I have an eleven-year-old borzoi who has just started to refuse to go OUT through the dog door. He approaches the door enthusiastically, then stops. He’ll stare at the flap for a second, and even stick his head through a bit. He’ll start to go through – then STOP, and even retreat. So, for the first time in his life, he’s having some housebreaking issues because he can’t will himself through that door in time. I must stress that we are NOT punishing him or yelling, etc. He’s a sweet old man who is having a challenge, and I would never give him grief over this. We just quietly clean up and then give him some extra TLC. The house soiling is NOT the reason I’m writing; I’m hoping for insight on WHY he’s suddenly stopped going through the door on his own. In other words, I want to treat the disease, not just the symptom.

We’ve decided to try to head off any house soiling issues by giving him regular walks. Because we have the doggie door, daily walks aren’t part of our pack routine. They have a big yard and two other dogs to play with; they get PLENTY of exercise. My theory is that if he gets used to eliminating on walks, the scary, scary dog door won’t be an issue. But obviously, we want to also help him re-learn how to go out on his own, as he has for so many years, too. He isn’t having problems with his vision, as far as we can tell. He navigates around the house with no problem, even with chairs in unexpected places, etc. He is not head shy, doesn’t seem to be startled by objects near him, doesn’t trip over his bed, etc.( I’ve had a dog with vision problems, so am somewhat familiar with the signs.)

Once he is encouraged, he hops through the door with no problems. He re-enters the house without hesitation, so my thought was that maybe he fell once going out and it hurt and now he is afraid? I also thought that since the deck outside is darker than inside, he was having problems seeing his “landing” so I put some rope lights out to illuminate the way. He still won’t go out on his own – as he has without problem for the eight years we’ve lived in this house). And today, during full daylight, he refused to go out until I physically held the flap out of the way and commanded him to go through, and then minutes later, but blew right through coming back in without the tiniest hesitation.

But SOMETHING’S changed … I don’t think he’s suffering from cognitive dysfunction; he’s his “old self” and has no problem coming when called, knowing where bowls are, recognizing his pack mates, etc.

Any ideas? Suggestions? We’re taking him to the vet as soon as we can, but certainly would appreciate any advice from those who have either seen this before or have other insight that might help us help our sweet old man.

I have a 9 month old boxer puppy. She is pretty well behaved for a puppy - potty trained, chews only her toys, follows commands, etc. But she HATES her kennel. I had originally purchased one of the molded kind and she actually broke it to get out! After speaking with many other boxer owners, I learned many boxers hate to be contained. I tried to leave her out while I am gone but she'd get so nervous that she'd piddle. So I bought a new kennel which is the cage kind. She seems a bit more comfortable with it since she can see out but still goes nuts. She's already bent the frame. I am at a loss about what to do. I've researched behavior that encourages separation anxiety and I don't seem to be doing any of those things. I'm trying to reintroduce the kennel to make her more comfortable but it does not seem to be helping. Any suggestions?

My 2 1/2 year old mixed breed, Reiley has been acting oddly for the past few months.

I rescued Rei when she was only a few weeks old. For a little more than two years it was just thew two of us, she got all of my attention and has been my "little girl". In late July, we moved from my one bedroom apartment to a 4 level townhouse with my boyfriend.

The change was pretty dramatic and Reiley went from being by my side a lot to practically gluing herself to my leg!! Sometimes she wold tuck herself between my leg and the kitchen sink. It was really beginning to worry me. Reiley generally loved people-including my boyfriend, but now she would run to me whenever she sees him.

My boyfriend has a 3 year old son that he sees everyother weekend. Reiley plays with the little boy and I thought she was getting used to him, but the last three weekends he has been here she threw up or peed in the kitchen. Something she has never done before!

When she displayed this behavior 2 weeks ago, I took her to the vet who ran some tests and put her on a low dose of Prozac-to calm her anxiety.

This week we discovered that she had gone to the bathroom twice in the little boy's room!!! I am very anxious to find out why this is happening all of a sudden...

