JACKYSIAN Posted February 14, 2008 Report Share Posted February 14, 2008 (edited) I've joked abit recently about Sidneys behaviour but it's now becoming abit serious and I'm starting to realise I need to do something. He started a few weeks back by just being abit naughtier than usual, Sidney is actually a very good dog (the best I've ever had) he's great with other dogs, walks off lead nicely and has been extreamly easy to train. Anyway he started going on the kitchen counter tops and stealing the tins of cat food and what ever else was laying around. I walk them on lead in the mornings, I let Sidney walk off lead most of it but through the middle of the village he stays on lead, recently though he's started becoming abit OCD about things! He starts to really squeek and squeal when we go passed houses where he knows dogs live (and I mean he actually screams!!), that sets off Tiz and Cooper. If he sees a person he runs back to me, grabs hold of a lead and rags it. (While squeeking!!) Also he's started walking directly behind me (while off lead) and holding onto the bottom of my sleeve in his mouth. Also he has a certain place that I have to put his bowl down otherwise he won't eat..even though I know he's hungry. And he won't settle unless he can sleep in the armchair and he has to be in a certain place on my bed otherwise he'll pace the room!! I have to actually move the other dogs if they are where he wants to be otherwise he'll squeek and pace!!!! Then yesterday next door but one called round to tell me that the dogs had been barking all day! She wasn't complaining because she said the fact it was so unusual she was concerned. She said she never hears my dogs normally so she had a look out of her bedroom window into the back garden and she saw Sidney pacing along my wall!! She said he was doing it for a few hours...sort of blankly walking back and forth. Now I have a 6 foot stone wall around my garden, to the right it has a trellis on top making it at least 10 foot and to the right next door have a garage so the wall runs alongside a building, but at the very end of the garden there is a tiny gap that if he really wanted to he might be able to jump through and then he'd be in open farm land. I'm pretty sure he wouldn't do that but you never know!! I think its the feral cats in the fields that are driving him nuts and luckily last night he showed me how he was getting onto the wall (cos I couldn't figure out how he was getting on top of a 6 foot wall!!) he was getting on some bags of rubble and jumping up, so this morning I've moved the rubble and I tried to make him jump up and he couldn't. Plus I've blocked the hole so he can't get to the fields. But I'm just concerned that he did it at all...and the fact he's obviously barking as well which I cannot have! I've done clicker training classes with him, and he's an extreamly bright dog. Also I've tried agility (which he wasn't that keen on) and fly ball which made him even more manic and to be totally honest I don't have alot of time to do proper classes with him because everything is so far away here and with the other 3 dogs and the horse I barely sit down til 10 most nights anyway. He's always been a very obsessive dog, he adores his toys and doesn't enjoy a walk unless there is alot of ball throwing involved! But this behaviour is getting biazarre and it's worrying me. He's very highly strung and abit nervous at times but this is increasingly odd. Sorry for the really long post but I've tried to explain as best I can. Not sure if there is anything that can be done but I'm just, to be honest, worried that he does have OCD????? Edited February 14, 2008 by JACKYSIAN Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
safneo Posted February 14, 2008 Report Share Posted February 14, 2008 I'm no expert but he does sound like he is getting stressed over something, and sounds like he has some insecurities, ie the hiding behind you and lead ragging. He is very similar to Neo by BC in many ways. He obsesses over things though has got a lot better now. Can you walk him separately for a while and see if that changes things for him? How old is Sidney now? Just wondering if maybe there might be something that is making him feel less secure in himself, like failing eyesight, aching bones? Andrea x Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JACKYSIAN Posted February 14, 2008 Author Report Share Posted February 14, 2008 He's only 4 and doesn't seem have any physical problems ...certainly his eye sight is good enough to find a tennis ball on a huge beach in the pitch black! But then again I suppose with a good sense of smell he'd do that anyway!! Ohhhh now you've got me thinking!! He's got hair over his eyes at the moment cos I've not clipped him over winter, so I'll trim his face tonight, but I think a trip to the vets might be a good idea? I'm going to have a seach and see if Poodles are prone to eye problems, I know my vet has warned me of one specific ailment Poodles get so I'll google that and see. He is a very sensitive soul, he doesn't cope well without his 'pack' but I agree some one to one walks might help. (Oh goody getting up even earlier!! ) Thank you Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JACKYSIAN Posted February 14, 2008 Author Report Share Posted February 14, 2008 OMG!! I've just had a look and every article about Poodles says they are prone to eye problems and catatrahs!!! Thank you so much I'd never even thought of that!