Dog Behavior & Psychology

confused

KentuckyMommy — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 23:33:16 GMT

my pekingese she is (suposed to be) 9 or so months old. when i first brought her home 2 months ago she would use a potty pad EVERY TIME ... NO MATTER WHAT now she is "GOING" everywhere (pee and poo) I'm so confused? and its causing my cocker to eliminate as well and she's been housebroken for 2 years what do i do ????

Acts up when I'm on phone

Beejou — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 04:09:08 GMT

T-Bone is coming along very nicely with his mouthiness. He's completely stopped when I put a lead on him, etc. A simple "ah ah" when he goes for my shoe lace stops him now (way to go, buddy!) However, he FLIPS when I get on the phone.

He will be laying quietly chewing a bone, sleeping, etc. and then I make a call or get a call. He gets up, whines, jumps on me, mouths, pulls my ponytail, etc. Obviously I am not going to stop talking to my doctor etc. to say HEY, AH AH! or something. He seems to know this and take full advantage. It's annoying now, but he can't be 95 lbs and doing this.

Why does he hate me being on the phone, and what should I do? I am thinking about pretending to use the phone (talking to myself, LOL) and correcting him that way. What do yall think?

Edited to say: This is WEIRD, but if I have music playing softly while I am on the phone he is less likely to be super annoying/mouthy. (Those puppy teeth hurt)

What to do about a dog that is possessive over other dogs?

Abbeyroad86 — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 21:09:25 GMT

These aren't my dogs but my one dog was involved. My dog (Jack Russell Terrier mix) was trying to make friends with a dog that one of my friends brought home about 6 weeks ago. My dog is very very friendly and she loves other dogs. The dog she was trying to make friends with was a female Scottie Dog (Scottish Terrier) and they have a male Bichon Friese. The bichon was very possessive over the scottie. Which is weired because my female Terrier and the bichon have been friends for almost a year no problem. But he did not want any dogs in the play group messing with the scottie. And the scottie seemed very submissive toward the bichon. How do you deal with an overly possessive dog (of another dog)? How do you fix something like that. Also he wasn't letting her go near the other dogs and he didn't want her near my dog, like he suddenly got possessive of my dog as well (Basically whatever dog he played with at the time he became very defensive/possessive of) He was never like that until they got this new dog? What to do?

He acted that way toward all the dogs there. If he was playing with a particular dog be it mine or another, the dog he was playing with he acted like that dog was his and no other dog he was letting near

___________

I'm asking more for my knowledge than anything. I felt a little uncomfortable with the play date today. Probably won't be doing another play date with them for awhile, things got a little rough.

Help! Dogs and cat getting along......

SamandChris567 — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 14:59:27 GMT

Hi everyone!
I'm a new posted, but very thankful I found these message boards. I can tell I will be a frequent poster and hopefully able to provide some advice as well!

We have two dogs, 2 1/2 yr. old mixes (we think part Rottweiler, Shepard and Chow based on their looks) and they are the love of our lives. My mom is incredibly ill and has been in the hospital for treatment the last 14 days. The doctors do not expect her to be discharged for several months, and if discharged she will not be able to care for an animal. This brings me to our issue.....

My mom has a beautiful 7 year old Tiger cat that needs a home. Our neighbor offered to try it out to see how it worked, but unfortunately her cat does not like Mr. Freckles and she is asking us to take him back.

The cat has never been in our home, and we want to try to see if we can get these three to get along. I do not want to bring him to a shelter, as they are overloaded and I have no other "interim" solution except our home.

Any advice on how I can help our dogs get used to him?? I know this isn't a cat website, and I'm more concerned about our first priorities which is our dogs.
How can I make this work so that the cat doesn't have to be given up because my mom is unable to take care of him? I'm trying to do the right thing and make sure all three animals are happy.....

Thank you for your help!

I love my dog, but..........

adorablebutdreadful — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 00:46:34 GMT

I have a husky who will be 9 years old in March. He has been with me since he was puppy. I never thought I'd be the person to say the famous quote "I love my dog, but".................... when honestly I love my dog but sometimes I'm not sure that he loves me. There have been times when I haven't been the best at taking care of him. I've always taken care of him in the sense of giving him shelter and food and water, he has toys up the yin yang and a supply of rawhide bones which are his favorite. Naturally I'm a caregiver so even if I've taken the best of care of something, somewhere in my mind I convince myself that I haven't. I'm a very patient person, I deal with things pretty well so I guess you could say that even though I've trained him well in the basics, sometimes maybe I was a little too passive when I should of been more assertive. Forget all that though, up until two years ago everything was perfect between me and my dog. He was extremely well behaved, he listened, he never went to the bathroom in the house, he never chewed anything up, he was very mellow, relaxed and all around a great loving dog, I don't ever remember there being a day where I was every extremely angry with him because he was such an awesome dog. So I ask myself, is it my dog who is changing or is it me.