Could it be that the door has always been closed and now that its open (to let in the heat), she doesn't see it as a familiar (no potty) area? Or is it something else? Also, now that it has happened, how do we prevent it from happening again? My boyfriend doesn't want me to put a baby gate in the hall by his sons room (for safety reasons) or close the door. She is crated during the day and after being walked when I get home, she is usually with me so I don't even know WHEN it could be happening.

I would appreciate any advice!

Pack Mentality is how our dogs are wired. It is our responsibility as dog owners to recognize this and fulfill this need for them.

There are a few other ways to do this besides what was mentioned in the previous article, obedience lessons and setting boundaries in the home. These are easy things that make a big difference and acknowledge how our dogs think.

First, you go through all doors first. The dog does not forge ahead, bounding through and knocking you off your feet, (can you tell I’ve raised a couple of teenage labs?) The way to establish this is to have the dog sit, stay and you walk through and then give a command for him to pass. We use ”heel”, because our dogs know that means stay to our side, close in. Teach this on a short leash for control. Make sure you reward with food or affection when done correctly and scold with a low voice when done incorrectly. This, of course, needs to be taught over several days, and stick with it, even when it is hard.

Second is easier. It involves feeding time. This may seem different, but it will be recognized by the dog. Take your dog’s portion and put your hands through it. This leaves your scent on the food and signals to him where this came from and who provided it. Also, in the dog world, there is “no free lunch”. So ask a simple, quick command of your dog before presenting the food, such as “sit, wait, ok!” The dog sits while you put your scent on the food. Tell him to “wait” while you place it, then “ok!” to release your dog to eat. The reward of course is the food. If you really want to drive the point home, the dog eats after the humans and does not beg at the table. I confess that I feed mine as I am cooking for the family, and yes, mine beg.

Try these two exercises out and stick with them. The first will make your life easier, the first and second will fulfill pack mentality in your dog and make him happy.

I have 4 dogs, Midnight-12 yrs Lab/Sheppard, Cuddles - 8 yrs Black Lab, Otis - 3 yrs Dachshund & Misty - 1 yr German Sheppard. My oldest dog, Midnight has become extremely aggressive only toward Misty. They are supervised when left outside, but this past weekend it escalated into a fight which took myself and my son to pull them apart. The encounter left Midnight with a single bite wound and Misty with 3 bite wounds and her left ear partially biten off. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Hi!

I'm the owner of two female malinois, both approximately two years old. We found them as strays around two years ago, and they have adapted very well to us. The only problem we have is that they are very aggressive towards other dogs and walks, and while they are usually very obedient, they seem to lose all touch with reality once they see another dog. We went to obedience training with them for almost a year, and they still couldn't get used to the proximity of other dogs. Do you have any tips I could try?

Hi everyone, I'm new here! I was wondering if anyone could provide some advice.

I have two dogs, both female, one who lives INDOORS and one OUTDOORS. We had the outdoor dog first, and later introduced her to a puppy that we subsequently kept indoors, even though we let the two play together. I guess the preferential treatment to the puppy (a.k.a. indoor dog) caused an "imbalance of power", and as the puppy reached adulthood, fights began to break out between the two.

Now I believe the indoor dog considers herself to be the leader - she certainly is the younger and the stronger of the two. They constantly have to be separated, although they are amicable enough even when face-to-face with just a fence or gate in between them... it's only when they encroach on each other's territory, or come face-to-face with no barriers, that they start to fight.

The thing is, we are hoping to introduce a new puppy to the household, and we are keen on letting her live indoors as well; so I'm wondering if anyone could advise on how we go about doing this. Would allowing the new puppy to live indoors further antagonize or "upset" the outdoor dog? Should we allow the new puppy to befriend BOTH the indoor and outdoor dog, and allow her to socialize with both? What if our current indoor dog isn't accepting of the new puppy? Are there any other concerns I should be thinking about?

Any thoughts on this would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks and best wishes!

My 2 1/2 year old mixed breed, Reiley has been acting oddly for the past few months.

I rescued Rei when she was only a few weeks old. For a little more than two years it was just thew two of us, she got all of my attention and has been my "little girl". In late July, we moved from my one bedroom apartment to a 4 level townhouse with my boyfriend.

