Adolescence

[Carrie's-Mum]

Just wondering if anyone else with an "adolescent" dog is having, or has had in the past, the kinds of problems we're having with Carrie (now 16 months). She has suddenly, out of nowhere, started eating mail, grabbing anything and everything off surfaces, and generally being very hyper most or all of the time.

I THINK she's getting enough exercise (although not enough off the lead, on account of her running away tendency), and we are trying to play with her as much as possible, and she is rarely left home alone, so I'm hoping that it's just her age, and that this very energetic phase will burn itself out. She does seem to be very easily bored though, and is now on the lookout most of the time for naughty stuff to get up to.

Even when playing with us, she tends to get really over-excited, and starts mouthing, grabbing and jumping up, so more often than not, the game has to come to an end, which is really frustrating for her and for us.

Does anyone have any advice (or words of reassurance)? We expected things to get better as time went on, and as she settled in to life with us, but this latest stage is quite difficult to deal with.

I am going to try to get her a place at Doggie Daycare over in Stirling, as I think the stimulation of hanging out with other dogs will improve her quality of life. Other than that though, I'm really not sure what else to do to make her life more interesting, given that she can't be given the freedom off-lead that she clearly needs.

Thanks very much

Jane

[kendal]

what is she fed on?


what kind of play do you do with her that gets rough

is she snatching things when you are in the room or when she is on her own.

have you tried setting up situations like leaving something out you know she will want to snatch, her lead on her and correct her if she goes for it.

or one of you outside posting something through the letter box the other correcting her if she goes for it.

is she interested in a stuffed kong peanut butter, cream cheese, chicken etc sticking it in the freezer is also a good idea as when its frozen it takes them longer to get all the stuffing out.
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[Elaine3011]

Sorry your having a hard time at the moment Jane, I can relate to this as when Kadey was in season she obviously could not get of the lead. Despite long walks and playing with her in the garden it just did not burn enough energy for her, she drove me mad for about 4 weeks constantly looking for things to get up to.

All is back to normal now she has her two half hours in the park chashing a
Ball or playing with friends and her walks on lead. I really do think off lead running makes a big difference, is she interested in a ball Kadey is obsessed with them so as long as I have a ball she won't go anywhere.

Good luck
Elaine

[John Thomson]

What kind of play?........when you play you still need to be in charge....not an equal.

John
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John Thomson
www.cumbernaulddogtraining.co.uk

[Sharon Falconer]

Hi Jane
Cleo is about the same age as Carrie and still doesn't get off lead. She is on her own for a while most weekdays but was always in her crate when alone. We have a wee stray kitten staying with us now who Cleo seems to have adopted, even letting her sleep in Cleo's crate which is good cos my other 3 cats are a bit miffed by her arrival, so when school holidays are over and I'm out, the kitten will be crated. There is enough room for her food bowls, a blanket, a cat carrier for her to sleep in and a litter tray behind that so Cleo will have the run of downstairs. I don't think she will be too bad, but if she's bored, who knows. I try to walk her a mile in the morning, half a mile at lunchtime, a mile at teatime, half a mile about 9ish, and just round the block about midnight. I try to stick to this as a minimum + some playtime in the garden with a ball which she much prefers to her walks. She gets loads of cuddle time indoors and plays really well with her toys too so I don't think she gets bored. I used to have a spaniel who chewed our fitted carpet away from the wall if left alone at all to the point it looked like a rug. My vet suggested to wear a couple of old sweatshirt for a day each and not wash them, then to tie them in knots and leave them lying about when we went out but not to give them to the dog as such and hopefully, the dog would occupy it's mind with them. I was lucky; it worked and he stopped being bored. I don't know if it will help but it might be worth a try. The knots need to be really tight though.
Sharon
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What youneed for the ultimate stressbuster---
1 burst football (can be replaced by 1 burst rugby ball) +
1 German Shepherd

[Carrie's-Mum]

Thanks everyone for replies.

Carrie is fed on Burns alert.

We play tuggy and fetch, neither very successfully. For me, tuggy is now a no-no, as she gets too excited, and always tries to grab the end that I'm holding.

Some improvement in the eating of non-food items though since I posted. After she ate an entire ball overnight (no ill effects, thankfully) we wondered if she might be hungry, as it was so out of character. The vet had recommended cutting down on her food after she was spayed a couple of weeks ago, which we did, but it clearly wasn't enough for her, so she is back up to full rations. If she gains weight, we will think again, but she is already quite thin, and burns quite a bit of energy getting up to no good etc...!

Looking forward to getting back to class tomorrow.

Jane

[Jim & Geraldine]

Max eats everything and after he had eaten all the corners off the furniture we got him a muzzle, he could still eat, drink and play but he couldn't get a right good bite at anything after a while we thought he was over that stage and left him without the muzzle. I went out for half an hour (left out two kongs stuffed with liver cake and peanut butter) and returned to find a multi-way plug pulled out of the wall and chewed into pieces, along with two plugs eaten off lamps and the wi-fi plug for the computer eaten. Oh well it's a good job we love dogs.

[Carrie's-Mum]