Comet

The whole thing is awful. For the child, parents and owner of the dog alike. I have no opinion as my experience with children is somewhat equivalent to my experience with dogs.... Up until now, I've only ever had anything to do with easy going ones ;) Maddy, I was with prepared to go on the ride with you until this. Wow!

What a fun topic This is Comet's fav... A little lion with long, dangling legs that make him a great tug toy. His middle squeaks as well. He absolutely stinks but I think he might fall apart if I washed him

Thanks animallover I really just want him to be comfortable in his own skin. My normal vet had said they would prescribe whatever drugs I wanted but after reading everyone's comments, I'm feeling a lot more comfortable now that working with a VB will be much more useful so I'm far less tentative to give it a try. This is a great idea! He loves pulling things apart -- toilet rolls, cardboard boxes etc but I hadn't thought of stuffing them full of toys. Hours of fun!! He had a great time pushing ice cubes around the floor in the summer so you're right about not costing a lot -- Just have to think ;) I hadn't thought of a snuffle mat either. He really likes liver treats so I could smash those up and use for that and the sprinkle exercise that PK linked. Thanks for all the ideas everyone! It's awesome!

Thanks RuralPug. That's very helpful The run is 7m x 3m (with the door on the short end). It's got a 3/4 roof and I have laid artificial turf over the rubber. I've put shade cloth along one short end and 1/2 way along one of the long sides (he can see though this). He's got his kennel and two clam shells - one full of water and the other full of sand. I also leave him with a pigs ear, a kong full of peanut butter, a 'giggle ball' full of treats and his favorite teddy. I'm also investigating the food puzzles but he's funny and doesn't really eat unless I'm there/feeding from my hand. He loves playing with toys though so I'll add more of those too. I've been walking him of an evening but I might do a morning one as well so maybe he's more inclined to rest a little during the day.

Thank you everyone! I've established email communication with one of the VBs above and have the support of my trainer on whatever path I decide to take from here. I'll let you know how we get on. I'm ok with medication if he needs it and it will help him. I've also emailed a local noseworks trainer (my trainer takes her dogs to this lady as well) so hopefully he can start diverting some of his energy into this soon as well. I've started some targeting with him this week too and he's really getting into that! PK, thanks for all of that information -- Much to read and digest So, in addition to the other animals that he can see from the run, I discovered last night that he has been being visited during the day by my landlady and her dogs in an effort to "make friends" through the mesh I had to stop myself using some very bad language but I'm so disappointed and now a bit stuck with what to do with him during the day He's happy inside, in his crate while I go out for short periods (I have left him for up to 3-4 hours previously) but I can't leave him like that all day.... even if I installed a dog door, he would dig out under the garden fence and be gone within minutes of my leaving. The dog run is outside of my small garden area, alongside one of the horse paddocks so he's effectively out in the open - This was the only area I was allowed to lay rubber matting down as a non dig-through surface to place the run on. I don't have the money to secure the house garden well enough. A house move is in my plan but probably not for another 12 months. I've asked her to stop visiting but she still needs to move around the farm and refuses to leave her dogs at her house. I wonder if an additional screen set up might also help to block his vision of what's happening outside. Any thoughts??

Thanks everyone. Much appreciated. I have some homework to do today Bushriver, I hadn't considered that I might be doing that but you're very right. I used to say to students when I was coaching horse-riding 'train what they give on the day'. I'll keep that in check with Comet too. Cheers!

Good idea! I'm not opposed to driving up the highway at all if he needs that (as long as I don't find any more strays along the way :p)

Thanks for the replies. He's such a beautiful little dog and quite a happy little thing when he's comfortable. If I were the only thing in his world and we never left the house, that would be his bliss. He desperately wants to do the right thing - He's just not sure what that is and my level of knowledge is not enough and I'm missing things, I know that. Apologies if I don't address all of your comments, I have read them and appreciate you taking the time to respond. I've looked at the relaxation protocol but he can't manage it. An observation made the other day is totally true of this dog 'you can see the lightning bolts coming out of the bottom of his feet'.. I'll keep going though Games and noseworks sound just like his thing so I will investigate those further. I totally understand what you mean about giving him a job to do and a good routine. He's certainly better when the rules are strictly enforced, even if I feel horrible. He really enjoys going out and absolutely loves walking and exploring new places. I think some of the issues we have with this stuff are a result of me. I find walking him extremely stressful as I've found people don't give us any space and I often have to yell at owners of other, off lead dogs. Usually I can catch it and walk in the opposite direction but sometimes I just can't. In these cases I've found picking him up the best thing for avoiding a confrontation but I worry that just reinforces his aggression. Honestly, walking him frightens me. A lot. I also tried the yellow coat/lead/harness but no one knew what it meant.... Thank you PK. The trainer mentioned the possibility of a VB visit during her last session so I will follow that up as well. It must be horrible for him to be experiencing that level of stress all the time. Your post prompted a thought for me as well -- I live rurally and while he is in a secure run, he can see everything that is going on around him, all of the time. I'm sure that he spends some of his day barking at the horses and various other creatures that would be likely to be out and about (he HATES kangaroos!). I wonder if I would be better leaving him inside during the day? Do people do this and how do you go with toileting? Apologies for all the questions.

