Barking & chasing

[Zivas]

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Hi all

I'm looking for some advice on my dog. She is an 18 month old cavalier that we've had for around 11 months. When we first got her she was pretty scared of everything but mostly well behaved. Now her confidence has grown she has become more mischievous!

She barks at the tv whenever there are animals on (or the occasional human she disagrees with). She'll charge and jump up at the tv and keep barking, which I assume is a defence mechanism. She's also obsessed with horses, sheep etc in real life and if she were off lead would probably get herself trampled.

She chases cats and squirrels. If she's on a lead, she will pull frantically and cry as if she's in pain to try and get to them. If she's off lead, she will chase them (out of the park if necessary) until they disappear. She'll then happily come back as if she's achieved her job! She will also run out of the park if she has seen a cat or squirrel there before, even if there's not one there now. We have two guinea pigs at home that she will torment through the bars given the chance.

She has very recently developed a fear of toddlers and babies after spending a day with my niece. She is not aggressive but will bark at them and then run away if they come near. Today she barked at a toddler from a considerable distance, despite the kid showing no interest in her.

She has started peeing in other people's houses (not at home), sometimes right in front of us.

I shout when she runs off (out of panic) or barks at the tv (out of frustration) but this is clearly ineffective. I put her on her lead when she comes back or any time I think she's at risk of running off. She is always rewarded for following commands and her recall is pretty good as long as there are no small animals involved. Even after running off, she'll happily come back but obviously it's dangerous for her to be so out of control.

I had a cavalier before who was a true lapdog and has no sense of adventure so this has come as quite a shock. She is great fun though, loves to play, has fun with toys and other dogs and is super cuddly too. I just need to curtail the barking/chasing habits!

Thanks for helping and sorry for the long post!

 

[gypsysmum2]

What was her history before she came to you? Those early weeks are so important in the formation of a dog's character. It might explain a lot if you knew how she was raised.

It sounds as though the barking at the tv etc is frustration at not being able to chase the things she sees. I would interrupt the behaviour and give her something else to do that will absorb her. A food puzzle might work or a stuffed Kong toy (make sure it is the right size for her so not too small). Shouting is counter productive as she thinks you are joining in with her barking.

Chasing wildlife comes under predatory behaviour and, once established, can be very hard to deal with. The dog gets a huge rush of adrenaline that is almost akin to being "high". In order for her to want to leave the chase and come back to you she needs to want what you are offering her instead. That should be something better than the "high" she is feeling on the chase. As you can imagine that is very difficult to achieve unless you have some illicit drugs to offer her lol!

Prevention is best so that she does not keep "practising" the behaviour. The more they practice the harder it is to cure. Work on her recall so that she thinks, when she hears it, that the most fantastic thing in the world is going to happen if she goes back to you. This could be something like - at least five fantastic treats such as fresh chicken, liver cake, bacon etc, a thrilling game of tug or ball and lots of lovely kisses and cuddles. Resist putting her on lead until all this has been done so that she forgets that she has just done a recall. You never want a dog to think, when it hears a recall, that it is going to go on lead when it goes back. Just a few minutes is all it needs for her to forget the recall. You might like to invest in a whistle. Whistles are never angry

Only do this training in a secure place or on a long training line.

It sounds as if something may have happened around the children that has scared her. They may have fallen on her or inadvertently hurt her is some way. Never leave a dog alone with children. Dogs do not have morals they do not know it is wrong to bite. They just follow their instincts when confronted with a situation. Fear causes the fight/flight to kick in very quickly in dogs and if she feels trapped in a room/house/garden she cannot invoke the "flight" option. This leaves her with just the other option

A vet check would not hurt to check that she has no aches and pains that the children may have aggravated and to check her bladder is functioning as it should over the peeing.

If all is fine then it is possible she is either scent marking (is she neutered?) or is feeling anxious and needs to feel some sort of "relief". Some dogs discover the peeing gives them a feeling of relief and so do it when they feel anxious.

Prevention is best by making sure she is empty before visiting other houses and, perhaps keeping her close to you until she has relaxed so that you can interrupt her should she look like she is going to squat.

All in all it sounds as though she needs her confidence building. Trick training can be very good for this. Take a look at Kikopup on you tube to see if anything takes your fancy.

 

[Zivas]

Thanks for your response. She was ran on by her breeder so her first 7 months were spent there, as 1 of 7 dogs with her mum and sister included. She was going to be shown so is very good with being washed and travelling in the car but she had limited walks and had never really been away from her pack. I think a lot of the nerves when we got her were down to new experiences and having no pack to support her. Now she knows that we're here pack she's much more confident.

I think you're right about trying to be more interesting than the thing she wants to chase so I'll try and see if we can work that out! We've started taking her to obedience classes and they do agility too so tempted to try that as an outlet for her and to get her more focussed on us.

The peeing I wonder if it's an anxiety thing. The first couple of times she did it was when we'd left her someone else's house. The other couple of time she did right in front of us. But all times she'd be the walked recently and had had a wee so I don't think it was that. They were all houses with other dogs except one (my mums) which has no resident dog but does have dog visitors. So I also wonder if it could be scent marking?

She is spayed, was done in February so only recently. She had two seasons before that.