Change of tune!

My 30-month-old male dog started lunging and barking at some other dogs about six months ago. It is quite random so I never know when he is going to do it and it is hard to hold even in a front clip harness or head collar. The only thing I can think may have caused this was at about 18 months old he was chased, bowled over and bitten.

Before that he loved everyone - dogs and people! Having said that, he was always very respectful when approaching another dog even as a puppy. He was well socialized from a puppy and has never been frightened of vacuums, fireworks etc. But he now twitches when he is touched and I can no longer clip his nails, although he loves being groomed and stroked, when he realizes I am not going to do anything to him. He was also neutered at 10 months.

I take him to dog classes to rebuild his confidence with some lovely dogs and a good trainer, he does very well in class but if I try the advice outside in the real world it doesn’t work! He must give off a nervous vibe as, again quite randomly, some dogs will ignore my friends dogs and chase or snap at him, again I don’t know when this is going to happen, but if I see someone put their dog on a lead I take him out of harms way, but not everyone does.

Some advice I have been given is to get people to walk past at a distance, but he is fine with most dogs especially with my friends' dogs! I can’t go up to strangers and say, excuse me, can you walk your dog in front of my dog to see if he is scary! I take him to local fun dog shows and he is fine, happy to meet all the dogs and shows no sign of a problem, everyone there thinks he is lovely and he always wins rosettes.

If I see another dog on a walk and get him to sit and start feeding him treats, he gets agitated and starts looking around as if the treats are the trigger! I have started clicker training with him, he has taken to this well but this also doesn’t work in situ.

He is a very loving dog, amazing with children, obedient in the house, crate trained, clever, but, I am getting worn out and am constantly embarrassed and disheartened on walks. I try very hard not to tense up as I know I contribute to the tension!

Thanks    
Sandy, via email 

Trick or treat?

Do you know of any hypoallergenic treats I can give my girl?

Sasha, my Cocker Spaniel, cannot eat beef, veal, turkey, fish or diary.

She is fed on Burns kibble with fresh chicken, which suits her very well, but I am struggling to find any treats that don't upset her. I feel awful for her on walks when kind dog walkers offer her treats and I have to say 'sorry Sasha but you can't have one'.

Any ideas would be welcomed.

Mrs Knox, Aberdeen

Going down a treat

Hello,

I’m hoping you or your readers can advise. I am switching my dog to a BARF diet but am wondering what to feed her for treats? She is so food-orientated (which made her quite a dream to train!) and I like to carry something smelly on walks in case I ever need to tempt her away from a discarded mouldy sandwich or similar.

Can you recommend something free from nasty additives?

Thank you.

Mrs Reid, by email

Stuck on glue

I love to give our dogs, Megan (13) and Alex (10), empty toilet paper tubes and empty paper towel tubes. They love to shred them and also like to lick the treats inside. I have been told that the tubes are not good for them due to the glue that is used to keep the paper on the tubes. Please let me know if it is all right to give the tubes to our dogs.

Stina Foxford, by email

Alex Campbell of the Veterinary Poisons Information Service said:

I presume the dogs do not eat much of the shredded card and they are not getting these packages several times a day? If that is the case, I think the amount they might manage to ingest of a glue used as a paper/card adhesive from shredding the occasional paper tube is not likely to cause severe toxicity.

I'd be more worried about some of the treats. A recent report by the PDSA found that many dog owners still give their dogs food treats like chocolates, grapes, nuts, cheese and onions that could potentially have rather more harmful effects.

This is from the PDSA PASW Report in 2011 – available from their website: “Seven per cent of owners give their dogs human chocolate as a treat. This is extremely concerning as human chocolate contains theobromine which can cause severe illness or even death in dogs. Other human foods that can be poisonous to dogs include grapes, raisins, sultanas and onions.”

(Please note, the Veterinary Poisons Information Service is not a public access service.)