poochmad

Another good trick I learnt on here is to heat the kibble up as it makes it more inviting. Our pup gets mostly kibble (but three types mixed in, that he is used to and likes), mixed with Omega oil (for his coat), or sardines, bit of egg yolk, a bit of cheese, beef stock (little bit for taste), cooked meat (whatever we've had, sausages, lamb, steak, etc), vegetables - he loves raw carrot or mixed frozen vegies. All of the above is randomly selected so each meal is 'new'. He loves it and his coat and body mass is looking fantastic. He also gets chicken wings, liver and beefhides for treats. ETA: Henschke eats less in the morning than he does at night.

Ah, yes, thanks for that Poodlefan...I remember that thread...it's a good one.

Thanks Persephone, you just brought a tear to my eye. I do love our boy...never fear, we would not let it escalate to that point. At the moment, I don't believe I need to get a trainer in as he is just trying it on... I had a stop and re-think yesterday about all the things I've been doing and all the things I haven't been doing. One of these is not making Henschke move when I walk past (I was stepping over him) and giving him tidbits while eating dinner or breakfast. These have been stopped immediately and I know it sounds weird, but this morning he gave a half hearted attempt to jump and like Erny said, I corrected him sharply before he acted and he immediately stopped...and hark! he didn't come near me again... I'm not getting too excited at this stage as this is only the first time, but he's a smart dog and I'm determined to get him back on track so I'm sure all will be well soon. For example this morning I acted on what everyone has advised: He's got a habit of grabbing the cushions off the couch as soon as backs are turned and I realised that he was doing this as an attention thing (everyone would chase him and of course it turned into a game), so this time when he did it, I ignored him. He shook the cushion, he pranced around and he would come near me with the cushion in his mouth looking pleased as punch. Each time I completely ignored him. After a little while, he dropped the cushion (and I had a treat) and he came over, sat before me and looked expectantly. I made him drop and sit twice (continuously) before he got the treat. I now realise that my slackness has created disharmony with Henschke and to have a well mannered and happy dog, I need to continue training him, make sure he knows his position in the family (the lowest) and keep him there.

From anything I have said, Poochmad, it wasn't "criticism". More a 'I implore you to get on top of this now' ..... probably because of my work I see how so much of this behaviour escalates to other things. So please don't be shame-faced about it. You enquired here. You know it is a problem. You want to do something about it. That's a great start. Ya just need to get on to it lickity split . My response just lumped all comments together. (It's always hard to hear negative things about what you've done or haven't done. I was just agreeing.) I acknowledge your experience and will definitely go home tonight and start immediately.

As hard as it is to hear criticism, I will accept it. I agree, I have been slack and I have obviously let him down by this. Starting from today, I will up the training. You are 100% correct (even if my face is burning). I don't believe that he doesn't respect humans, his behaviour of biting happens infrequently. If it was happening all the time I would be more concerned. It happens on a rare basis - in the morning and for about 2 mins. (He quickly loses interest when I ignore him or he just stops.) With regards to getting another Field, that is not happening for a while yet, if at all. (At the moment, I am not 100% sure that I can protect the pup from Henschke - with regards to over exercise and play and I will not put a pup in that situation, if any chance to damage his hips or other bones.) Also, if I had a dog that was 'out of control', I would definitely not be getting another dog until all problems were sorted and the current dog was 100% perfect... He's no longer confined inside - he's been accessing in/out doors for a month now and all is going well. (He has access through a doggy door.) I've probably made him sound worse than he actually is! For a 7 month old, he's actually very good. Thanks for all of your replies, I appreciate it, will take it on board and will change my interaction with him.

OK. Will give it a go - the full on NO (and mean it) before he acts...as he's pretty predictable... *Right, tough love, here we come!* (Repeating to self.)

Hmm. Perhaps the cause could be that I've stopped training him? (I've been a bit slack lately.) And he's pushing the boundary this way? Everything else he does that is naughty (like going for the toilet paper), I can say no in a growly voice (and very firm) and he immediately stops. It's like he is so hyped up that he just HAS to bite and the more I tell him off, the more excited he gets. (I guess it's like a naughty toddler, they push and push you...). Instead of telling him off (as it doesn't seem to be working), is it a better idea to give him a command like sit or drop which he then gets praise for and also distracts him from what he's doing? My thoughts are that, this biting behaviour is now a game in his eyes and when I yell at him or react then that is what he's after...however, if I calmly instruct him to drop, then he has to change tact and respond automatically (he's 110% at responding), as that is what he does and instead of getting a negative response, he gets a positive response. Nekhbet, Cosmlo and Erny, what are your thoughts on the above?