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billydog Posted February 15, 2008 Report Share Posted February 15, 2008 Don't panic about his eyes - there could be something wrong but he's been negociating an obstacle course of rubble bags and walls so he's obviously not too bad! Worth a vet visit as his behaviour has changed though. He does sound very much like a BC in his behaviour - maybe a chat with Sarah Wiccs might help? Do you have room to put up some agility style obstacles in your garden? If you do some agility but with the emphasis on steadyness and control? Lots of sits, downs and stays. Try to tire him out mentally? One to one walks would be good, maybe giving him jobs to do whilst out? Jumping logs, sits, stays etc, heel work. As well as free time of course!! Hope he gets settled soon and it's nothing serious Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JACKYSIAN Posted February 15, 2008 Author Report Share Posted February 15, 2008 You are right he is very BC in his character. Unfortuantely my garden is too little (and messy at the moment) for anything suitable but I've got jumps and a mini-cross country course at the farm where I keep Kane so I could utilise that. I do try and do training bits with him on walks but he's so ball obsessed he pretty much focuses on that. Oh for a rich man to allow me time to not work and focus on the important things in my life!! Thank you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JACKYSIAN Posted March 12, 2008 Author Report Share Posted March 12, 2008 The vet checked out his eyes and said they are fine...although he did say he could see very very early signs of catarrah!!! And we now have a new behaviour!!! Spooking!!! Like a horse! He's become really nervous out walking, it only seems to happen on lead (prop because off lead he has his ball to focus on and nothing else matters) but he is jumping at noisy cars, flapping things (which there is alot at the moment cos of the wind) and anything unusual!! This morning he was off lead and the recycling van came passed, because they stopped and threw some stuff into the van he went nuts!! He ran back to me and grabbed hold of Tiz's tail!!! He doesn't bite he just holds on!!! I've tried walking him alone and to be honest he's okay but he's not very confident!! I find it very odd for a dog that has lived such a outdoors active life since a very young pup to be so jumpy! The only thing that seems to make him calm is his ball!! I again had someone ask me at the weekend if he had BC in him, as he was rounding up the other 3 because there was another dog near by!!!! Where I live is extreamly quiet and beside from the one day he was barking alot (according to my neighbour) they are all quiet dogs in the house. So I can't see that anything at home is unnerving him. I would love to take him to a dog phyicatrist (sp)...he's such a confusing character!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
summersun Posted May 26, 2008 Report Share Posted May 26, 2008 (edited) hi, to be honest, there is so much to this i would really reccommend you get a behaviourist involved. it is common for people to think that "behaviourists" only get involved when your dogs are literally total monsters but i would go as far as saying any dog/handler partnership would really benefit from some 1:1 time. i would reccommend Bev at www.kizkiznobite.co.uk as she is the lady i have used with my own dogs, and foster dogs for almost 2 years now for advanced work with my own dogs, and also integration and unpacking foster dog baggage. She's in England but she does travel UK wide there is quite alot of information on her website about different areas of dog ownership and you can also e-mail her and ask her advice too. if you are interested in her coming out to you, she'll probably send you a questionnaire so she can get a full idea of Sid and what you want out of the 1:1. what will happen is she'll come and do an assessment which will look at you and sid but also the other dogs/people who live with you too and explain in clear terms what is happening and how you can make improvements I am not sure dogs really have "OCD" my advice would be to try not to "humanise" what is going on - just look at the raw behaviours (e.g. he is reacting when you walk past houses with dogs in) then think "what does reacting mean" - is he lunging, tail position, ear position, stance, noises made etc ... he sounds basically underconfident to me, he gets it all from the others being near him and if he moves this on even further (he has already moved it on alot) i would imagine there could be a chance he'll start blocking and protecting his pack - this can look like "herding" but is infact resource guarding and in extreme cases resource aggression (this can happen over people and pack members aswell as toys/food which are the more common ones) ... however i am not in a position to say without seeing him and to be honest, and thats really why i would reccommend getting in touch with Bev - i'm aware that not all people get on with all other people but at the very least she'll be able to give you an idea of what you are looking for if you wanted to get someone more local to you. for mental tiredness - try raw bones it focusses the brain nicely, also what are you feeding him (this is important) ? also there is something you can do with clicker called free-shaping it is dead easy, bev can help you with what it is / how to do it and i guarentee you he'll be pooped afterwards ! I have 3 collie x's here at the moment and I am a mum and a student - i couldnt manage without mental tiring out ! oh and also have you got any kongs ? Claire x p.s. is he 3rd from left in your sig? Edited May 26, 2008 by summersun Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
safneo Posted May 26, 2008 Report Share Posted May 26, 2008 Jacky, is there any reason that he can't have a ball while he is onlead too? Saffy carries hers and uses them as 'stress balls'. OK, so she has to have a new tennis ball every few days but what the heck! Might be worth training him to 'carry' a ball if he loves them. Give him something else to think about too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
summersun Posted May 27, 2008 Report Share Posted May 27, 2008 hi,<br><br>i tried this with my ball lover - she dropped it everytime we stopped to cross the road, so watch out for that if you do try it lol !!<br><br><br>however, it doesnt actually stop the behaviour so you may still want to use this as an "interim" method <br><br>claire x<br> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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