The change was pretty dramatic and Reiley went from being by my side a lot to practically gluing herself to my leg!! Sometimes she wold tuck herself between my leg and the kitchen sink. It was really beginning to worry me. Reiley generally loved people-including my boyfriend, but now she would run to me whenever she sees him.

My boyfriend has a 3 year old son that he sees everyother weekend. Reiley plays with the little boy and I thought she was getting used to him, but the last three weekends he has been here she threw up or peed in the kitchen. Something she has never done before!

When she displayed this behavior 2 weeks ago, I took her to the vet who ran some tests and put her on a low dose of Prozac-to calm her anxiety.

This week we discovered that she had gone to the bathroom twice in the little boy's room!!! I am very anxious to find out why this is happening all of a sudden...

Could it be that the door has always been closed and now that its open (to let in the heat), she doesn't see it as a familiar (no potty) area? Or is it something else? Also, now that it has happened, how do we prevent it from happening again? My boyfriend doesn't want me to put a baby gate in the hall by his sons room (for safety reasons) or close the door. She is crated during the day and after being walked when I get home, she is usually with me so I don't even know WHEN it could be happening.

I would appreciate any advice!

Our dog Zaida seems to have a problem with aggression. We adopted her from a local rescue group who didn't have too much information on what kind of life she had before she was found by them. We do know that she spent 9 months at animal services before going to a foster home. The foster family taught her some tricks-she is a very fast learner- in the 3 months they had her. They realized that sometimes she gets aggressive with other dogs and suggested we muzzle her when introducing her to dogs.

A couple days after bringing her home we introduced her to my parents Jack Russel Terrier. We put on her muzzle and waited in the backyard for Cash to come out. They sniffed eachother and she seemed very apprehensive and tried to bare her teeth through the muzzle and her hackles rose. We weren't making any progress so I took the muzzle off and the tousled a little and then started playing with no further issues.

In an attempt to get her socialized we started taking her to the near-by off leash dog park. She was doing well for the first week or so even without the muzzle on, maybe a little timid but being calm and obedient. Now almost every time we go she gets aggressive with other dogs, its usually ones her same size or a little bigger. This happens over sticks when other dogs try to take it from her. But also, when she starts sniffing new dogs, her ears are always straight up and her tail is usually up as well, (rarely do her hackles raise unless we have her leashed at the time) they seem to be getting along then all of a sudden she jumps at them and goes for the back of their necks.

I don't get the impression that she is doing any of this as a protective action for myself or my boyfriend. It could be she is insecure from her time in the kennels and not being around other dogs, but as I said, she was fine for the first week or so.

When she does this we put on her muzzle and let her walk around off leash, she gets very timid when we do this and sometimes wont even come back to us.

If we try to walk her on the leash and other dogs approach her she is even worse and snaps at them and growls.

Any information on how to deal with this behavior more affectively would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you!

ok so I have a 6 year old what I believe to be a thai ridgeback, who has had dog agression problems in the past with certain types of dogs.

We recently decided to attempt to add a new family member to our household, an 8wk old chihuahua. during the initial meet, the older dog snapped at the younger, something I had anticipated but was hoping wouldn't happen.

So I guess my question is can some folks recommend tips and tricks to get them used to each other gradually? what are some good methods here? thanks for any help you can provide.

Why is my 9 months old, very well behaved dog, suddenly doing stuff he isnt
supposed to do and never did so far. Example : Sleeping on the sofa and ripping pillows. Somebody please give me a hint...

Hello Everybody,
this is my first post, i have a question, i ll try to keep it short.
have a 9 Month old fem puppy ( beago ). So far, very good behaviour and habbits, very smart, obediant etc. We try to keep the time that she has to spend alone at home or in the yard to a minimum. ( never for more then 1-2 hours) So far no problems with that. All of the sudden, yesterday,( when left alone for 1 hour ) she ripped two pillows in the living room spreading the filling all over the house. Never done that before, not even as a small puppy. Well, after that she was "punished" by having to spend a couple of hours alone in the yard.
When she was allowed back in, she climbed on one of the couches in the living room.9 Not in my precence, i was in an other room) She is not allowed to do that and she knows it. She can be everywhere in the house except on the sofa's and the bedroom. Why isnt she following those rules anymore ? Thats one question.. the other is, how must she be disciplined now ?
( She is getting lots of love and attention, maybe too much ? )
not so short after all, sorry.. any comment would be appreciated , its our first dog and we re not that experienced yet. we seem to be a bit disapointed now, like we did something wrong...