Seems that the past two years have gotten worse and worse but his behavior didn't concern me until a few months ago. He has arthritis in his hips which I was told by a vet that this was common for dogs of his breed. Some days it bothers him and some days it seems like it doesn't bother him at all. He gets around well, he's still very active and can run like the wind, he mostly has problems sitting down or finding a comfortable place to lay down. I understand that he's getting older and that sometimes dogs go through change as do us humans but his behavior is so confusing to me. I leave for work and I come home to garbage chewed up all over the house. I block off the garbage and he goes for other things like papers or sometimes even clothing. He's always done well on his own when left in the house by himself and now suddenly within the past few months, he has seperation anxiety. I sat on the carpet the other day and all I could smell was urine. He possibly maybe has been peeing in the house when I'm not home but I haven't caught him doing it yet so I can't make that assumption. I guess it just crossed my mind because of all his other negative behavior. He seems really grumpy and grouchy. He's very sensitive to touch. When I grab his collar to go let him outside on his tieout, the minute I touch him, he twitches and he gives off his vibe like he's afraid of me or something. I go to call him back in and he just stands there starring at me so I put on my shoes and go to get him and then he walks away from me almost like he wants nothing to do with me. All I try to do is be close to him and he treats me like I'm the worst person ever. That really hurts and it's frustrating.

I don't know if this makes sense but he doesn't seem as smart as he use to be. If his tieout gets wrapped around the tree, he acts like he doesn't know how to get it unstuck when all he has to do is walk around the other way. Other days he'll bark at the window wanting to be let in and then when I go to open the door, he just stands there starring at me as if he forgot that he ever even wanted to come inside. Then when he does get inside all he seems to care about is three things, his water, his food and his treat. I can get over all the negative behavior but what really hurts me is that he's not the companion that he use to be. He use to sleep in my bed all the time and now when I call him up on the bed, he eiether doesn't listen at all or he comes up there for two minutes and only if your petting him will he stay up there, if your not petting him then he will jump down and go lay out in the living room for the entire night. I don't feel as close to him as I use to be. Maybe that is my fault. I don't know what happened. I admit that I haven't been around as much as I use to. I work alot but I'm still home for most of the day. Nothing life changing that would alter his daily routine or cause havoc in his life. I miss him, I miss who he use to be. I look at him and he just seems so unhappy. It's hard coming home to a house that's trashed and a dog that doesn't seem to care. I really do love him but his behavior is so confusing to me. Do I just have to accept that he's getting older and grumpier? I just can't believe our relationship has changed so drastically. He eats good, he's appears to be healthy. I'm for sure going to bring him in to the vet and have them examine him and make sure he's doing okay and there's not something more going on that I'm not seeing. I'm just scared. I wish dogs didn't have to grow old so fast.

My dogs are going to kill each other :(

TuxandDozer — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 17:18:16 GMT

Our Boston Terrier has had some knee problems, and required surgery for a luxating patella (a $5,000 surgery for a dislocated kneecap). While he was recovering for the first two weeks, we sent our other dog (a German Shepherd/Pug Cross [we're not sure how this happend either]), to a family members house so that our Boston could recover without worrying that they would play too rough, and his knee would get injured.

We brought the German Shepherd/Pug X back home yesterday, and every chance they get, they are fighting. Its not one of them attacking the other, its both at each other's throats! I separate them and put them in their kennels. And bring one out a time - but the minute that I turn my head, they are fighting. They both weigh about 30 lbs.

My boyfriend says that we should just let them go for it, and they'll sort it out on their own - but I'm scared that one of them will get hurt, and I honestly cannot afford another vet bill at this time. Can anyone tell me what we need to do when they do this? Do you suppose that the Pug/ShepX views our Boston as weak and is trying to ensure that only the strong survive?

Any pros out there that have any advice for our family?

Some background:
-Our dogs play together, and got along the majority of the time before the surgery took place. The odd time they may have been a fight, but we knew it was coming by their behavior.
-Both dogs are around 2 years old, both male, and have been neutered since about 6 months old.
-Our Boston is an insecure dog, and will bite if approached by someone.
-Our Boston also shows red zone dog aggression when we approach another dog.
-We currently have been under the direction of a professional dog trainer who uses ceasar's ways, who has been to 6 of cesars's sessions. They call her the "Canadian Dog Whisperer". Unfortunately, shes been very sick with cancer, and most recently a stroke - and don't have the ability to ask her for any advice right now.

"off" days?

mileysfurlessmom — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 18:07:09 GMT

Do your dogs have "off" days when they seem just a little more rebellious or don't want to listen when you are training or working with them?What is the best way to overcome it? I just continued asking Miley to do what I wanted her to do and gave her praise/treats when she *finally* did it, but she just was soooo rambunctious today! Next time, should I continue to be consistent and ask her to do what I want, or do I give her a break?

