gooster Posted January 6, 2007 Report Share Posted January 6, 2007 Help! Ed has always been a bit of a scavenger, this morning he ate one, possibly two, food items that had been left on the field where I walk him. Some mornings he will be really good, come back whenever he is asked, and I can generally stop him from eating whatever he has found. However other mornings, he will be a right little pain in the butt, and not come back, and just completely ignore him. I can't find any pattern in his behaviour. Typical little dog I suppose He doesn't respond to being told off, if you tell him off, he just stands there looking really gormless, and looks at you as if to say 'you are wasting my time,can I go now?' I am thinking that I am going to have to get him a muzzle for morning walks, which I know he will hate. He hates anything being 'on him', harnesses, coats, jumpers etc. When it comes to go for a walk, he'll go and hide in his crate to avoid having anything put on him, such as a harness I just don't want the worry about what he may or may not eat every single morning I take him out, and whether I am going to have to make a mad dash to the vets to sort him out. I don't really want to restrict him to staying on the lead, as he does enjoy his morning walk (plus it makes it a damn sight quicker if I don't have to keep stopping for him to pee on everything), but really don't know what to do with him. I'm going to do some work to get his 'leave it' command better, but I'm not sure whether he'll respond if it means leaving a portion of last night's chips from the floor Another problem we are having with him is his overnight house training He is clean during the day, in his crate, but most mornings I'll come downstairs to find at least 2 poos in the dining room (thank doG for tiled floors!!). He doesn't let us know that he wants to go out, he just jumps off the sofa, poos, and then goes back to sleep again (and I know he does this, because I slept on the sofa on New Years Eve, and witnessed it for myself - I was there, and he still didn't bother to wake me). I don't really want to crate him at night, as he is crated during the day, but again have absolutely no idea how to tackle it. He is fed at about 8pm, goes out for his last wee at about 10.30/11pm, and then I am up at 6am to take him for a walk. He goes to the yard with Kath in the evening, and has about an hour and a half offlead exercise then. He is fed on Burns Fish and Rice twice a day. His breakfast from a buster cube (normally), and his tea from his bowl. Any suggestions on what I can do with him? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karen Posted January 6, 2007 Report Share Posted January 6, 2007 Rosie scavenges and if she can find nothing better she will eat poo . The trouble is it's a self-rewarding habit - even if I have a fabulous treat to reward Rosie for coming back to me, it won't be as big or as close as whatever she has found. She is a massively toy orientated dog, but also clever enough to put the toy down, eat something yucky then pick the toy back up again ready for a game. She has been seriously ill twice from scavenging and I always have the fear that she might pick up a cooked chicken bone which could do a lot of damage. So she wears a muzzle. She hated it to start with just like it sounds Ed will, but with time she's gone back to running round rather than trying to dislodge the muzzle on anyones legs! I do have big qualms about the fact that the muzzle makes her look like an aggressive dog to people who don't know her but her health has been so much better and the vets bills so much smaller! Maybe a muzzle would help short-term while you work on Ed's "leave" command? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gooster Posted January 7, 2007 Author Report Share Posted January 7, 2007 Thanks Karen - thankfully I only have to walk that route in the mornings, when I am up that early that there is noone else around - I know what you mean though about people's impression of her being an aggressive dog - that has been one of my reservations (as well as it making Ed miserable). I suppose if it means that I can walk him in the morning without being constantly concerned about what food may have been left around by people with more money than sense, then it's worth a try Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gooster Posted January 7, 2007 Author Report Share Posted January 7, 2007 Just bought his muzzle - it was horrid. Pets at home was really busy, and everyone gave us such a wide berth Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karen Posted January 7, 2007 Report Share Posted January 7, 2007 Just bought his muzzle - it was horrid. It is horrid isn't it? Hopefully with the aid of the whistle and some intensive training he won't need to wear it for long. One of our problems is food being left for the foxes by a woman with more money than sense - she apparently gets her chauffeur to stop part way along the little road that runs though the area where we walk and puts out a pile of rolls etc! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gooster Posted January 8, 2007 Author Report Share Posted January 8, 2007 It is horrid isn't it? Hopefully with the aid of the whistle and some intensive training he won't need to wear it for long. One of our problems is food being left for the foxes by a woman with more money than sense - she apparently gets her chauffeur to stop part way along the little road that runs though the area where we walk and puts out a pile of rolls etc! Where we used to live there was a lady who used to buy bread and scatter it for the birds. It was a nightmare if we ended up following her, as as soon as she was dropping the bread, the dogs were eating it - she used to give us a real telling off Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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