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 

Leaving his mark

Hello Think Tank,

I have a rescued an eight-year-old male Bichon Frise and I have had him for three years. When I first got him he was unneutered so I had him neutered fairly quickly.  He is very loving and a very good boy at home because he is very cuddly and doesn't wet in the house.

For three years he has been looked after at a dog sitters house where there are up to four other small dogs. He loves it there and is content.

But recently he has been lifting his leg and 'marker' weeing in certain places. Also he has been pestering a male dog for a lot of time during the day! He has never been bothered or interested in other dogs - until now!

I have tried using 'scullcap and valerian' tablets but they do not seem to work.

Can anyone help me to find a solution to this new behaviour please?

Thank you. 

Regards,

Terri Sherlock

Nips and Nibbles

I have a German Shepherd bitch (Hope) who is about two years old, and recently bought two little pups (both girls, Nalah and Kitana) who are now nine weeks.

Hope is very maternal with the pups, and often keeps food aside for them and cuddles them to sleep.

Recently I've noticed Hope is nibbling Kitana all over her body, what does this mean? It's only ever Kitana, as she's the more playful one with Hope. Should we be worried about it? She's never hurt the pup, and the pup always goes back for more.

Thanks
Beth, via email 

New season trends?

How do the seasons affect dogs?
Does their behaviour change depending on the season? Humans can get SAD (Seasonal affective disorder) where we feel more depressed when the days are longer, but can dogs suffer from a similar thing? And does day length affect them?

Anon, via email.

At a loss

Since losing my 13-year-old Italian Spinone before Christmas, my 7-year-old Airedale has become manic (well, more than usual!). Having always had a senior companion, the rise to becoming top dog in the house has gone to his head. He barks at everything, especially in the car. He seems to think he has to protect me and vehicle from everything he sees!

We live in a rural area but I take him into town where he meets other dogs and our friends visit with their dogs. The problem is that he loves them to death.  He won't leave their side, and is always licking and pushing them to make them play or respond.  

He is still reasonably obedient, except when these situations arise. I keep reminding him of his basic training commands but these go out the window when he's with his friends.

Could I neuter him at this late stage and would it make a difference? Or would a new companion help his behaviour? We had hoped to be a one dog household, but I am willing to try anything to change his behaviour!

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Jenny

Catch off guard

Hello,

I would really appreciate any advice you could give on my Patterdale Terrier.

His name is Gizmo, he's four years old. We got him as a rescue dog and we are his fourth owners. Before we got him we have heard he was owned by drug/alcohol addicts and has been beaten. Gizmo is scared of everything from wheels, walking sticks, people, noises etc.

He has always guarded his possessions but lately this seems to have increased, he guards anything he likes the look of; is there a way I can stop him from doing this? The other and worst thing he does, is biting people, mainly my mum who he has bitten around 5 times, however this is usually when my mum has been drinking alcohol, I was wondering if it stems from his old owners getting drunk and beating him? Gizmo was 10 months old when we got him and at first he seemed to improve but now seems to be getting naughty again, he only really listens to me and that's only 90% of the time.

I've tried writing a list of 'Gizmo' rules for my mum to follow to help Gizmo understand that she is also a pack leader along with me, ie. not to feed him off her plate or not to let Gizmo on her bed.

The reason I am so desperate for advice is because my mum says she has had enough and that she is going to take Gizmo to be put to sleep this week, I really can't bear this happening as I love him so much and I think he's a good dog he just needs the right guidance.
I know I could get a dog behaviourist but they are so expensive and I'm on minimum wage, plus as Gizmo doesn't do the bad behaviours constantly it would be hard to show the trainer the behaviours.

Please help, any advice greatly appreciated.

Many thanks,

Hayley, by email

Of dogs and men

Hey Dogs Today magazine, 

I was wondering if you could do a article on dogs who are nervous of men? My two-year-old Labrador Jayde is nervous of strangers but its mainly men. From about eight months old, for some reason our happy and sociable little puppy was gone  and was terrified of men. We think that maybe someone came to our house, be it the postman or delivery man while we were working, and it scared her a lot.

We've worked with her a lot over two years by taking her to work with me and dog shows, trying to build her confidence, and she's slowly starting to get better. She still has her bad days where she will run, hide, cower and growl to get away from men and unfortunately because she is a Labrador, people don't see this breed as having any problems and they will often just stroke her without asking which sets her back. However, when she first had this problem their wasn't a lot of information out there about how to deal with it and I was scared that she might have had to be put down in the future for gowling and scaring someone.

Thank you.

Laura Bicknell, by email