For example: I ask Miley to sit when I put on or take off her leash and when we're going in or out of the house. Granted, she is still "learning" sit, but she knows what I'm asking of her because she's been doing this the whole time that I've had her...but today she decided that she just didn't want to listen at all. Do I continue to make her wait until she does what I command? How long and how often do I continue to command her to "sit"? Knowing that she is having an "off" day, do I continue to ask her to do things or is that setting her up to fail?

I'm such a rookie....and thanks in advance for all your help!

He's a good guard dog... but what happens next?

sugaaar — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 11:52:07 GMT

I have this Mastiff mix (thinking either Labrador or Redbone Coonhound... I'll post some pictures!) and he is very protective. His name is Tanner and I looooove him to death! What a great dog. He is very active, for a Mastiff and for his size! Tanner is about seven months old, maybe a little older... I "rescued" him in May, and he was born in March. He was about 26 lbs when I got him, and now he weighs in a little over 90 lbs!! Wheeww.

He's awesome, very friendly with women. But men? He doesn't like the sight of them. Or, well, shouldn't say that... he likes boys and men that look decent (I know it sounds silly, but still) he will growl at a scruffy, old, dark looking man but will go over and greet a tidy and well kept one! He is okay with "feminine" looking men, but real big men intimidate him. It's silly I know!!! But that is how he behaves. I've got a biggg brother, a big dad and he is fine with them. My boss is a big guy, a vet, and Tanner doesn't like him! Which makes me look pretty bad, needless to day :(

Now I say that he doesn't like these specific types of men... but he does warm up to them!! After a treat, a couple of sniffs and a pat on the head and my pup is totally relaxed! He lets out a low rumble growl, just very short. He backs up into me, too. Really this has been happening since the week I brought him home. I would bring him to the pet store (gross place, we never went back) and a big, husky girl walked up to us and Tanner growled, I could feel it in the leash, and squeezed between my feet!! At another place he did a similar thing, but warmed up to the staff very quickly and he was right at home.

After that, I would take him to baseball games through the summer and he LOVED it. Tanners "high" is any kind of ball you could name... tennis and baseballs being his favorite. He just goes nuts! So that was fun, and let me tell you he had more people coming over and patting him, little toddlers and babies coming over and hugging him. I totally trust this dog with children, no doubt. He had the neighborhood children around him everyday, so that was good! Definitely a great dog, but a little sassy with the men!

He's awesome with cats, just ignores them for the most part. I have three ferrets and he has this totaly drive to chase them but he can't catch them, but we still have to supervise, regardless. Tanner plays so well with dog, or, the dogs that want to be played with. He gets lots of socializing with dogs and people and I continue to practice this.

I guess I should tell you where he came from, to maybe paint the picture a little better! I work at a veterinary hospital, and I'm an 18 year old girl in my first year of university. Woo. Anyway, I got a call one day at work from a young woman who wanted to get this pup vaccinate. I got her an appointment and just out of curiosity asked what kind of pup it was, how old, etc. Small talk, you know! Anyway, she goes on to say that it wasn't her puppy, and it was some sort of Mastiff mix. She told me that she had heard, from a friend or such, that this pup was being mistreated in a dingey apartment in the "lower" part of downtown. Don't want to be mean, but think of that place in the city where no one likes to go, and has a bad reputation. That's the place. Well, she goes on to say that this puppy was having its whiskers pulled out and cut off, was going to have his tail docked (at two months of age!!!) was being tied up, left, not being fed. In my books thats pretty well abusing a puppy, if you ask me. Didn't hear anything about hitting it, but he was not being treated well just the same. I guess the "friend" said that these owners had some pretty bad plans for him, which would be typical for that part of town... They knew he was going to grow up to be a big, tough looking dog, so I'm sure those owners were going to utilize those qualities.

So she came in with the puppy, the day I booked em in, and I fell in love! In my mind I had pictured your average "black" lab cross, not really excited. But in walked this THING with a red coat, black eyes and nose!!!!! What a beauty! Anyway, we were chatting with the girl and she forgot to mention that she was looking for a home for this puppy... and before she could hardly finish I told her I would take him. I was sold. He was so calm, quiet... just very mild-mannered. He was like that for a looong time, and them my brother started rough-housing with him which pretty much turned him into another dog. Don't get me wrong, he's still the best thing that's happened to me but he has a lot more spunk!! Which is good, in a lot of ways!

So knowing his history, and the mischief he's been getting up to... should I be worried? I mean, at 7 months and 90 lbs, I am going to assume he will be getting a little bigger. Last night, actually, someone was walking around inside of the house with shoes on and making a lot of noise. Tanner sleeps on my bed, and when he was stirred by the noise he lifted his head and let go a little growl. Other times, and not often, when he is really suprised or offended he lets go this HOWL like you wouldn't believe, a huge baaarrrruuuu. Hound dog, for sure, no doubt!!

I know it's in the mastiff's nature to be protective and a guard dog, so is this what it sounds like to you? He is a tad fearful, but is working out of that quite well. I really don't have any complaints, just a great dog.

