Moon's Graden

I'm a ferret person myself, although I don't have any at present. You should
take a look at what you are feeding your pup, and what you use to clean her
area. Eliminate food containing BHA, BHT, Ethoxyquin, propylene glycol, and
cleaning agents containing phenols.

You should be able to break the digging behavior using sound distraction and
praise, and I suggest that you also carefully follow the advice for separation
anxiety every time you put her outside, or crated, to help relieve any stress
that confinement may be causing.

Any time we interact in a behavior by telling the dog no, or physically
restrain or correct him, we are becoming part of the behavior, either as a
player or competitor in the dogs mischief.

Using sound as a distraction must always be followed by immediate, prolonged,
non physical praise. Interrupting a behavior with sound should never be
associated with us, as in voicing no, or telling the dog to stop it.

The behavior should not be distracted with any intervention. We want the
behavior to begin again, so that we may have another opportunity to properly
address the behavior with another sound and praise.

That way, we can completely end a problem while the dog is thinking about it,
and we are prepared to address the issue before it becomes out of control. The
sound must never occur twice in a row from the same direction.

In other words, if you snapped your fingers in front of the dog to stop him
from chewing on your shoelace, you'd praise him for five to fif*** seconds
immediately upon snapping your fingers.

The behavior will hopefully resume, and the next sound of the snap of your
fingers must come from behind the dog, or even from a friend assisting from
across the room, from a soda can with a few pennies in it, or any source of
sound (except our voice!), followed by prolonged non physical praise, until
the dog is no longer thinking about the behavior or resumes it.

The third interruption of the behavior usually gets the message across, and
the dog will think about the behavior for just a moment before engaging in it
once again for the fourth and last time... That split second thinking about
engaging in the behavior requires praise. Do not react to it with a challenge
of shouting no, or physically removing the temptation.

That moment of thinking about resuming the behavior and the praise it earns
him will validate the prior interruptions of that behavior.

The dog then needs to test it out, to be sure that the same behavior will be
dealt with in exactly the same manner. They will usually make a fourth attempt
at the behavior, and if you follow through appropriately, he will learn not to
do that behavior anymore. But only on the one shoelace! He must take that
behavior to other instances to fully cease the desire for the behavior.

The behavior will not be completely broken until he has taken the process of
elimination to the second, third, and fourth opportunity to explore that
behavior. And, even at that, you may need to repeat the process in four
completely different places. That means that the worst behavior may need up to
sixty-four properly timed interruptions and praise. Usually it happens much
quicker than that.

Breaking a behavior in this manner reduces stress, takes us out of the
position of negative enforcer or competitor or playmate, and allows the dog to
extinguish a behavior because he simply doesn't get any satisfaction from it.
The other secret is giving the dog a payoff for every time they look at you.
Each time you
notice eye contact from your dog, you must praise him orally, to prevent his
idle mind from doing the devils work.

SEPARATION ANXIETY

Here's how to deal with the separation anxiety. This usually
works,
you will have to use it for at least four occasions before it
will become
effective:  Say good bye to your dog in the usual manner, then
make a big fuss
over saying good bye to an article, a bone or toy you intend
to leave with the
dog. Tell it to be a good toy or whatever, and that you'll be
back, and for it to
have a nice day while you are gone. Put it down, and do not
look at or speak
to the pup as you leave.

The first thing upon returning, do not speak to the dog,
search for
the article, pick it up and give it a big hello, saying how
pleased you are
that it had a good time and behaved so well while you were
gone. Make a big
fuss over it. Then turn to your dog and tell your pup that he
has been good,
too, NO MATTER WHAT HE HAS DONE, and be brief with his
greeting.

After a few occasions of doing this, the pup may learn to bond
with
and try to emulate the toy's good behavior to get the big
greeting. Never
acknowledge any damage he may have done. Do not scold or
remark to him about
any damage or mess he has made. Clean it up without him being
present.

When he comes back and looks at what you've cleaned up, tell
him he's good,
instead of mentioning all of the extra work he caused you.
That will break
some of the stress that he may feel about having been alone,
and you won't be
teaching him howe to push your buttons.

Here's what to do about damage or accidents when you were out.
Place in
a convenient location, an empty soda can with six pennies in
it, and crush
it square so it will not roll. When you come into the room and
see the mess,
ignore it and continue about your business. You must be casual
about this,
or the dog will get wise to you.

With the dog in the room, surreptitiously pick up the can and
casually walk
past the mess and ask what's that, as you drop the can next to
whatever
damage or mess he's done. Say nothing else and don't break
stride as you
do this.

Continue with other business until you put the dog out so you
may clean
up the mess and retrieve the can without him seeing you cuss
under your
breath at him. When he returns, he will look at the spot and
look over at
you. You are going to tell him he's a good boy, and sound like
you really
mean it.

That will blow his mind, and if he were doing that mistake as
an attention
getting device, he will realize that it isn't working and he
will search for
other behaviors to get you to perform for him. This technique
may work
right away, or it may require a couple of instances. Stick
with the method, even
if it takes a few days before it shows some results.

;-) DRAINING THE SWAMP, AND RELOCATING THE GATORS... J>>>

"CUSTOM WILL RECONCILE PEOPLE TO ANY ATROCITY." G.B. Shaw.

