Suggestions for chew deterrent/territorialism?
Submitted by Miltons Mama on November 9, 2010 - 11:17amHowdy, all! Been lurking for a while because after Miton's neuter surgery we haven't really had any issues, and now I'm just hoping someone might have a little advice.
Milton at 11 months old has developed a RAGING case of the territorial behaviors. He chases the next door neighbors' dogs up and down the fence line (what dogs don't?) and barks at any perceived intruders. But, he threw up the other day and his poor tummy was full of wood splinters -- we couldn't figure out where they came from until we re-checked the fence and found he's been biting at it probably just in the heat of the moment, we guess trying to get to the dogs on the other side of the fence.
I bought a bottle of Bitter Yuck to spray on the fence and caught him following along behind me licking at the fence as I was spraying it. Apparently, the taste of that one doesn't bother him much.
We also tried to bring home an adorable new addition to the family, an 8 month old mixed breed pup, and Milton was having none of it at all. He growled, gnashed, wrestled with us, tried to eat her, basically, for one-and-a-half straight days and we had to return her to the rescue. He gets along with the other dog in the household and even the cat just fine, but for some reason he acted absolutely vicious with this other little one. He's never made noises like that, and frankly, we were spooked. He was obviously MASSIVELY stressed -- he's such a sensitive guy. We've had friends bring their dogs over to play before and he's never acted like that, so this ie either a new development or he just had something about that particular dog he didn't like.
After returning the little girl to her foster home, Milton went back to his sensitive loving snorting grumbling sleeping drooling self, except the chasing things along the fence.
Next on our agenda is taking him to classes for more socialization to hopefully curb the protectiveness/aggression issue, but in the meantime has anyone found any miracle cures for volleyball-size-headed-dogs chewing on wood fences? :)
Thank you in advance, and I hope everyone's enjoying some lovely autumn weather!
Milton's Mama -- Tinker AFB, OK
Keep him on leash
I know you want something better then that, but that's all I got. Mine is like yours and I keep him leashed with me at all times outside. Good luck.
fence fighting
We have dealt with this issue for years. We have 2 pugs that live next door. They have a horrible habit of scratching violently at the fence which would freak my dogs out and cause horrible fights through the fence then with each other. My female has done the same thing. Eaten so much of the fence from biting it that her face is bleeding and raw. She also ended up with aspiration pneumonia because she was throwing up splinters of wood. Its a tough call. We have tried talking to our neighbors. Showing them how much harm this is doing to our dog. They just never took it seriously because they are NEVER home and dont hear the fighting. So I will tell you the things I have tried first......Bark collar on my dog (because it began with barking then turned to rage then biting) . I dont use it anymore. I realized it wasnt fair to punish my dog. Spraying stuff called deer off on our side of the fence. Bitter yuck on the fence. It was useless after it dried plus I needed to cover 80 ft of fencing. . Cayenne powder concoction. Sprayed there dogs with a hose. That only worked when I was home. Distraction with clicker trainer, again only works when I was home. So after dealing with this I got sooooo fed up I marched over there with my dog in tow and showed them the scars and the open wounds that wouldn't heal. I examined there yard and asked if they could put up some type of temporary low fence that would keep them away from the wood fence(chicken wire). They agreed. I did half the length on my side and they did the other half on there side. It looks terrible but Im hoping they will get out of the habit and forget.....Its been 2 months and it has been so quiet.
I wish you luck. It made me really dislike there dogs. I still have a hard time looking at them because of all the stress and damage it has done to my dog.
Another suggestion is try to get your neighbors to agree to taking walks together. Usually if dogs are in motion side by side there isnt really any issues. Maybe they need a chance to meet nose to butt and vice versa. Not face to face. Again good luck. I hope you find a solution that works for you.
we had
Neighbors with large American Staffordshires that would rush the fence whenever a dog was on the other side. Any dog, any time. Luckily, Matilda is just curious about them, she doesn't get overexcited and seems actually more willing to just leave the area if the dog is snapping or biting at the fence. At first, certain things were cute. One of the dogs they had in addition to the Amstaffs was a Yorkie who would clean Matilda's ears through the gap in the fence. But then when she would walk away and move on, he would become frustrated. Then came the barking, the attempting to dig underneath, and finally the snapping at anything that was walking by.
Then it began with people walking along the fence.
One day, while the lawn guy was mowing one of the Amstaffs actually became so angry that he bashed his head clear through the wooden stockade trying to get through. Like clear through it...
It felt like it was a socialization issue. Their dogs spend all day every day outside alone with nothing to do. Of course they wanted some kind of action, of course it doesn't excuse aggression. But I would say that the more situations I've exposed Matilda to (playgroups, day-care, going to pet-friendly stores with me, walking with other dogs) the more tolerant (and not willing to engage in those sorts of behaviors) she is. I am lucky in that she never really was very into what dogs were doing - moreso people - but I find that she is more willing to engage other dogs now that she is with me whenever and wherever it is possible. I am not sure why it develops in a dog that has a stable, active, participative home life but I would say that if there were an underlying tendency already there that hadn't surfaced, perhaps another dog's behavior is going to exacerbate it.
In our case the people next door were not the kind I could talk to. Not at all, no. We just have to quietly await their departure (they are currently in the process of moving out) and then I will repair the fence.
How does he do in other situations outside your house these days or is it just the fence?
Just a theory! My opinion. :)
Lately I've been feeling like I'm ending all the threads on this board with my comments for some strange reason.