I guess I am just wondering if there are any exercises I should do to prevent his protective behavior from reaching too far, like being totally aggressive to anything that moves, which he isn't, for sure! I am also wondering if he is being protective or if he is already just aggressive and totally fearful. I don't want him to turn into a monster, and I doubt he will, but it's hard to reverse once we get there!

We did to training, and he did awesome. Probably the best in his class. This dog is very smart, and has a lot of potential to really be able to do anything!! Hah, he's like my wonder dog. All I have to do is show him once or twice and BAM new trick. It's great for novelty for sure, but let's look after this growling!!!

Thanks for much for any feedback! I really appreciate it, and Tanner does too! Sorry about the length, maybe I will try and keep it down for next time..

Jenna

Help! Adoped Chihuahua Problems :(

yourstar84 — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 04:01:18 GMT

I adopted a 2 year old long hair chihuahua named Star about a month ago. I know it hasn't been very long, but I am already having problems with her. I adopted her from a chihuahua rescue one month ago today (Monday, Oct. 12). The first week I got her she was great! She would let me pet her and she would come to me when I called her. Now, she won't even come near me. She's completely enamored with my roommate and follows her everywhere! I have tried the ignoring thing, and I'm still ignoring her, but she doesn't seem to be making any progress--it just seems like she is getting worse. My roommate and I both work from 8-5, but we always come home for lunch, so there is a span of almost 2 hours in the afternoon when she is around people. I am a student and go to school three nights a week until about 10 pm, and then come home and spend time with her. My roommate doesn't always go home and spends about the same amount of time with her as I do.

Whenever I try to go near her, she runs into her crate and hides in the corner and shakes. Tonight she actually bit me when I tried to pet her! She is unable to bark, either do to the removal of her vocal chords, or from barking too much when she was at her original home, but she makes a point to bark at me. Sometimes when I am sitting in the living room watching TV and she is sitting on the couch across the room, she will just look over at me and start barking. I don't even look at her, I make sure I keep my attention focused on the TV.

She is trained to go outside and stay in the yard without a leash, which is great. She will go potty outside and run back inside and hide from me when she is done. She is also potty pad trained, so when I am asleep at night and she has to potty, she always goes on the pad. She is crate trained and seems the happiest when left alone in her crate. I've tried to keep her out of her crate when I am home with her by closing the door to her crate, and she goes and sits completely opposite me.

I know that dogs are not capable of hate, but I am seriously convinced this dog has some major issues with me! Even my roommate has noticed that she won't come near me. I have never had issues with dogs. I've always had dogs when I was growing up and they've all been great with me. I go to visit my parents every other week and their dogs that haven't grown up with me love me. My roommates dog even loves me, so I know it's not how I am around dogs!

I know it hasn't been long and I know I shouldn't let her sense my frustration, and that was easy until she bit me tonight. She looks at me like she's terrified of me and cowers when I touch her. I don't want to give her back to the rescue, but at this point it's not looking promising at all. I will be moving mid next year and I want to take her with me, but I don't want to force a dog that hates me to stay with me. Please help me!!

Looking for a little advice from dog owners

General Kooblah — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 23:24:54 GMT

Hey all,

I was hoping you could give me a little advice.

First off im not a dog person in the least, don't care for the beasts, and big dogs are the worst... but my roomates decided it would be a good idea to get a rottweiler (Despite my opposition) :S soo im kinda stuck with it at the moment.

have you got any advice on how i can get this dog to leave me alone?

im not interested in being mean to the dog, or hurting it, or messing with its head, i just want to know if there are any tricks i could use to stop it from trying to jump up on me, lick me, trying to lay on me, crawling up on the couch, and just kind of doing the things dogs do to people. avoiding the dog isnt an option so im hoping there is a way the two of us can sort of live and let live.

im sure few of you understand my frustration, but really, i dont hate the dog, i just have no need or want for the animal to be around me. (im sure some of you feel the same way about cats, which i absolutly adore)

please i dont want to do anything mean to the dog, i just want it to leave me alone before it becomes a problem and i potentially have to move

Fear/ Aggression towards other dogs

Autumnmo89 — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 03:27:11 GMT

Hey!! I'm new here and am having a really tough time with my oversized pom/chi Max. We got him about 3 mo ago from a sweet couple in our area. We knew a very small amount about his problems from the former owners- but it was not explained as it should have been. First of all, Max is my baby, has been since we met, but he has some issues. Max, it seems, HATES ALL DOGS. I have read every book I could get my hands on in the library, searched the web and youtube endlessly, and to no avail! Whenever we get within a hundred yards of another dog he relentlessly and ferociously barks, then he will bark at all things that move for at least 20 min afterward. If a dog gets too close, he will try to run after and chase them off, mind you he is only 12 lbs. Some people laugh, most scowl. It is so hard because I just want to yell," IT'S NOT MY FAULT!! THEY DIDN'T SOCIALIZE HIM!!" Because the former owners had him since he was 8 weeks old- and he never met a dog. Anyway, he will get so worked up if a dog is within sight, he forgets all I have taught him- like 'watch me'- and refuses all attempts at treats or noises I make to direct his attention... I don't know what to do!!! I am so sad to see that he is that terrified and threatened, I think he will never be able to run and play at the dog park, or even let me carry a conversation with another dog parent, I almost cry at the thought... If you have any advise or experience comment please! Thank you so much.

