Golden Biting Tail When She Is Bored

[donandsharon]

Hi Guys yes same dog eating grass!!

We have noticed she likes to chase her tail heaps.

Is this normal and do other dogs frequent this activity?

Don

[laffi]

Hi Guys yes same dog eating grass!!

We have noticed she likes to chase her tail heaps.

Is this normal and do other dogs frequent this activity?

Don

As you said, she does it because she is bored. It's OK for a while but can become a compulsive behavior.

Does she have any interactive toys to play with (Kongs with food inside for example)?

[donandsharon]

She has a great range of Kongs filled with all different types of kibble, chews and treats.

She just appears to be bored and normally its before she goes to sleep.

I will keep an eye on it as we do not want any compulsive issues.

Thanks for your help,

Don

[laffi]

Does she play with her toys?

Mine take about 5min to get out kibble out of her Kong, but if I freeze it with some mince inside it can take her hours

Marrow bones are good too for chewing (not too often though because of the fat content). I give it once or twice a week.

[donandsharon]

I am going to freeze some now and see how she goes tomorrow!

Thanks

[laffi]

I would also suggest to do some training with her to stimulate her mentally.

[Erny]

And of course it goes without saying that she needs daily physical exercise too. When do you walk her; for how long and how old is she?

Edited August 10, 2007 by Erny

[First Time Puppy Owner]

Hi there - please come to the golden side Us Goldie lovers have two threads currently in Breed Sub Forum in Gneral Discussion - PLEASE ADD PICS! Cause I think everyone is over seeing my boy Plus there are much more knowledgeable people there than me :rolleyes: Is you pup lactose intolerant? I.e. given a little natural yoghurt and it comes out straight away? If not one idea lready for a frozen summer time treat for the pup!

Ok I send mine on a treasure hunt! Tiny and I mean tiny cubes of cheese thrown all over the back yard and deck so he has to use his sniffer to find them. Also chicken necks/frames are great - Frozen! Kong filled with mince frozen as Laffi said but another is getting kibble and cheese and really squishing it in there together - rather sticky and hard to get out Bones - get some brisket bones. Also do you have a clam shell with some sand in there? Great for digging and hidding treats in! A treat ball that realeases treats slowly - liver treats!

Ask you vet though re the chewing on the tail thing as it could be an allergic reation not only boredom. As well they may be able to advise something ou can put on it for the time being that tastes yucky to stop the behaviour - you know like the stop nail bitting stuff for humans!?!?!

[donandsharon]

Hi guys,

She is 8.5 weeks, so has not had her shots that allow us to go walking.

This morning we had breaky (Nutro Large Breed Puppy).

We had a 30 minute play in the yard with a Wubba Konguntil Maggie slowed down.

She had toileted both ones and twos.

She took a sleep inside whilst I had Breaky. 45 minutes.

We then went outside for another run around.

When she started to get bored with me running around, she decides that the grass and Chip Bark is more fun.

She is chewing bark every time I turn around.

I thought that the frozen kong with some chicken neck and kibble is a great distraction. Nope.

She came back inside and has been locked in her laundry area with a filled kong and water and other smaller toys.

Straight to sleep.

Now yesterday she went and had a sleep in the laundry. 1.5 hours whilst i worked. As i am returning to work on Wednesday next week I think that the more time she spends in there the better, but she wakes and pees. Which on one hand is great as that what we have shown her is a good thing, but on the other when i go to work she will wake and pee and then be in there for 4 hours before mum gets home.

Its been a tough week for us and I am into my third day at home with no leaving the block..I sympathize with the mums out there with small children.

We are looking forward to walking as that will be very interesting for the three of us.

Thanks for all the replies FTPO and ERNY and LAFFI!

Daddy Don

[Erny]

Aaaahhh .... 8.5 weeks old - a real baby!!!!

The tail chasing thing sounds like it could have been being reinforced by receiving attention (and/or the possibility of receiving attention) - evidenced by not occurring when you put her in the laundry.

Just be aware throughout for what behaviours are possibly being inadvertently reinforced. Make sure to reinforce behaviours you want (thinking ahead of times to when your pup will be an adult), not those that are not desirable or not going to be desirable when she is older.

Putting her in the laundry for sleeps here and there is good in that it is teaching her it's ok to be by herself. Of course, you want to return to her when she is quiet (see reinforcing desirable behaviour, above). Being such a baby, you don't want to leave her alone for really big lumps of time ..... gradually build up to that. Crate training is something you will probably find very convenient. That way you can keep an eye on what she is up to (eg. just waking up) and take her outside for toileting right then.

Toilet training does need some vigilance from you .... and time and dedication. Working up in incremental steps. Taking her outside frequently for this purpose (after play, after sleep, after meals and simply after a while) will help. The more often she toilets outside, the quicker the habit of doing so will develop .... of course it also means you are there to praise her once she's done this, so there is extra reinforcement for the right behaviour. Every time your pup toilets inside, she is learning to do so.

I have to nick away right now, but if you do a search in the "Training" Forum (and this Forum too, I suspect) you'll find an absolute gold mine of information and advice on toilet training, as well as be able to read on the troubles others have had.

Edited August 11, 2007 by Erny