Gee, no great surprise .. he's a gundog after all! Next time he does it.. yell "get OFF" in the loudest decibel growly voice you can muster and kick your heel up behind you. Really tell him. He should be shocked and stop. Continue on as if nothing had happened. If that doesn't work. I'd be taking him by the collar.. and tellng him GET OFF and pulling him off. Your dealing with the canine equivalent of a 16 year old boy here Pooch. He's full of testosterone, thinks he's bullet proof and you're not to be taken seriously. You've tried being nice, now its 'consequences' time. He finds this behaviour rewarding. Unless you make it unrewarding, he has no motivation to stop it. Distraction or transferring the behaviour into a more positive one isn't working. Time for a suitable aversive. This is hardly 'positive' training.. but you want to nip this in the bud NOW. How much exercise is he getting now? As soon as I bend down to grab him he runs away and then charges up and down the hallway (leaping off the bottom 3 stairs onto the wooden floors and skidding which is a huge no-no as I'm concerned about his hips) so whatever I seem to do is a game. Funny you should mention kicking up the heel, as I've also done that! Anything I seem to do he takes as a game. Even if I apply pressure. It's really annoying. He gets walked every night for 35 mins, this is a pretty fast walk and he comes home pooped. He tends to do it mostly in the morning - not very often (i.e. not all morning), but at some time in the morning he will do it. I understand he's doing it then as he's refreshed and excited. I'll try your way tomorrow and report back.

Help! It's not working. Last night he started doing the biting of the leg thing and so I grabbed the water bottle, squirted it at him and said NO! and he thought that was a game and started lunging for the bottle! Any other ideas I can try?

How nice it is to hear from a professional trainer that you have the same problems as 'us wee' people! Thanks for sharing Erny, you've made me feel a whole lot better.

Regarding the visitors, we used to put him on the lead to greet people when they come in the door, but he's a shy dog and having him on the lead made it worse. So when people come in, they say hello (and he says hello tentatively) and then they ignore him until seated and allow him to approach them. This seems to be working. When he's comfortable with people (like my family) he will try the biting thing - that is when I'll have the water bottle handy. He doesn't do it if he doesn't know the person. Will relay what you said regarding more periods coming up. Can't wait until he's mature. ;)

Hi Nekhbet. Just wanted to say thank you for your water spray suggestion. It worked perfectly. I told hubby what you said about him coming into that age, trying it on us again and us needing to be consistent (and no toys to be given when he bites). This morning he was at it again, I gave him two squirts as I was walking (saying a growly NO! at the same time) and he stopped! He looked a bit stunned actually and stopped biting me. Yay! Success! Now I will have the water bottle near me or in the evening or when people come to visit to stop him doing it. Thanks again!

True good point (regarding the toy). When Henschke's not acting crazy and he mouths us he listens to the loud UH UH! and stops immediately. Sometimes, like when he's being a bugger I need to up the anty and will try the spray bottle that Nekhbet suggested. Is Ben desexed? Henschke isn't as he's a show dog and I guess this is why we're running into problems as previously all our dogs have been desexed and we haven't had these issues post puppyhood.

Thanks Nekhbet. Zoomies aren't allowed in the house either - when he does this he's put outside straight away as I want him to be calm inside and play outside. Will try the spray bottle and the vinegar mix.

Henschke is now 7.5 months old. I understand that he's going through his teenage period. He's pretty good 99.9% of the time except for when he's 'frisky'. This occurs in the evening and in the morning. He has restarted behaviour that stopped when he was a puppy, which is to bite me on the back of my legs when I'm walking. When he first started it, I would get angry and tell him NO! but that didn't work and he just thought it was a game - running away and then running back to bite me, me yelling at him and he running away - round and round we went... I next tried to tell him to drop so he goes down and then rewarding him when he's dropped. This only works some of the time as most days he has a wicked gleam in his eye and you know that as soon as you move he will be at it again (the biting and running away). I have also tried to stop moving, but obviously this doesn't work if I'm on the way out or on the way to do something. Another tactic is to focus his attention to a toy, but obviously this only works once I get to the toy and in the meantime he's biting me at the back of the legs. He has also started doing it to hubby and people walking into the house. Our thoughts on this are that he's coping with an increase of hormones and gets so muddled he 'just has to bite' even though he gets a negative response. Our other analysis of it is it occurs when there are lots of stimulus happening for him - we're getting ready for work (moving around the house) or we're getting ready to go out, as when there is not much happening he's really good and just lies in his bed. Obviously this is something we don't want him to continue, especially as he's now directing his attention to guests and to be frank - I'm sick of him putting holes in clothes. I thought this biting behaviour would have stopped by now. Does anyone have any suggestions on how we can get him to stop or what we should be doing to decrease this behaviour? Is there something we're doing wrong? Or is this something they just go through and as long as we're consistent in our approach it will pass? Suggestions/advice most welcome.