What do you make of this??? (video)

BlackLabbie — Sat, 03 Oct 2009 22:32:55 GMT

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2O15DXv3Vwg

It's a very short video (48 seconds) of a dog with a bone. It looks like the dog attacks his own self when his back leg gets too close to the bone. It's very strange.

Dominance Makes You Dumb

Corinthian — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 02:24:44 GMT

I specially like the part that reads "This kind of dominance is a prism that makes some people see their relationship with their dogs as an ongoing struggle for supremacy. It anthropomorphizes dogs in the worst possible way because it overlays a uniquely human perspective onto a dog's mind and then punishes him for it." You see this on TV all the time. The uninformed tv trainer will say "the dog is trying to take over" and the punishes the dog for something he projects on the dog.

How Dominance Can Make You Dumb

September 22nd, 2009 by Eric Goebelbecker

"Words are all we have, really. We have thoughts but thoughts are fluid. then we assign a word to a thought and we're stuck with that word for that thought, so be careful with words." - George Carlin

Generally speaking I don't like quibbling over words. I tend to agree with Dr. Dunbar - stop talking and start training. But staying away from the word "dominance" and its variations when you are a dog trainer is almost as difficult as staying away from the Yankees when you live in the NYC area. It's so frustrating that it leads me to be, as Tom Cruise would put it, glib. Glib enough that I recently twitted (twittered? tweeted? chirped? belched?) "Dominance makes you dumb." First, there's what's on TV. Enough said. Then there's the clients (many of whom watch TV.) If a dog is displaying any sort of disobedient or disruptive behavior there's at least a 50% chance that she will be labeled as "dominant" when I am called. (There's also a 25% chance that she has "separation anxiety," but that's another rant.) This 50% only goes up if the dog is male, if the person contacting me is male, or if the dog is about 8 - 18 months old.

And of course there's the Internet. I'm pretty sure that at this point there are more websites dedicated to debunking dominance theory than there are espousing it. There's certainly enough e-mail traffic discussing it, probably more than enough. In the old days when we called each other names on Usenet (as opposed to calling each other names on Yahoo groups like we do now) there was an unofficial rule that any thread mentioning "Hitler" or "Nazi" immediately be shut down by the moderator or at least abandoned by the users. I've considered suggesting this for threads that mention "dominance" if for no other reason than just to avoid the inevitable flood of "harrumphs," but a lot of these people don't share my sense of humor.

Generally speaking, "Dominance" is used one of two ways when referring to dogs:

In one context, it's used to indicate a relationship where an individual has priority access to resources. It defines a position in a relationship, similar to the way the word is used in everyday language: "The Yankees are dominant in their division (ugh.)" or "Sales of the Prius dominated the fourth quarter." This kind of dominance is very real. It exists in many groups of different species of animals as a way to avoid (or at least quickly resolve) aggression. Aggression is really, really, expensive and evolutionary pressure tends to try to avoid it when possible. (I haven't quite figured out what the problem is with Homo sapiens though. Probably video games or high-fructose corn syrup.)

I like to call this the "reality-based" context.

In the other context, let's call it "fantasy-based," dominance is, as Dr. Sophia Yin so wonderfully put it, a personality trait. It describes a dog that is well, hell bent on domination. (S)he requires constant reminders that you are in charge, the "pack leader."

Check out an excerpt from this masterpiece

Well, not any more than the 100 other subtle things you must do to communicate that you are the pack leader. I always stress to new dog owners that the more things you're doing to reinforce that you are the pack leader for your dog, will make your dog view you as the pack leader, faster.

This is the dominance that makes you dumb. It makes you fret over who goes through doors first and who walks in front of who on the street. It makes otherwise intelligent people spit in kibble before they let their dogs eat it. This kind of dominance is a prism that makes some people see their relationship with their dogs as an ongoing struggle for supremacy. It anthropomorphizes dogs in the worst possible way because it overlays a uniquely human perspective onto a dog's mind and then punishes him for it.

I wish I could ignore it, but I since I encounter it with my clients, it's a fact of life. I have to be ready to skillfully and genially interrupt and redirect. Fortunately, more often than not simply showing what can be accomplished without any force or intimidation goes a long way.

http://www.dogstardaily.com/blogs/how-dominance-can-make-you-dumb

2 year old lab is pooping/peeing in his kennel

Joan W — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 02:01:55 GMT

Help!

My husband and son got a 2 year old lab about a week ago. This dog has been trained to hunt and we were told he is house broken. We have been keeping him in a kennel until we are sure he is. The first five days or so he did great but the last few days he has pooped and peed in his kennel. Can someone tell us what we are doing wrong? Tonight he was running around for 3 hours or so and we put him in there for an hour and went to let him out and he had peed!!

