Help! Dog behaviour problems.

Got a major problem with my dog at the moment, any of you wonderous people here be able to help me?

I've got a problem with seperation anxiety with my dog ,Sammy. I've looked up what I can but everything I've found my family have bull***ted down because it doesn't agree with their basic idea's of good behaviour reward, bad behaviour punishment. Their very simplistic with their idea's and very sure of them. The only proper suggestion I have got from them revolves shoving my dog's nose in the empty cat bowls and the other mess she has made, then telling her no. It is pointless and cruel in my opinion. The deed has far been done. It may be negative attention, but it's still attention which is what I want to remove.

Before I go too deep into details does anyone know enough about dogs to help me?

The basic gist is that when left on her own Sammy has been going to rooms she has been trained not to, eaten the cat food left in bowls for my sisters two cats and eaten their s**t from their litter-tray. She's also pulled bins out and been found in bedrooms she has been banned from. I've shut in her certain rooms and she's clawed open the doors.

Sammy's a very family person and suffering, from what I am almost entirely positive of, a phantom pregnancy.

Help, anyone? Please! My family is driving me nuts with their know-it-all attitude that is not helping.

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How old is Sammy?

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"Today, war is too important to be left to politicians. They have neither the time, the training, nor the inclination for strategic thought. I can no longer sit back and allow Communist infiltration, Communist indoctrination, Communist subversion and the international Communist conspiracy to sap and impurify all of our precious bodily fluids."

When did Sammy start behaving like this? Has anything changed in your family's routine? Have you called your Vet to ask his/her opinion yet? Our Vet group also has a doctor that is an animal psychologist.


Just a side to let you know your not alone in odd pet behavior...
When I had my first child, our cat would pee in the child car seat (if I left it on the floor)...and suddenly became very attention needy for me.


Good Luck Rev. Keep us updated.

Sometimes doggies eat kitty cat “hor d’Oeuvres” when they are lacking certain vitamins and the same with the cat food… If she is suffering from a phantom pregnancy, she may just think she needs the vitamin… Has she ever had puppies?

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To add to the details.

Sammy is nine going on ten but she's barely showing any signs of old age, a little grey around the muzzle and slightly slower running but apart from that there no obvious signs.


Getting down to the specifics not much has changed in my circumstances. Sammy has always shown a mild tendancy for seperation anxiety but it is only lately that she has gone to greater extremes.

She gets left her on her own for an hour or two, couple of times week. She has been at the bins before but this doesn't happen too regulary, however she has never went for the cat's food before. Or not apparantly. There was suspicion that the cat's biscuits were going quicker then they should but the bowls still had some food in them, but now they are being licked clean. It's only really been the past few weeks that she has grown increasingly more destructive.

Started shutting her in the front room which was fine at first but then she got out a few times, managing to pull open the door. Moved her to my bedroom but that is not secure enough for her either.

Routine has remained fairly stable.

I am positive she is having a phantom preganancy now. All the classic signs are there but no filling out of her stomach so that rules out actual pregnancy. I'm usually carefully when walking her and she has not been spayed.

Haven't seen a vet yet to confirm any medical symptoms but I am going to take her this Tuesday just to confirm or rule it out.

We are working on some solutions. One, which seems the most viable is to put a lock on the outside of the frontroom door and lock the door she manages to pull open. This unfortuntely would only prevent her from doing any damage not solve the cause.

Of course it doesn't help with the amount of people in the house, including two children, which makes cgradual conditioning a very hard option to work through.

Patience is a little sparce with my family, otherwise I would just take her to the vet and wait out her phantom pregnancy before going to extremer measures.

Sammy has never had puppies. I was told somewhere that it is best to let an unspayed bitch have at least one litter which sounds like hoey to me. Besides I cannot afford the addition of extra dogs running around.

She is eating a complete dry food that should have all her vitimins. It's been hard trying to find one she likes the taste of. Wet food had a tendancy to make her gas a bit. Which is kind of odd becauise when I got her from a rescue centre she has gas problkems with dry food which was the reason for the change.

Is it possible that her selectiveness of food types and trial and error on my part has caused this need in her to eat cat poo?




I will keep up Sammy's progress. It's frustratiung though, apart from this trouble of being left on her own, she is a very friendly, if lazy, dog. Who doesn't have a mean bone in her body. She backs down first with the cats.


Aniko, cat pee is quite potent I bet you had trouble cleaning.

Watch Dr. Phil with your dog, when you can tell she's getting into it tell her she's not pregnant. At first she'll just look at you like it didn't register, so say it again. You know you're not pregnant don't you? Someday you might be, but it's not a good time right now.

Or else feed the cats dog food.

You might try Teen/Adult Dogs in Yahoo groups.

Lots of advice over there.

CJ

Well speaking as a person that now works in a veterinarian office and used to work in a pet retail outlet, the best solution to your problems is a course in "crate training". Unfortunately too many dog owners (me included) don't crate train their dogs as puppies and the result can be latent anxiety in the future when the owners change their schedules for some reason.

