This beautiful cocker (mix possibly?) is 11 months old and was just adopted from Abandoned Angels Rescue and brought to a house where three other dogs, Mee-Too, Brandy & Roxanne, live happily and peacefully (la, la, la...). The balance of the entire family was thrown off immediately by Bacardi...

The list of complaints:

stealing from counters, chewing stuff up (wood & plastic), humping the other, geriatric dog (Roxanne), trampling everybody in sight, housebreaking accidents every day, fighting Brandy- his big sister, pouncing onto the couch and any poor soul who happened to be on the couch at the time, standing on the coffee table, and scratching the door to get back into the house.

We started to address the chewing first. Grannick's bitter apple was used as a taste deterrent and worked immediately. No more chair chewing after that learning experience.

His humping urge had gone away within 2 weeks, basically by itself. He was becoming more of a part of the family, learning where he fit into the hierarchy of his pack. The fighting between Brandy and Bacardi also went away with time. They ultimately became snuggly couch-napping friends, surprisingly.

Housebreaking was an issue. Mom didn't know when to expect pee and poop to come out, so she was rarely ready for the reeking surprises she'd find by the turtle's tank. I had her document each time Bacardi got water and food (both left down 10 minutes at a clip, then taken away until the next scheduled time), and what time he let it all out afterwards, just to get an idea of what his physical schedule was. This brings results within 3-4 days. Once you know the general timing of your dog's system, you can plan accordingly. I've found that using the chart method gets people more involved and aware of the process within the first week. They automatically adjust their schedules and are more mindful of getting the dog out at specific times instead of winging it= half the battle! Try it!