Paw licking

JoJov62 — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 01:40:00 GMT

Help! My yellow lab is licking her paw till its raw - I have had her to the vet several times - she has been on different meds - nothing seems to stop it - it starts to get better but she goes right back to doing it - the vet thinks its just a nervous habit - she does out of boredom! i tried buying all kinds of toys to keep her from being bored - she has busted everything within a day or 2 - any ideas! i have tried all kinds of lotions sprays etc - i even tried Rescue remedy thinking that would calm her - she still does it - its just one paw and it looks awful!

thanks! i am new here and hope someone can give me some assistance

Dog freaks out when I have sex

dogproblems — Sun, 06 Sep 2009 02:23:12 GMT

My dog has recently started pooping and peeing in the house when my boyfriend and I have sex. This is the only time he has accidents and he didn't start until a few weeks ago even though my boyfriend and I have been together for a year. The only thing that's changed is that we just moved into a new place. My questions are why did this start all of a sudden and how do I get him to stop? We've tried putting him in his crate when we're intimate, but he claws at the kennel door frantically trying to get out until his paws get raw.

Please Help . . out-of-control dog(s)!

Scotty23 — Sat, 22 Aug 2009 23:28:44 GMT

Forgive my ignorance if I am wrong, but this is the closest I could find to an online canine psychiatrist!

I wondered if anyone has experienced the following problem, or could offer some fruitful advice to enable me to deal with it.

I recently rescued a dog - terrier mix - from the local animal services department. She's a sweet girl, very loving, and seems relatively calm. We calle dher Gretchen. I got her as a companion for my existing dog (a mutt, beagle mix I think), who is named Henrik.

Since we have rescued Gretchen, Henrik changed 100%. Suddenly, he constantly escapes from the yard (taking Gretchen with him). He always chewed a little bit, but now he chews EVERYTHING. Bearing in mind that before, I used to head out to work leaving Henrik in the house, leave the cupboards wide open, the trash can full, the door to my bedroom open and everything would be in place when I returned. I could leave him out in the yard for hours if I went out and he never escaped.

Obviously the new dog is causing my existing dog to alter his behavior but why?? What makes this even more curious is that it does not seem to be Gretchen who is instigating the bad behavior but Henrik. Indeed, we have watched them in the yard unbeknown to them, and seen Henrik digging holes under the fence and disappearing first. When I call them it is always Gretchen who returns first.

Today I left them in the house because I was frightful of them escaping and the house was trashed. I'm at the end of my tether, but really do not want to re-home Gretchen because she is a dear girl who deserves some love - and ironically I do not think it is she who is instrigating the mischief.

I could keep them apart but that negates the purpose of getting another dog in the 1st place - and Henrik seems to be trouble wherever he is these days. The ages of the dogs: Gretchen - unknown, we thin relatively young. Henrik - a year old. Both have been neutered.

Please does anybody have any suggestions?? What is at the root of what is going on here?? Is there anything I can do??

Large Puppy Tormenting Adult Pug

winterwolfes — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 19:03:53 GMT

Our pug is 3 years old. He is in good health and a great, even tempered dog. When we brought him home a puppy we had a 3 year old Lab. The pug and the lab became great friends. They would rough house all the time. The pug would hide and jump out on to the lab and play attack her. The lab would roll on to her back and let the pug jump on her. Or many times she would flip the pug over and grab him but the butt and gently swoosh him around the hard wood floor. Anyway, my point being they were very good friends and were very close.

The lab passed away this year. She was only 6 and died of lymphoma. The pug was very sad. About 6 months later we adopted a new puppy. She was 13 weeks when we brought her home. She has been in our house for a month now. She is a lab/plott hound mix (at least thats what her mom was) and is already 30 pounds. She's gonna be a big dog. We figured the pug would be happy to have another large dog pack member.

The pup seems to terrorize the pug. At first I figured the best thing to do was to just let them work out their differences and who is the dominant dog and all that. The problem is that the puppy wants to constantly play with the pug and she plays pretty rough. Not biting or viscious, just rough because she is so big. She pounces on him and when he tries to run, she bites his tail and holds him there and pulls him back in. When she approaches, the pugs tail uncurls and he gets stressed. If he can get away, he runs and hides under furniture. When they are in the same room the pug just stays up on the back of the couch trying to be far away from her - and us a lot of the time. And now he won't even go out side if she is around and he has started to go to the bathroom inside the house which he has NEVER done. I'm not sure this is a matter of letting them work out who is the dominant dog anymore. There have been a couple of times where the pug has had a bone and the puppy wanted it and the pug stood his ground and put the puppy in her place. But that has only happened twice. The rest of the time, the pug seems very stressed by the puppys play. Again, its not viscious at all, just large puppy rough housing. No one is hurt during it.

