Advice Please - Page 1

My 8 month old male is chasing his tail round & round, he has done this since he was a pup but I thought he would grow out of it. If anything he is doing it more and more the older he gets. Is this down to boredom or can it be a symptom of anything ?. He is left by himself during the day, apart from a short walk around lunch time and is then taken for another on-lead walk around 6pm. I cannot excercise him too much at the moment as he has suspected pano. Once the problem with his leg is sorted, how much exercise should I give him without it effecting his joints ?.

Also, he has starting barking and freakin out at passers by in the street as we are out walking and chasing after cycles and joggers if off lead. He was well socialised as a pup but we live in a small village and therefore he does not come across too many situautions very often. Does he just need another dose of intensive socialising ??.

The last thing is that he has started to become very jealous just recently. My friends dog come to our house last week and my boy would not let him anywhere near me or the family. If any of us stroked the other dog he would rush inbetween us and start crying and acting all stressed.

My wife is starting to get a bit peeved with the whole situation and is worried that the dog is 'out of control' (over reacting), although it is a worry.

All help is greatly appreciated as I do not want to part with the dog.

my 5 month pup had the same issue I socialized him the best I could but still chased the cycles and scooters and cars. Growls and barks at them. The answer I found and people may differ in opinion is that you have to correct the dog. Use a kind collar if not choke or prong and give him correction. Thats what I did and the problem is solved now. He walks straight and diligently.

Also you need to exercise your dog once he gets out of Pano. Energy needs to be burnt simple. A tired dog is a Happy dog.

cheers

Yes Marley...I think Vikram is absolutely correct....#1...you need to continue to socialize your dog...the more you put on that empty tape the better...the more experiences he has and has to fall back on....the BETTER...#2...You must exercise your dog...these are working dogs that need an ample amount of exercise every day....#3...These are WORKING DOGS and must have a job to do and a leader to follow and if they don't have these things they will find things to do and will become their own leader...and neither of these things is a good thing...

I hope this helps somewhat...If I can help more...please feel free to contact me...

~Bob~

Hi Marley,

My thought is since your limited on what you can do physically due to the pano, work extra hard at making him use his brain.  I think you should be able to perfect his obedience with treats for instance...I have observed with my dogs that making them use their brain makes them tired too :)   I am thinking this will also redirect his energy to you so you have better control of him and?  It will significantly raise his confidence when he knows he can please you.

Just some ideas for you...good luck :)

Thanks for the advice. I am aware that these dogs need to be kept active but just find it difficult with his lameness at the moment. When you talk about correcting him, how exactly do you mean ?.

Any thoughts about his jealousy ?

NEVER NEVER NEVER allow your dog off lead to chase joggers and cyclists.  You are asking for a serious injury. loss of your dog  and lawsuit. 

I do not allow him off lead in public place now that he is showing this behaviour. I would have to be rather silly and irresponsible to allow him to chase after members of public !!!!. I am just looking for advice to elimante this problem in future so as I can trust him in certain situations.

Hello,

if you search the message board under the topic "tail chaser" you will find discussions that have taken place on this subject.

Julie

Thanks Echo, very helpful although quite worrying.

my 5 month pup had the same issue I socialized him the best I could but still chased the cycles and scooters and cars. Growls and barks at them. The answer I found and people may differ in opinion is that you have to correct the dog. Use a kind collar if not choke or prong and give him correction. Thats what I did and the problem is solved now. He walks straight and diligently.

Also you need to exercise your dog once he gets out of Pano. Energy needs to be burnt simple. A tired dog is a Happy dog.

cheers