My recently rescued puppy, 7 1/2 months old desperately sucks on ly arm @45 minutes/day, then when he seems satisifed, he lets out a deep sigh and falls asleep. I'm guessing he didn't get enough nursing from his mother. Any suggestions at all about getting him to stop? I have substituted my arm for a toy he loves, but he cries, tosses it away and insists on sucking on my arm. Help!! Thanks!

I adopted a shelter dog 3 weeks ago today. Oliver is a terrier cross and is a small 13 pounds. I took him to the vet directly from the shelter. He is barely one year old and has been on his own for quite some time. He received vaccinations at the vet and I took him home to remove all the mats he was covered with.

Several days later, he developed an infection in his foot. He had an abcess that went the length of his foot and an inch up his leg. The vet sedated him and cleaned the abcess, inserted a drain, and started Oliver on antibiotics. The vet said the infection was caused by pin grass that worked it's way in between the toes.

A week later, Oliver returned to the vet to be neutered.

So after two and a half weeks, I thought we were settling in. Oliver is delightful and doing well with his crate training.

My daughter who is 25 years old came home for an extended weekend visit. Oliver acted happy to see her and have her pet him. About 4 times, as she passed close to him, he yelped, the sound a dog makes if you step on a foot or something. At first, I didn't know it was related to my daughter and couldn't figure out what had happened. As it became apparent that it was Erica, I still did not interpret the sound as aggressive.

Then last Sunday night, we were sitting, just talking. Oliver was on a leash since we are crate training. I had the end of the leash and he was over standing up against her leg and she was petting him. Suddenly he began snarling and bit her. I was shocked and jerked the leash pulling him back to me. I asked her what happened and if she was okay. He didn't break the skin but did leave a red mark on her hand. While we were talking, maybe one minute after the initial aggression, Oliver lunged at my daughter again. This time I stopped him with the leash before he was half way to her. I picked him up and put him in his dog box (a pet carrier.)

Now I need to hear the voice of common sense. I am so confused. Does the dog need to be put down? Because of all the trauma in Oliver's life (the shelter and two surgeries in less than three weeks time) does he need some time to be socialized and it is too early to tell what kind of dog he is?

Everything I read says "consult a dog trainer immediately." And while I cannot argue with this, I live in rural Idaho, and money is an issue. Please give me your thoughts.

I need help with my 4 month old Chihuahua. I bought him from a friend who breeds chihuahuas when he was 8 weeks old. When I first brought him home, he was pretty scared. After a week or so he was finally comfortable in my home and was a normal, playful puppy. He would run and jump around the house and loved to play with his toys. But when he was around 10 weeks old, my other dog (Jack Russell Terrier) bit him after he went after her bone. It was a pretty painful bite that made his eye swell a bit and caused some more swelling under his jaw (chin?). He cried for about 2 minutes straight - well more like screamed until I could finally calm him down. It scared him real bad and he has never been the same since. Now he shakes all the time and always has his tail between his legs and his ears straight back. He always has this sad, scared look on his face and it breaks my heart. He doesn't want to play anymore (AT ALL) and only gets mildly happy when outside. If I'm not around he will just stay in the same spot shaking and not move at all. This has been going on for about a month or so and it just worries me that he will stay like this for the rest of his life. He hasn't made any improvement whatsoever even though I try to be loving with him.

I'm wondering what I should do. Will he grow out of this fear? Is there anything I can do to help him become how he used to be - a playful, loving chihuahua? :confused: I want to help him with this problem while he is still young so it hopefully doesn't become permanent. Thanks in advance for any help/suggestions.