"I know that most men, including those at ease with problems of the
greatest complexity, can seldom accept even the simplest and most obvious
truth if it would oblige them to admit the falsity of conclusions which
they have delighted in explaining to colleagues, proudly taught to others,
and which they have woven, thread by thread, into the fabric of their
lives."
                                             Leo Tolstoy

Is it any wonder that the following sig file has generated more
complaints to my personal email than any other controversial post I have
made to date, bar none?:
                                            caveat
If you have to do things to your dog to train him, that you would
rather not have to do, then you shouldn't be doing them. If you
have a dog trainer that tells you to jerk your dog around, ***him,
pinch his ears, or twist his toes, shock, shake, slap, scold, hit, or
punish him in any manner, that corrections are appropriate, that the
dog won't think of you as the punisher, or that corrections are not
harmful, or if they can't train your dog to do what you want, look for a
trainer that knows Howe.

Sincerely,
Jerry Howe,
Wits' End Dog Training

http://www.moonsgarden.com/
Nature, to be mastered, must be obeyed.
                      -Francis Bacon-

There are terrible people who, instead of solving a problem,
bungle it and make it more difficult for all who come after.  Who
ever can't hit the nail on the head should, please, not hit at all.
                     -Nietzsche-

The abilities to think, rationalize and solve problems are learned
qualities.

The Wits' End Dog Training Method challenges the learning
centers in the dogs brain. These centers, once challenged, develop
and continue to grow exponentially, to make him smarter.

The Wits' End Dog Training method capitalizes on praising split
seconds of canine thought, strategy, and timing, not mindless hours of
forced repetition, constant corrections, and scolding.
                  -Jerry Howe-

Please don't take this as a flame, but advice from one who has been
there:

If she cannot be trusted outside alone, don't put her outside alone.

I resisted this one tooth and nail myself.  After all, we got a house
with a fenced yard for the dogs!  It wasn't until my dog attacked a
neighbor's pig that I wised up.  Please don't be as thick-headed as I
am!  Your dog's behavior should tell you something.  Being in the yard
is boring.  Being outside the yard is interesting.  Now that she has
learned this, it is going to be almost impossible to keep her confined.

Instead of leaving her outside (and wasting a lot of money and energy
with that as a goal), try doing other interesting things with her:  go
on walks, take a basic obedience class, find an enclosed field where she
can play off lead, play with her IN the yard, etc.  This may sound like
much more of a time committment than what you are willing to make, but
the payoffs are enormous.  Your dog will be happy, tired, and better
behaved, and you will no longer have those heart-in-your-mouth panics
when you have no idea where she is.  Since we have stopped leaving our
dogs unsupervised, the bond between us has grown enormously.  I can now
leave them outside and run inside for something, because if I'm gone
longer than a minute, they all follow me in!

--Deirdre, Romy and Clay

In all likelihood, you will not find a decent obedience trainer. There are very
few. Your best bet is to take advantage of the information I have provided for
free in the Wits' End Dog Training Method manual, and you will have a well
behaved dog in just a couple of days.

;-) DRAINING THE SWAMP, AND RELOCATING THE GATORS... J>>>

"CUSTOM WILL RECONCILE PEOPLE TO ANY ATROCITY." G.B. Shaw.

"I know that most men, including those at ease with problems of the
greatest complexity, can seldom accept even the simplest and most obvious
truth if it would oblige them to admit the falsity of conclusions which
they have delighted in explaining to colleagues, proudly taught to others,
and which they have woven, thread by thread, into the fabric of their
lives."
                                             Leo Tolstoy

Is it any wonder that the following sig file has generated more
complaints to my personal email than any other controversial post I have
made to date, bar none?:
                                            caveat
If you have to do things to your dog to train him, that you would
rather not have to do, then you shouldn't be doing them. If you
have a dog trainer that tells you to jerk your dog around, ***him,
pinch his ears, or twist his toes, shock, shake, slap, scold, hit, or
punish him in any manner, that corrections are appropriate, that the
dog won't think of you as the punisher, or that corrections are not
harmful, or if they can't train your dog to do what you want, look for a
trainer that knows Howe.

Sincerely,
Jerry Howe,
Wits' End Dog Training

http://www.moonsgarden.com/
Nature, to be mastered, must be obeyed.
                      -Francis Bacon-

There are terrible people who, instead of solving a problem,
bungle it and make it more difficult for all who come after.  Who
ever can't hit the nail on the head should, please, not hit at all.
                     -Nietzsche-

The abilities to think, rationalize and solve problems are learned
qualities.

The Wits' End Dog Training Method challenges the learning
centers in the dogs brain. These centers, once challenged, develop
and continue to grow exponentially, to make him smarter.

The Wits' End Dog Training method capitalizes on praising split
seconds of canine thought, strategy, and timing, not mindless hours of
forced repetition, constant corrections, and scolding.
                  -Jerry Howe-

The thing that strikes me first is that none of the behaviors you
describe are unusual for a five month old puppy.  They are all basic
untrained dog behaviors, and most of them are easy to deal with by
teaching the pup basic manners.  A good basic obedience class (not
intensive, not a send-the-dog-to-camp program) will address many of
these behaviors.  BUT for any of this to work, you need to be able to
give your dog the time and consistancy she needs.  This means
establishing a daily schedule, and some house rules.

What I would do if I were you is go to my local library or bookstore and
get a number of dog books that address the problems you are having.  I
would definitely at least get "Childproofing your Dog" by Brian
Kilcommons.  Make a list of behaviors that you want to stop, and
behaviors that you want to encourage.  For each behavior, write down the
method to stop/encourage it.  Hang it on your fridge and use it as a
guide.  The trick is that you must be consistant--if you cannot enforce
the new house rules, then she must be confined, or tethered to you.  If
you also make sure she gets enough exercise, I think you will soon find
that you have a much more pleasant dog on your hands.  

If you cannot to some extent rearrange your life so that is possible to
give this dog the time and training she needs, then I would think about
rehoming her while she is still young, and before the lack of
interaction with your family causes her to develop some real behavior
problems.

--Deirdre, Romy and Clay