Hi everyone Long time reader, first time poster. I’ll do my very best to spare you war and peace but I apologise in advance if this gets long. I have a lovely little 2yr old mini foxie, Comet, that I picked up early October of last year, running on the highway. Long story short – Broken leg/found owner who didn’t want him back/evidence that he may have been mistreated/ was also used for breeding. He came home with me and spent 11 weeks crated, with his leg in a cast before being given the all clear. He coped so well in the crate and endured splint changes and vet visits every three days without complaint. He was given the ok at 11 weeks and I had him de-sexed a couple of days before Christmas. I knew I was dealing with a few issues from the get go as he would flatten to the ground and wet himself when he was touched, he hoards food and toys, is very clingy to me and he showed some dog aggression during a few of our vet visits. I started NILIF straight away and got on to a wonderful dog trainer as soon as he was ready to start with some broader training. She has been wonderful throughout the whole process so far and I’m very grateful for her guidance. As we’ve gone on, he’s started to show a few more of his little (well big) quirks. I was totally expecting his true personality to really come through as he relaxed but I’m quite surprised by what I got. I’m no stranger to dogs and have had kelpies, border collies and a JRT in the past. All were puppies when I got them though and relatively easy to train because they were clean little slates. I also have a background in horses but this little guy is challenging everything I thought I knew about animal behaviour. It’s all gone out the window!! He’s VERY reactive to and dog aggressive out and about and at home. He can NOT cope with seeing another dog from the window of the house – We are working on this with distraction techniques at home. Out and about, he can now go to dog school with the same trainer, however, we work on the very outer edges of the class and his critical distance is still quite long. He’s started spending time with my partner’s dog on lead and we can walk together without problems. They have played briefly and quite well but the little guy’s impulse control is zero and as soon as the energy level gets a bit high, he loses it. We are sticking to just walking for now as I don’t want him to practice any of this stuff. He would patrol the house and garden constantly if allowed to. Back and forth, hoarding toys and food and other objects. I’ve started allowing him toys now only when we are playing and stopped allowing him to bury things in the garden. He’s also learning to park on a mat and I will give him time out in the crate if he works up too much. He’s friendly towards people out and about and we do quite a bit of public place training but I’m still at the stage of paying him constantly. This is fine and I expect to for a while longer. He’s improving as long as the situation stays low energy. I’ve not tested (nor do I want to) how he might react if he felt cornered or intimidated by a stranger out and about. He’s human aggressive at home. He’s bitten my partner a number of times (they are ok now as he views him as one of his people - so far they only include me, my partner, the trainer and my mum). More worrying was he bit (and seriously) my landlady recently when she came through the back gate, unannounced. The gates are now padlocked when we are at home so no one can get in without my knowing first and he is in a secure, locked run during the day when I am at work. He is also in his crate when people he doesn’t know are in the house now. I understand that it is my responsibility to manage this and make sure he’s not put in a position to bite again. I’ve started him on a herbal supplement (CTFD) in an effort to take the edge off. So far, I’m not seeing a huge difference. He’s walked daily and I’m trying to give him as much mental stimulation as possible as well. I’ve also just got a treadmill to try and give him some faster exercise as I can’t let him off the lead anywhere. He’s desperate to run, and fast!! I’m trying really hard for this little guy but my heart breaks for him at times. There is no off switch on this poor little dog. I swear he sleeps with one eye open, waiting for the next thing to spring into action over. I would also love to include him in my life more. I run and bushwalk a lot but taking him anywhere is so complicated and stressful. I feel like I’m killing the enjoyment for this little dude because everything is so tightly structured. I’ve tried relaxing the boundaries slightly but given an inch, he takes a mile, so I wind it back in again. I feel awful but he’s wearing me out and I’m starting to feel resentful. I’m hoping that some of you might have some tips or strategies for us? I’m not precious so if I need to drink a cup of concrete, I’m ok with hearing that Happy to answer any questions that might help you know a bit more about us too. Thanks in advance. PS – I couldn’t post without including a picture of the mini monster