Candy
Biscuit Tin Guardian
- Location
- West Yorkshire, UK
I was reminded of that too!That reminded me of the time he broke into the handbag factory….was it handbags…?
Biting and mouthing is really wearing me down
- Thread starter Natalie
- Start date
Lisa
Moderator
- Location
- Alberta, Canada
- Location
- Sydney, Australia
- Location
- Wellington, NZ
THE BEST STORY EVAAAA!That reminded me of the time he broke into the handbag factory….was it handbags…?
I'm very behind on updating this thread due to our break in Wales and a mad week beforehand, but a few things of note:
The weekend before we went away, we had a busy weekend. Sat morning we went to the vets for Bear's checkup and Monty's hydro / Librela, then the afternoon we went to visit our old neighbours in their new house and huge garden.
On the Sunday, my MIL and partner came over for dinner, the first time she's visited our house since the Christmas before last. In summary, Bear was occupied the whole weekend by other people / dogs, had loads of exercise, and didn't try to mouth me once in the two days. Once he'd run off steam, he was really good around our visitors (apart from a Jam sponge cake incident on the Sunday which I shall skim over
) and had loads of fun with his doggy friends running around their garden .
Monday, all was back to normal, just me and dogs, and the mouthing resumed. So, I'm beginning to wonder if he does need more stimulation, not less? Or just a more interesting array of people to be with instead of me and OH?
Slight aside: At the vets, we spoke about the issues we have had with him getting fixated with other dogs, and the possibility of Suprelorin. After a full examination, the vet pronounced him in excellent health (I asked him to check his teeth well just in case there was anything giving him toothache, but as expected they were declared perfect) but said he may well be a good candidate for Suprelorin as he's now classed as a fully grown adult dog. I'm really pleased we weren't pushed into castration at all by them, as happened at a different vet with Monty. The only downside they pointed out was that the implant is as expensive as castration. If the results are really prominent, then like others have done we will probably go with castration further down the line, but if it's minimal impact we will just have to ride out the remaining teenage months (years? I saw the teenage phase being described as up to three years on a training page the other day
)
I'm going to start a diary soon - but the big change here is that OH is going to be at home every day from next week, and I do expect to see some immediate improvement as Bear will have someone else to be with during the day, not just me on my random tea breaks. OH is going to walk them separately as much as possible, but just keep one day per week with our dog walker so they can have a group walk with other dogs occasionally.
The weekend before we went away, we had a busy weekend. Sat morning we went to the vets for Bear's checkup and Monty's hydro / Librela, then the afternoon we went to visit our old neighbours in their new house and huge garden.
On the Sunday, my MIL and partner came over for dinner, the first time she's visited our house since the Christmas before last. In summary, Bear was occupied the whole weekend by other people / dogs, had loads of exercise, and didn't try to mouth me once in the two days. Once he'd run off steam, he was really good around our visitors (apart from a Jam sponge cake incident on the Sunday which I shall skim over
) and had loads of fun with his doggy friends running around their garden .Monday, all was back to normal, just me and dogs, and the mouthing resumed. So, I'm beginning to wonder if he does need more stimulation, not less? Or just a more interesting array of people to be with instead of me and OH?
Slight aside: At the vets, we spoke about the issues we have had with him getting fixated with other dogs, and the possibility of Suprelorin. After a full examination, the vet pronounced him in excellent health (I asked him to check his teeth well just in case there was anything giving him toothache, but as expected they were declared perfect) but said he may well be a good candidate for Suprelorin as he's now classed as a fully grown adult dog. I'm really pleased we weren't pushed into castration at all by them, as happened at a different vet with Monty. The only downside they pointed out was that the implant is as expensive as castration. If the results are really prominent, then like others have done we will probably go with castration further down the line, but if it's minimal impact we will just have to ride out the remaining teenage months (years? I saw the teenage phase being described as up to three years on a training page the other day
)I'm going to start a diary soon - but the big change here is that OH is going to be at home every day from next week, and I do expect to see some immediate improvement as Bear will have someone else to be with during the day, not just me on my random tea breaks. OH is going to walk them separately as much as possible, but just keep one day per week with our dog walker so they can have a group walk with other dogs occasionally.
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sorry Robyn I can't see this video - please could you re-post it? thanks
Beanwood
Administrator
We had good success with Suprelorin, in the fact that using it and observing changes in Benson was very insightful. One of the key takeaways was that the obsessive sniffing, scenting outside, which in turn led to terrible pulling was much, much more manageable. Benson was a happier lad, able to enjoy his walks and not being so uncomfortably distracted. Inside the house his behaviours were not really affected, unless there had been contact with the scent of a bitch in season, then it was non- stop whining and chewing of cushions!
Benson was not a mouther though, and this behaviour I would want to understand in a bit more detail. It must be really difficult for you to deal with.
Benson was not a mouther though, and this behaviour I would want to understand in a bit more detail. It must be really difficult for you to deal with.
Not sure this would be the answer, it does sound like Bear needs a bit of help learning to be calm and relaxed. Now that is tough ask I know!
- Location
- Andorra and Spain
As you know, we used Suprelorin with Shadow, although not for any behavioural issues. It really didn't make much difference at all to his behaviour (no change with other dogs, slightly reduced sniffing/weeing on walks, but that's not a problem for us anyway). That in itself was interesting information because it showed that there would be no value in having him castrated, but it would also not make any significant difference to his personality if we had to do so at some point down the line.
It's all useful information one way or another.
The implant may be the same cost as castration, but it's reversible so if there are negative implications from the disruption to his hormones (unlikely, but possible) then at least you can return to your baseline when the implant wears off. It's a tad more tricky to reattach the crown jewels
You're paying for information which will allow you to make the best decision for your little family
It's all useful information one way or another.
The implant may be the same cost as castration, but it's reversible so if there are negative implications from the disruption to his hormones (unlikely, but possible) then at least you can return to your baseline when the implant wears off. It's a tad more tricky to reattach the crown jewels
You're paying for information which will allow you to make the best decision for your little family
- Location
- East Sussex
Re the mouthing and your weekend experience, I would be inclined to go down the more-engagement route for a few weeks and see what happens. I don't think it's particularly more physical exercise but a time every day with you when you work together (with Monty elsewhere) on a focused activity, such as scent work, picking up objects by name, learning tricks, formal retrieving, rally exercises etc. I would choose an activity that you think you would genuinely enjoy, make a plan for what each session's going to look like and set yourself a target of 3 weeks to give it a fair trial and keep a record of if/how Bear's behaviour changes.
- Location
- Sydney, Australia
Hmmm...it was on FB and has now vanishedsorry Robyn I can't see this video - please could you re-post it? thanks