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How we got through the first years of "whacko dog" and some tips for you

Behavioral Issues

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  • fjd89F

    My dog bit me.

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    DebraDownSouthD
    :::Note: I’m not a professional trainer, I have a degree in psychology and im a teacher; a dog is like a 2-4 year old. Every dog is different though, maybe I’ve just gotten lucky, but what I’ve been doing has been working for me; maybe it will for you.::: LOL, not luck... good common sense. We do basic training to get solid responses in controlled environments, which gives a good base for expanding it to other situations. Like eeeefarm, I don't thing animal aggressive dogs need to socialize with strange dogs. I keep them separated. For the unexpected, working at home on basic commands (Leave It!, "look at me" to focus on you and understand the other dog is off limits, solid 100 percent down-stay) can help you avoid your dog getting revved enough to bite. That means you have to stay on top of things, change directions if necessary, and be firm and loud in asking others to not approach with their dog. Training is wonderful bonding, and it exercises their brains. http://www.clickerlessons.com/index.htm
  • P

    Couple of "Issues" with my Basenji

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    P
    I completely forgot about this topic, but I figure I would reply (after a 4 month hiatus) with updates. Thank you all for your responses. Marvel no longer bites (what a relief!). It stopped around the time that all of his adult teeth were falling out, so I assume it was related to the discomfort of his baby teeth. He will play bite every now and then, but nothing drastic. Marvel no longer wakes up absurdly early now that he's 6 months old, as someone pointed out. He typically gets up when we do except for the rare occasion here and there. Marvel has been marvelous and his behavior only gets better. The only "issue" we deal with now is his separation anxiety when we leave him in a crate. I'll probably make a separate topic on this. And he seems to be strangely attached/dominant to my girlfriends underwear when he manages to get a hold of it... Thanks! Peter
  • TimesthemythT

    Need some creative thinkers for confinement "anxiety" issue

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    TimesthemythT
    Ha, I know, forum posts are like a novel sometimes - except sometimes you don't always find out what happens at the end. There are lots of posts here where I'm like "well, what happened?!" The long and short of it: we have a "success story". He's always been kind of a strange dog, never doing things by the books. For his anxiety…...nothing I did really helped him. I originally put him on Prozac as a last resort, but overtime he just improved on his own; I know it's not due to the medication, because he's been off of it for awhile. He still hates confinement but he's learned that once he's in...he's not getting out. SO he basically goes through cycles where he'll whine for about a minute or two every so often (30 minutes to 2 hours) or so then goes back to sleep, until I get home. It gets better and better each time. One of our biggest issues I think was him being able to escape, and that fear was feeding off itself. In the beginning he would pull out all the stunts to try and escape, some of them working of course. Once I made it so he could not escape, the major destruction and psychological issues died down. I ended up putting wood pieces around the crate (as suggested above) and that helped immensely to fortify the area. He still does cry, and rip things up while I'm away...sure. But, as long as he isn't endangering himself, getting too worked up, or making a huge racket? It works. After we got that solved. I moved onto trying to get him to be ok in a crate - which has been successful. He goes into it fine, lays down and doesn't cry a whole lot, or try to escape. I think his 'anxiety' is not unusual, or inappropriate. Just a natural fear that dogs have of being alone, confined, and in a new space. I also didn't go over 30 minutes when I was teaching him as a puppy....big mistake. Things that have helped: Music, not having the light on, making the pen one giant bed (instead of allowing an area where he could stand), leaving random tissues around in the pen, not letting him out of the pen directly after coming home, giving a single cookie before leaving and returning if quiet, having the area be inescapable obviously, and brushing his teeth if he comes out of the pen right away. Things that didn't really help: thunder shirt (was working until he ripped it up), medication, mirror outside of the pen, leaving delicious food or toys inside the pen, DAP diffuser, etc.
  • Tayda_LennyT

    Neighbors crazy dog dug into our yard and got bit

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    RivermoonR
    I hope nothing comes of it since it was their dog that was coming into YOUR yard and the parents are acknowledging that. Hopefully they'll talk some sense into their daughter too and she'll be extra careful about letting her little monsters dig. Putting bricks down should keep them out. Good luck!
  • bellabasenjiB

    What about male dog fights over females in heat…do they try 2 attack "privates"?

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    bellabasenjiB
    @Quercus: …I can't imagine a dog in a real fight taking the chance of turning his back on the attacker. Though, I am used to seeing girl, girl fights...where neither girl is willing to surrender...it could be that a dog who really doesn't want to fight will try to protect his head and neck by offering other 'parts'...it would definitely indicate that the other dog wasn't reading his signs correctly...either by the dog offering surrender, or running away...it isn't really appropriate for the attacking dog to continue attacking... This is probably what may have happened. I don't think anyone actually saw the fight… So it's hard to tell, but my friend now thinks it is a part of male dominance fighting! I told them I would ask on here and see if it is common or not...
  • K

    Dog to dog greeting aggression question

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    S
    I will take a bit of time, but it does work. Please let us know how it goes.