There are certain Over the Counter supplements that can help. Check your local pet store for details on these products. Some of these tablets are high in Tryptophan, a chemical usually found in turkey and can reduce certain anxious behaviors in pets. Since Sammy is in heat, and 10 years old there are other factors that might be causing coprophagy ( or feces eating). Just a few causes of this behavior are, like Cait' said diet. Ask your vet which food he/she recommends. Also expect to tell your vet what your feeding Sammy. What you have added, what might be missing. The vet might recommend a highly concentrated food--IVD comes to mind. Competetion is aslo a factor, "this feces is mine!" Sammy might be thinking. But what I think is happening is that Sammy might be just plain bored. Increase exercise, and buy a food dispensing device. One where the food fills the bowl automatically, this might make her feel like she can eat whenever she wants.

Most importantly--SEE THE VET! He/she is able to tell you exactly what is wrong and provide better advice, medicine and peace of mind. Hope that helps...

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r66-The member who always asks WHY?

Congrats Tim… ... but you do realize everyone is going to come to you with all their pet problems now…




ps - what can I do with a crazy Boston terrier that seems to start itching every time she gets excited or upset?

Thank you, r3port3er66, for the detailed reply. I have been to the vets and have been given similar advice concerning the crate. I've been given a course of hormone tablets for her phantom pregnancy, which at the moment is the only common denominator with her current actions as I see it. I will definately try your advice on occupying toys for when she is left, as for the others I will consider. At the moment under advice of the vetinary nurse I am changing my habits in regards to how I treat her, establishing her pecking order as at the bottom and easing her away from constant human contact to lessen the anxiety when the house is empty.

At the moment though I'm keeping a close eye on the phantom pregnancy and the more then likely season, only once they are finished and the behaviour still persists will I try greater and more a life altering measures on her. I don't want to make her further unstable by thrusting all these changes upon her so quickly. I also intend to get her spayed after she is back to normal concerning her body. Not only to try and stop those phantom pregnancies but also because of the threat of pyometra (sp?).

Thank you so much for the help, everyone.

Sorry, Sunfrog but Sammy doesn't watch Dr Phil.

CAIT'!

First things first, what's the little terror's name ? When did you first notice this "itching" behavior? Any changes in diet? What's your pet's weight? Can you explain a little bit more about him/her being excited? Lastly, maybe most importantly; can you give me a better definition of what you mean by "upset"?

LOL… The little terror’s name is Pepper… ... but she’s not too much of a terror… she’s actually the sweet one. Okay, let’s see, Pepper has had an itchy problem on and off since I got her about 8 months ago. The vet here basically said she just had dry skin due to the fact she was malnourished when I got her and now he says she just has itchy skin… She’s been on Science Diet since I got her with a little boiled chicken off and on (which he said was fine). But I started noticing she seems to itch worse when I come home or someone she likes comes in… or when I take her somewhere. She loves to go for walks or car rides and just starts dancing when she knows she can go… but then she gets upset and starts scratching a lot more whenever she knows I am getting ready to go to work.

Pepper is around four years old, fixed, and weighs about 10 pounds (she’s a small Boston). Who ever owned her first was very good with her because she is extremely well behaved but it is my understanding that she went through 4 or 5 homes since the original owner and the last one she was abused at. She is horrified of brooms or men raising their voices… Her back right hip is out of place where she was hit by a car and never taken to the vets. It doesn’t seem to bother her now unless she runs too much and the vet basically said to leave it alone unless it became painful for her. Anyway, if you have any suggestions, I would love to hear them. She has literally scratched bald spots on herself…

First off--and I'm sure Cait' already knows this, but I'm not a veterinarian.
Any advice that I give concerning animals will always state "CONSULT YOUR VETERINARIAN". I'm no doctor. I don't know your pet's history and it's always good to get your pet into the office for routine check-ups.


That said, Cait',

Based on what you have said. I'm going to assume that Pepper does not have a flea problem. I'm sure your aware of the flea medications that are available at your vet's office; Advantage, Advantix, Capstar, Program, etc.

Orginally, when I read your post, I assumed Pepper was only scratching at herself sometimes; when you leave--when she's upset. But I've become concerned with your last post when you say; "she has literally scratched bald spots on herself…"

My first 4 appointments last Wednesday were for dogs with skin, itching problems. Dogs, like humans, can be allergic to certain foods and their ingredients. Chicken is high on that list and so is corn--take a look at the ingredients on the back of the Science Diet dog food. What your looking for are the first 2 ingredients listed. These items are what the food primarily consists. of. There are allergy tests that your vet can perform ($$$) to determine if that's the problem. Consider changing to a food that is made of something other than chicken or beef. There are some foods on the market now that consist of Duck, Venison and vegtables (without cornmeal). DO NOT purchase the lower-end dog foods if you can afford it! Many major dog food companies (lower end) are discovering that some dogs are allergic to feed ingredients and are marketing new foods that sound good--Beneful comes to mind; but try and stay away from the "grocery" store pet foods. Science Diet is good, Iams and Eukanuba (same company) are also good. Look for something called "Solid Gold" too.

Here's a link to something that is prescribed by the vet I work for:
http://www.hillspet.com/products/pro...45524441760681

Also there is a steriod injection that can relieve Pepper's condition for about a month. That in conjunction with a healthy diet and a constant flea prevention regimine might be all she needs. The vet can also prescribe Pepper with a daily supplement that will help with Pepper's condition. CONSULT YOUR VET.

As far as shampoos go. I often advise bathing dogs with skin problems with something called "Chlorahexiderm". I believe this is only available at the vet's office. DO NOT USE human shampoo to bath your dog. Animal skin is alot more sensitive than humans and they could get sick.

Let me know how Pepper's doing......