We aren't sure what to do now. I am thinking we may need to start playing referee and not letting the puppy play with the pug at all anymore. Where as before we though we were supposed to just letting them work things out. I feel bad because the pug was always so happy to play with the lab, they were very close. I thought having another big dog would be fun for him too.

Anyone have any advice?

my poodle is acting wierd

wendylee815 — Sat, 15 Aug 2009 11:14:07 GMT

he is 7 years old and has spent 4 years with us, we also have a 7 year old husky.... lately he has shown an unusual interest in her. she has been "fixed" since she was a puppy so its not that. for the last week or so, he has been following her around, sniffing at her and frankly pestering her. she has a boo boo on her wrist, called a "hot spot" but he seems to be sniffing her all over. he wont leave her side. she doesnt appear sick in any way so we cant understand his sudden obssesive interest in her. last night when i tried to get him to come to bed, he got really angry about being seperated from her. growling, etc. literally would not let me near him. now i'm worried. she doesnt seem to mind his attention all that much, but gets slightly annoyed with him now and then. both dogs have all thier shots and recieve advantex if that helps to understand.

i appreciate any help i can get.. their Doctor appointments arent for 2 weeks and im wondering if i need to take him sooner.

a new member and a new post

ieinbar — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 17:42:13 GMT

Hello everyone,

My name is Inbar. I am a new member here. I have a Maltese (Sushi) and a Persian cat (Kitty).

I am interested in dog behavior and psychology, comparative psychology and dogs in general. I just opened a new blog a week or so ago. It is called Sushoni's doggy blog and it will address current dog psychology issues, comparative psychology and informative issues about dogs. I would be happy to get some feedback about it. the address for it is http://sushony.blogspot.com/

Thank you and hi everyone

Chevy's story

chevy — Fri, 21 Jul 2006 01:34:15 GMT

As I read through the messages on this forum, some of them remind me of my chevy. I want to post our story just to put the information out there.

I got Chevy from a backyard breeder February 14, 2000, he was 4 month's old. He seemed kind of shy till I got him home, but once he was here & in the company of my other dog.   Well, that's when it all began.

He was agressive to the point of visciousness, I had to keep gate's up so the two were alway's separated.   I took chevy to my vet & it was decided he would be neutered right away, thinking this would help with the aggression.   I dropped him off in the morning for his operation & was told I could pick him up after 5 that evening.
11:00 in the morning, I got a call from the Vet. The surgery was done & they needed me to come & get him.   I went there, & they would'nt even bring him out to me. They led me to the back room where they had him & I had to get him myself, & was then told that their office did'nt deal with his kind of problems'..
He was loud, he was on his back kicking & snapping at anything within reach.

4 1/2 month's.   We enrolled in Petsmart puppy preschool.   chevy & I repeated the course twice because of his behavior,. He was biting & attacking his classmate's.
After the third round of pre-school, we passed, & went on to the basic class.
Chevy was not aloud to walk the floor's of Petsmart unless class was in session, ( he was considered a dangerous dog) & had to ride in the shopping cart.

The Basic course went well as far as his command's but something was very, very wrong still. He constantly bit anyone who touched him.   Seemed, getting on his back & kicking & snapping was his most common position. Also, as soon as we entered the store, he made sure that he defacated. In fact anywhere I took him that he did'nt want to go, he did this.   As I think back, I think it was probably the treat's that made his listen to his command's in class so well.
We graduated Basic & went on to the Advanced class. Chevy did well here too, but still, something was wrong.   I was able to find a new Vet that agreed to take him as a patient as long as I kept him muzzled & under control.

1 year old now & chevy was put on Prozac. It did nothing.   This new Vet, insisted that chevy needed a private trainor.   So we did that for quite a few session's, until the trainor put a prong collar on chevy & jerked him so hard he was up in the air because chevy tried to bite.   That was the end of that.

During this first year, I would be on all four's on the floor beside my other dog, trying to let chevy know that he had to get through me to get to him.   Eventually, chevy did get this message.
He alway's like to sit up high, he would take his toy's & climb up on thing's & look down on the other dog & try to jump on him if I was'nt looking. He would urinate on the other dog's bedding & his toy's also.

I should probably tell you that, the original dog. (Boo Boo A Cocker Spaniel) was at one time paralyzed & had spinal cord surgery to correct the problem. Arthritis set in pretty bad & he was aging fast.   I wanted to get a puppy to keep him company & keep him young.   I ended up ruining his life by getting chevy.

Febuary 5, 2005, I helped Boo Boo to the Rainbow Bridge, due to the arthritis meds' that ruined his liver.    Now it's just Chevy, myself & my husband here.
After searching the health board's online I found a girl who knew what was wrong with chevy, but I had a hard time believing her.
She told me it was Canine Autism & that it was caused by vaccines.   I was desperate for help so I listened to her & followed her instruction's on dosing Homeopathic remedies.    I could'nt believe the result's I was seeing.

