Chemical Imbalance?
Otis, however, has a few strange behaviors which have been getting worse over the last few months. He doesn't guard from humans any more but he's still extremely guardy toward other dogs. Normally I don't consider this a major problem, except that he is VERY quick to snap. He seems to be very inclined to solve problems with his mouth. Recently he has begun biting feet for no apparent reason. His people tell me that if they're standing near him and make a sudden movement with their feet, he'll bite them. They reacted by screaming and he moved away, then did it again a few minutes later. I've seen him do this in class, and it's starting to look like a compulsion. He actually broke skin on his mom's foot once. I do not believe that his humans have done anything in the way of physical abuse to cause this. I've dog-sat for him a couple of times when they were out of town, and his behavior at my house is pretty much exactly as they describe it at home. He also tends to "shut down" in class and bark incessantly. Part of me thinks this is frustration at not being able to interact with the other dogs in class, but I'm not positive. Deterrants have very little impact. The squirt bottle and plastic bottle full of pennies don't phase him a bit. We tried citronella and that worked for awhile, but he's already gotten used to it. His people try to keep him engaged, but eventually he tunes them out and just starts barking. His people told me recently that though Otis was with his littermates until 9 weeks old, the litter was separated from the parents as soon as they were weaned and kept in a farmhouse with an automatic feeder and waterer, with only weekend visits from humans. In other words, this gang of toddlers was left with no adult supervision and almost no human interaction for several crucial weeks during the critical socialization period (STUPID). The feet-biting behavior concerns me the most. Everything they describe about it, and what I've seen, sounds like compulsive behavior. I always consider medication a last resort, but Otis seems to replace one neurotic behavior with another. I also found out from his family that his brother from an older litter is on Prozac because he's "psycho." Otis's family told me that they assumed that the brother's problems resulted from inadequate training and exercise, but now they're beginning to wonder, as am I." Otis has now been on Prozac for about a week and we're not seeing an improvement at all. In fact, this past weekend, he snapped and tried to bite my husband once, me twice and our son three times. JThe ten times that I'm counting that he bit only include when he actually makes contact and draws blood. udging from some of the things I've read, this could be an uncorectable chemical imbalance. Any thoughts? Please help! |
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| Yep - go to a behavioral vet and get a good blood work up and proper medication.
Sheepdogs being quick to snap isn't surprising - wait people I will explain. Herding is a reactive activity and herding dogs have got to be able to be quick and reactive when necessary. A top animal behaviorist told me that sheepdogs are perhaps the hardest dog to train - because they go form 0 - 60 in a millisecond and have little or no readable body language, not that they can't be trained, but you need someone experienced with them if they are problem children. If the training isn't working very quickly with this dog - go on to a new method until you find the right one. and doggie Prozac is not necessarily the only or best drug to use if the dog has clinical issues. |
| I am no expert - I just wanted to mention - as far as I have read prozac can take a few weeks to take hold where its effects are noticeable. If you do plan to continue with the Prozac, check with your vet and give it some time to do its job. Have they explored any other options as far as medication and treatment?
Really just wanted to say I hope you are able to work this out with dear Otis and that he responds to whatever treatment quickly. Poor boy. Hopefully the right treatment will have him and you feeling much better about things. Please do let us know how it all goes. |
| Low thyroid levels came to mind for me. I would have your vet run a thyroid panel on Otis's blood.
Here is a link to an article that talks about dogs , low thyroid, aggression and hyperactive type behaviors. http://www.doganswers.com/Thyroid.htm If you do a search, there are more articles and info out there.. Good luck. |
| I would have a complete workup done by a vet. It sounds to me
like on top of stunted socialization as a very young pup, there may be something medical. Also, don't rule out food allergies. I know this sounds completely off the wall, but my Tucker is allergic to lamb. We found out totally by accident when he was young, but the main symptom was aggression. He would get absolutely nasty, and although we were quick enough to not be injured it was very scary. Most of the times it happened were totally unprovoked. As long as we have stayed away from anything containing lamb, he has been his loving self with an occasional side of cranky - but nothing at all like he was with the lamb in his food or treats. Good luck! Shellie |
| I honestly think he needs help from a qualified behaviorist. Have all the bites been from resource guarding or foot moving?
I don't have any answers, only some observations and past experience with my own pack. As recommended, I would get him checked out medically... full thyroid panel and also his hips... they make a good baseline for later on anyway. Quote: Otis has now been on Prozac for about a week and we're not seeing an improvement at all. In fact, this past weekend, he snapped and tried to bite my husband once, me twice and our son three times. I'm totally for using drugs if it helps a dog have a better life. However there is a thing called the paradoxical reaction. Rather than a having the intended effect, a drug can do just the opposite. We put Kaytee on a drug when she had coming of age aggression issues with members of the pack. She was a little scrapper. The drug was supposed to calm her... instead she was bouncing off the walls. One dose and we discontinued it. We tried a second drug with the same result. Quote: Be aware that drugs can have 10% chance for paradoxical reactions, such as increased aggression, since they can mute self-inhibition. http://www.paw-rescue.org/PAW/PETTIPS/D ... stTips.php Quote: He also tends to "shut down" in class and bark incessantly
The barking in class makes me feel he's simply reached a limit, that he's had enough and needs a break. Whatever the reason, he's shutting down and is acting out his frustration. Bumble loved puppy classes... all the interaction with the people and dogs. He had a ball and did great...he was the class clown. But he became fearful in intermediate classes... the dogs weren't given time to interact with each other and the environment was no longer right for this particular boy. The classes were at Petsmart on the day they had rescue dogs in so there were dogs barking... one in particular was a big, deep chested dog. Bumble's more sensitive to noise than my other dogs and strange unseen dogs barking would put him in flight mode. He would begin to do a command then totally flake out and go to Jim. We persevered for 2 more sessions. But rather than force him to do something he no longer enjoyed and might come to dread, we stopped attending class. We had to do something different to make training fun again and to deal with the barking fear before he could progress. And in my mind, it wasn't good for him to be balking at commands for 3 weeks (in class) and I told the trainer this... if I gave a command and he didn't do it, it was reinforcing that it was ok NOT to comply. (The class was also for people planning to pursue therapy dog training.) Just my opinion but if one of my dogs shuts down, there's no sense in forcing my will on them. It's kind of like a dad that wants his son to play football but the kid hates it because he'd rather be painting pictures. Not that it's always the right approach because they need to work through a fear. But I'd rather coax or bribe a dog to do something willingly rather than force them to do it... back off when the dog is no longer finding joy in it and maybe try again later. As for Otis' breeder... is he/she still breeding dogs? They should be reported to the ACK or whatever organization they're registered through. Not that the organization will necessarily do anything but it's flipping stupid to leave puppies unattended for a days without human interaction... it's ignorance and neglect in my opinion. Otis sounds like a very smart and obedient dog... hopefully a good behaviorist can help you work through this. |
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