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Q: I have a Lab. Shepherd mix who has a couple of bad habits that I'd like to try and fix. Wondering if maybe you had a few tricks? She's going to be 2 years old and she likes to chew her nails. I think this may be more that she's bored but it's starting to ruin them. On a side note about the nails, would it be easier for me to get something to trim her nails, or go out and have someone else do it?
She also like to go out and eat her own poop. It's not as bad as when she was a puppy where as soon as she went she would turn around and eat it My uncle who is up for the holidays said he had a dog that did it and that it was just a phase. Is that true? And is there anything I could do to stop it besides sitting outside with her and watching?
And the last are some behavior problems. She barks at anything that goes bump. Part of that is my grandfather who has to knock on something and get her going, then turns around and yells at her when she doesn't stop. And she loves to lick and exposed skin. I'm all for a kiss from her but she will sit and just lick and lick. I've noticed that this bugs visitors more than her being hyper when they come over. Thanks for any help. We've been thinking about getting a training collar for some of it but I'd rather not if some simple things can be done.
A: Without being able to see the dog's temperament makes it difficult to give you an answer that will work for your dog. But we can give you general information as to what is happening. How to fix it however, would require an evaluation and training . When a dog chews on their nails this is a good indication that their nails amy be to long, causing discomfort when they walk. If you are able to trim her nails without having her pull her feet back, then do so with a trimmer / guard combination.
Never forcefully hold her paws to stay in place. This will only stress her out causing you to cut the quick. If you are unable to do so or are nervous about it, take her to a professional groomer. Again, ask the groomers techniques and make sure that your dog is very well socialized or this will be the worst experience of the dogs life. If your dog is sensitive about having her paws touched, you are going to want to work slowly with her introducing her to the feel of "pressure" and desensitizing her to this feeling.
As far as eating her own poop, dogs do this for a few reasons, some say nutrients, some say it smells goods to them. No one has the real answer why to this. However the best prevention is to pick it up immediately she goes.
As far as the behavior problems, it appears as if the dog needs to be desensitized to certain sounds and may have weak nerves ( not confident). Again, without being able to see the dog and perform an evaluation, it is difficult to give you a solid answer on this.
However, we will give you an answer based on your comments. Yelling at the dog just confuses her, she has no idea what she is doing wrong, you must show her, and teach her the difference. You want her to alert you and do her job as a dog, but then stop barking,and it's them up to you to let her know that you have things under control. For licking, you must again show her that what she is doing is wrong. Licking behavior has it's origins in neonatal behavior when a pup tries to find milk from the mother.
Suckling is then redefined and used as a pacifying gesture, an insecure or submissive dog licks its adversary. Licking is related to pacifying,greeting and maternal communication. Putting a training collar on a dog that has no idea what it is doing wrong is only going to create more confusion in the dog and more stress in your life.
Our best advices is to have the dog evaluated, test her temperament and see what is truly canine error versus human error. There is no quick fix for most of her problems as she has had time to gain learned behaviors that need time to be turned around.
This article was published on Page 4 of the Sunday Sentinel December 7, 2008
