Strange Behaviour (to Neuter Or Not!)

[jake the wonder dog]

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Well my boy is healthy after a relapse in August that needed another course of steroids. I was persuaded to go abroad with friends for a week while my partner (and Alfie's great friend!) looked after him. Upon returning to the airport I had a voice message from the emergency vets reguarding Alfie!! Cue complete panic mode and nightmarish inability to get my phone to repeat the message!! Anyway the upshot was Alfie had taken ill while I was away, but because of his history my partner got him to the vets straight away. After a couple of months on a slowly reducing course of steroids he seems very well, behaviour is an issue at the moment now though :wacko:

He has done this before, but it seems to be back with a vengeance. In the evenings he will bark and whine continuously, jumping up and generally being particularly demanding. He has always been an energetic whippet, but with exercise and play he generally settles well. I am a great believer in clicker training -although I could do more :b , but even with extra walks and play he seems so restless - crying to go in the yard every 20 mins, jumping on the backs of the chair and sofa, play biting at my sleeves and jumping up at me, I don't believe in shouting and bellowing, but I firmly tell him "no" or "down" - he does understand these instructions, but once down he repeats the behaviour very soon after. He was a demanding puppy (he's 2 in Feb) but with training we managed to eliminate the play biting and jumping up. I'm wondering if he is hormonal and feeling frustrated! He is entire and I've been reluctant to neuter due to anaesthetic risks and previous health probs. Any thoughts and advice will be greatly appreciated :thumbsup:

 

[jinnyfizz]

Hi Jo. I'm glad to hear that Alfie is healthy again but it sounds as though he is going through his second childhood :lol:

I have a 7 month old whippet pup who exhibits the same behaviour in the evenings and at bedtime She whines and tries to cause trouble with all the others and after many late nights (just waiting for her to get tired) I ended up ignoring her behaviour!!

Gradually, she is doing it less because she doesn't get any attention from me when she does it and recently she has actually curled up and gone to sleep at a normal time, as the others do :thumbsup:

Not sure if ignoring Alfie's behaviour will be the answer for you, but it might be worth trying. The only other suggestion I have is a good 20 minutes free running just before bedtime :lol:

I expect it's just a phase he's going through and in time he will calm down again for you :luck:

 

[jake the wonder dog]

Hi Jo. I'm glad to hear that Alfie is healthy again but it sounds as though he is going through his second childhood :lol: I have a 7 month old whippet pup who exhibits the same behaviour in the evenings and at bedtime She whines and tries to cause trouble with all the others and after many late nights (just waiting for her to get tired) I ended up ignoring her behaviour!!

Gradually, she is doing it less because she doesn't get any attention from me when she does it and recently she has actually curled up and gone to sleep at a normal time, as the others do :thumbsup:

Not sure if ignoring Alfie's behaviour will be the answer for you, but it might be worth trying. The only other suggestion I have is a good 20 minutes free running just before bedtime :lol:

I expect it's just a phase he's going through and in time he will calm down again for you :luck:

Thanks for that - I am in favour of ignoring as I think he'll get the message (if it is attention seeking)- the difficulty is getting everyone to do the same that's the tricky bit :blink: . He has missed out on free running too because of the dark nights (He has a dog walker in the day and I take him out when I get in from work) so he only gets to run at weekends. We had a lovely walk yesterday and he was charging round - he was in his element (w00t) and last night wasn't so bad - he settled fairly quickly.

I'm desperate for a second dog too and I think Alfie will love it - he's such a friendly chap, so although I feel like going out now and getting a rescue dog (not nescessarily a whippet) I'm going to try and resist till after Christmas - a friend mentioned they'll be lots of Christmas rejects wanting a home around Feb!

Thanks again for your reply - it's reassuring to know he's not the only one

 

[JAX]

I dont want ot appear to be judge mental , but it sounds as though you work full time . If not I apologise

If so it would explain why Alfie is such a live wire when you are home and having another dog left all day wouldnt necesary solve your problems

I NEVER sell any of my puppies to anyone who works full time ,not even 1 day a week and if I have to on the very rather off chance, do a full day at my work Im lucky enough and near enough to get home for 1 hour

other than that , Im not sure neutering would solve your problem IMO

 

[jake the wonder dog]

I dont want ot appear to be judge mental , but it sounds as though you work full time . If not I apologiseIf so it would explain why Alfie is such a live wire when you are home and having another dog left all day wouldnt necesary solve your problems

I NEVER sell any of my puppies to anyone who works full time ,not even 1 day a week and if I have to on the very rather off chance, do a full day at my work Im lucky enough and near enough to get home for 1 hour

other than that , Im not sure neutering would solve your problem IMO

yes you're right I do work full time - I know it's not ideal, but the thought of life without dogs is too hard to bear .

He isn't left all day as of course this would be cruel, so I have my mum come 2 days a week and a dog walker come the other 3 - he gets lots of love and attention from them. We always holiday together in this country and he never goes in kennels. I guess I do feel guilty sometimes and I wish I didn't have to leave him, but work is a necessity at this time. The other dog is not a solution to to his behaviour, rather a new member to our household to join us on our adventures. I'm lucky too that I can leave and get home at reasonable times so he's never left for more than a few hours (having videoed him he just sleeps while we're out -_- . I hope this recent behaviour isn't due to hormones as I really do not want him having surgery and that wouldn't happen unless I had absolute proof it would benefit him.

He's so loved and treasured - he really is the apple of my eye :wub:

 

[TTT]

It sounds like your dog is well looked after under the circumstances - realistically, most people have to work, myself included, but still manage to provide a quality life for our dogs, who of course add so much to our lives.

Perhaps when your dog is doing this behaviour you could distract him mentally and physically and reinforce his obedience by doing a few low key exercises in the room which don't overly wind him up, such as sit, down, watch, etc and keep rewards calm, maybe with quiet verbals or gentle strokes to encourage calmness then tell him to get into his bed?

Maybe it is a phase he is going through. If the behaviour does not improve with plenty of exercise and training, maybe a well timed squirt with a water pistol may help as a deterrant.

 

[jake the wonder dog]

It sounds like your dog is well looked after under the circumstances - realistically, most people have to work, myself included, but still manage to provide a quality life for our dogs, who of course add so much to our lives.
Perhaps when your dog is doing this behaviour you could distract him mentally and physically and reinforce his obedience by doing a few low key exercises in the room which don't overly wind him up, such as sit, down, watch, etc and keep rewards calm, maybe with quiet verbals or gentle strokes to encourage calmness then tell him to get into his bed?

Maybe it is a phase he is going through. If the behaviour does not improve with plenty of exercise and training, maybe a well timed squirt with a water pistol may help as a deterrant.

Yes I definately think distracting him works to an extent, I'll get him to sit and be quiet then we do some clicker training - but I'm thinking I could do this more, so I'm going to get a routine going I think. We did used to use a water pistol which did work well, but I've not used one for a while. I think he just loves to play and gets a bit indignant when it's finished

We've just got back from a walk in a snow storm (w00t) Alfie loves it!! I looked like a snowman when I got in :lol:

 

[FeeFee]

It might be worth having a look at TTouch, it can work wonders relaxing restless dogs and improving focus.