She's gorgeous! What mix is she?

The council advised that the owner has admitted that the dog bails people up, has bitten and is roaming free. (!) (The council advised they've had several complaints about the dog, not just mine regarding it roaming free.) The good news is that it's going to be restrained while they fix the fencing issue and are aware that the issue will escalate if it escapes its yard. Phew! My pup's nose is safe.

Thanks all. I have contacted the council and submitted a formal complaint. Thanks Nekhbet, I will get some 'gap filler'.

Our neighbour is irresponsible and allows their aggressive blue heeler bitch to roam freely. The problem is the dog is unsocialised and dog aggressive; she regards the back alley (where our house backs onto) as her patch and will frequently go down the lane and bite at dogs behind their fences. (The neighbour across the lane has two chi's and she bites the fence trying to get at them, so much there are bite marks on the palings.) We have a 7 month old pup who is very inquisitive and friendly. Whenever she is in the laneway, he sticks his nose under the gate and she then rushes at him biting and growling...he then pulls back sharply (so I know she's there) and she then puts her mouth under the gate snapping and growling. This has been going on for a while now. Am I right to be worried that one day my pup won't be fast enough to remove his head and will get his nose bitten? Or is the blue heeler playing a game and if wanted to, could have bitten him already? I have tried spraying the area with the 'leave it' spray, but it doesn't seem to work. Both dogs ignored the spray. Should I condition the dog to staying away from the fence by spraying it with water everytime it sticks its head under the fence or should I just leave it and if she wanted to bite him, she would have by now? All advice/suggestions welcome.

Where are you located? I have a couple of kilos of Orijen that I no longer want as it just goes straight through our pup. I should mention it's the puppy formula. We are located in Goulburn, but anyone in Canberra is welcome to it too if you pick it up...or we can post it to you (at receivers cost).

*Ahem.* It's not just a little peeky boo - it's 'hard' and 'swollen'. I was quite prepared to see the relaxed look, but not this 'engorged' one... Sorry, there's just no other way to explain it...

I wasn't sure where to post this... We have a 7 month old undesexed male dog (he's a show dog) that has started having, well...engorged moments. The first time it happened, I thought we'd have to take him to the vet as I thought it was stuck...but after a little while it disappered... It's happened again and he gets this 'far away' look...and doesn't move much. Again, after a short moment (up to a minute) it was gone. I was wondering whether this is normal and if it's due to him becoming sexually mature? Is it like a young boy thing (where they can't control it) and will it stop, or is this the joy of owning a male dog?

We have a 7 month old that has recently started doing the pant biting again. It's really frustrating as he had stopped completely. The only thing we can put it down is to hormones as he is heading into 'teenage' period. Stomping or clapping hands doesn't work. It only makes him more excited. We tend to give a gluttural UH AH or a growly NO and stop moving. By continuing walking excites the pup as it is chasing a moving object. We also give him a command such as drop (lie down) and do this a couple of times until he's calm. By directing his actions towards something that he's praised for, is working a lot better than just telling him off. You could always try that and see how it works.

Funny you should mention this, as we are currently feeding him two foods - one as a way to get rid of it. I noticed that when he was eating his meal he was dropping only one of the kibble on the floor. So I removed his bowl, replaced it with only the one kibble and hey, presto! No tipping over!

Henschke does the strangest thing... We feed Henschke kibble mixed with a bit of sardines for his coat, tell him to wait before he eats (it's a long wait) and then release him. He will start eating and then the next thing he tips the food over onto the floor and then proceeds to eat it off the floor! I'd be interested to know why he does it and what we're doing wrong, or if there is anything else we can do to stop this behaviour. Thanks.