Once she took me as far as she could without prescription potencies, I found a Homeopathic Vet. I have been treating chevy Homeopathically now for the last year & a half with amazing result's.

chevy no longer bite's. He no longer scream's at the top of his lung's for no apparant reason.

He is on a raw meat diet & will never be vaccinated again, no flea preventitive no preservative's in his diet, all he get's is heartworm interceptor now. It truly was the Mercury (Thimersol) in the vaccine's that did this to him....

I'm in no way saying this is the same as any of your cases, I just want to put this out here so people know that sometime's the animal is sick & if it is a sickness. Training will not help. The sickness has to be treated. It was a long, expensive road for us, but it worked.
Chevy is now a happy, healthy 6 1/2 year old Cocker Spaniel.    I still see some of the Autism from time to time, but the aggression is gone.

I wish you all luck with your pet's, & if anything I wrote look's familiar to you I will be more than happy to help you in any way I can.

Best of luck to you & your pet 's...
                chevy & karen

Working with a nervous dog

Sowilu — Mon, 12 Jan 2009 22:19:22 GMT

I will hopefully start agility with another of Tracy's Aussies. His name is Magnum and he is 3yrs old and is really nervous around people. I really need him to trust me since we will be working together. I have started to work with him by doing basic stuff like sit and heal. He will sit for me and sort of heal. I worked with him today and he is still really shy and nervous with me and you can still see a little fear in his eyes. I want to know what else I can do to make him more comfortable with me. We were planing to work for at least an hour each day depending on the weather and her job schedule. I was thinking of giving him a special treat something that he loves that he will only get from me, do you think that would work? He is extremly food motivated.

This has got to stop...

oranges81 — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 23:28:55 GMT

Maze is highly fear agressive towards the front door.. And I have no idea to correct it.

Whenever someone knocks, she'll bark at the door and if they don't let them selves in, I'll acknowledge Maze then move her away from the door and put her in a sit until she calms down. But if they just walk in, Maze will lunge and bark and there's no calling her off. I have to physically move her away.

But Alex won't stop her. Sometimes he'll encourage it. I've talked to him about it and today she almost bit someone (I wasn't home).

Help! What can I do to stop this?

Bite inhibition

kle1986 — Mon, 05 Jan 2009 02:50:33 GMT

Joker has none with regards to the other dogs. He was with his mom,dad, a brother, and sister for 4 months so shouldnt he have some?

Lillie and Fynn refuse to play with him because all he wants to do is bite their faces,legs,belly,etc. They yelp and snap at him but he just goes for another body part. I cant have him doing that to Fynn because he pulls out hair.

Cheyanne loves to play with Joker though. She plays the way he plays which is more her play style. But when she's playing with Lillie she plays the way Lillie plays. So shouldnt Joker be the same way?

He isnt at all mouthy when I am playing with him. Just with Lillie and Fynn. So I dont let him play with them.

When he starts playing rough like that with Lillie and Fynn I let them correct him but it dont work so I break them up and put Joker in his crate for a few. But it dont do any good because as soon as I let him out he's right back at them.

What do you guys think about this? He's a great pup all around but Lillie and Fynn do not want to play with him because he's so rough. Like I said he's not like that at all with me.

My 4 Month Old Dobie Is Starting To Act Aggressive !!!!!

jocyfernandez — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 17:20:25 GMT

I have a 4 month old doberman pup, which I got from one of my uncles farmhouse. Now the thing bout the pup is, his dads a pure dobie but his moms a mixture of GSD & Doberman (90% Doberman + 10% GSD). Thats about his genes. Now the problem I'm facing is that Zach (my dobie) has kind of formed a very strong bond with my younger bro (whose 19 ). My bro's almost home all throughout the day so he gets to spend more time with Zach, takes him out to play and for walks too. But my bro isnt handling him properly like he should or showing him that we are the Alpha, he just fools around with him and is like a playmate too him. But the real problem is this, as soon as my bro steps out of the house this guy picks up his slip-ons or his clothes and climbs his bed and sleeps on it, keeping the stuff under his chin. Now if anybody tries to come near him even to pet or for whatever reason, he starts snarling as if he would bite in a defensive mode. We don't mean any harm (obviously) but he feels threatened. He behaved the same way a while back too when he ran to the garden and picked up a stone in his mouth, when my mom ran behind him he went into the house and jumped on the bed and had it held in his mouth all the while, now when she tried to remove it away from him, so that he won't swallow it or something he snarled at her and when I tried to do the same he did the same to me too. But I'm short tempered at times and it really pissed me off to see him snarl at me (I know its wrong) so I slapped him on his legs and shouted loudly at him saying words like Bad Boy, No, etc etc. And then I tied him to the door with the leash for a while. And at that moment as in submission he lay down looking at me pleadingly and also started whining. Now Zachs been doing this kinda behaviour too often, of late. Also as a sidenote I wanna mention that he's got these small boils kinda thing all over his body for which the treatment by the vet is already going on. Please advice as to what I should do about his behaviour ???? Thanks in advance.