Rage-aholics Anonymous

I got a dog. He’s 18 months from a rescue refuge. He’s a Shepard Mix.

Honestly, he’s a very sweet dog, but I think he’s going to be the end of any sanity I had left. He’s also a very strange dog, but a lot of that probably is attributed to the fact that he has always been a kennel/foster dog.

He doesn’t know how to play. He was never exposed to toys. He has no idea what they are. If I throw a ball at him, he just watches it roll on by.

He isn’t motivated by treats, or I haven’t bought the right treats. He won’t take them from hand, nor will he take them immediately if you put them on the floor. I have to wave them in front of his nose and then put it down. I have to repeat this a few times before he actually eats it.

He doesn’t fully respond to other dogs. He sees them and wags his tail. He wants to sniff them, and then once he does, he just stands there. The other dog then wants his attention and sniffs him more, and he just stands there. I have to assume this is alpha behavior.

I think I’ve started off on the wrong foot with him. It’s been 5 days, and he’s has separation anxiety. So far he has chewed: a flip flop (and attempted to take a second one), a bra, a hairbrush, and a wire. He doesn’t eat any of it, he just tears them apart. The wire must have shocked him, since he only did a little bit to it, though enough for my alarm clock to stop working.

I can’t get him to chew his good boy stuff. At all.

A lot of places I’m reading say I just need to assert that I am the lead dog and that he is at the bottom of the pecking order. So, that is my goal. Let’s see if I can get him to be a little bit more controlled. I really don’t want to have to crate him the whole time I’m at work, but I’m afraid that might be my solution if I can’t get him to stop chewing what isn’t his.