go. The marking in the house is not because he HAS to pee....it's because he WANTS to pee.
4. Walking - I get it, many EB's aren't big walkers, but holy crap, I figured I could get him to walk at least 2-3 blocks. When he was smaller I was able to get him around a very large block once. I'm hoping it's the weather that is making him lethargic and maybe in the fall he will do walks again. It's been like pulling teeth to get him to walk .....even to my daughters bus stop.....it's literally a couple hundred feet away.
5. Ear Infections - had none from when we got him at 8-9 weeks old on Jan 31 of this year and now he's had 2 in the last month. I try to keep his ears dry, I clean them a minimum of once a week as needed. I always check them every day and clean when there is some gunk. Not sure if it's us not drying his ears enough after a bath or what. I have switched food a few times - started with the breeder used which I felt was not the best stuff. I eventually switched him to Kirkland Signature grain free for puppies, did fine on that then he started regurgitating phlegm more and more frequently so tried switching food to ACANA based on recos from here. Seemed okay, but still very phlegmy. When I tried giving him drops for bad breath etc, he had a morning where he actually vomited (vs regurgitated) several times so I cut that out. In the meantime, put him on chicken n rice diet for a few days and he loved it as well as seemed to no longer be as phlegmy.
6. Breeder told me to wait at least 1-2 hours after eating to give him water.....is that right/wrong? I do see that many times, he will regurgitate his meal after taking some water. I leave a full bowl but have read somewhere that only a couple of ounces per hour or so is enough.
I'm at a loss as he was for my daughter/family and the more I research everything, the more different answers I get. Going crazy trying to find what works, what doesn't. Positive reinforcement is great, but what do you use when he snaps? That needs correction no? What's the best/correct method?
Apologies for the rant. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Hopefully the trainer/behavior specialist calls me back although after 2 days of reaching out and not getting a return call, I'm kind of getting pissed.
