Kirby's behavior
 Hi there! As I've said before, I don't get to visit the forum that often, but when I'm starting to have a major problem, I go looking for answers. Now, Kirby is about 2 1/2 and I'm beginning to have some different issues with him. I had posted a while back about my having issues with him going "bonkers" loading him in the car, until we get going and when someone tries to leave the house. His bark is so loud that it really annoys people and some of my visitors are not coming that often now.  I STILL do not have this issue under control completely. I purchased an enclosed crate, so his anxiety would be better, but until we get going, he's crazy!!!  I am feeling so discouraged because I feel I have tried the best I know how to help him with this. In the last month, I have become even more so because he's starting to growl and show his teeth at me when I try to correct him. Tonight he bit my granddaughter, who's 20, because she tried to correct him, then tried to clamp down on me when I tried to correct him. I had to put him in his crate. I know he desperately needs training, but it's so expensive! I lost my job of 18yrs. recently due to cut backs, so I'm at a loss.  I don't mean to be a whiner or complainer, but I need some good suggestions. I can confess right now, that he needs more exercise. I would love to be able to send him to daycare every day or at least a few times a week, but can't. I love him and for the most part, he's a good boy. He's beautiful in color and whenever people see him, they go crazy wanting to touch him, pet him. Please tell me what you would do!  Have I bitten off more than I can chew as they say? Maybe it's that his personality/will is much stronger than mine? Seriously, should I call the Dog Whisperer or someone like him? PLEASE HELP.  Thank you so much for "listening".  |
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| Hi! Wow, you sound like you have your hands full with Kirby! He is really testing you and seems to be a very anxious dog to be doing all of that. We had a border collie before we got Mungo and she wined all the time in a car. You couldn't shut her up for the life of you and she would continue it the whole way from point A to point B. We had her for 12.5 years before she passed away due to cancer and to this day we are still not entirely sure as to why she would put up such a fuss. We think she wined because she liked it so much and not so much as the anxiety of it all. But let’s face it, she wined all the time about everything! It seemed impossible to keep her quite but there were a few things that seemed to help... 1) open a window - she really liked to have the window open. She quieted down quite a bit with it open...we even drove in the winter and our good 'ol Alberta winters can be chilly but for our sanity we put up with it! 2) Turn off the music. We actually found that the radio on made her wine more. I don't know if it was the talking or the singing but it just seemed to get her more wound up. 3) Take a break. If we had to go anywhere longer than a 20 minute drive we gave her a chance to get out and 'sniff the roses' this seemed to help. After she had a chance to get out she would settle back down. 4) Don't feed before a car ride. We never gave Kia any food before we were going anywhere and if we were travelling during her meal time she had to wait till we arrived at our destination to get it. We found that a full tummy seemed to make things worse and she would often get sick in the car if she had anything in her. 5) Pee breaks! We had a park that was a block away from our house. When we got in the car, we would drive the block to the park and then let her out. She ALWAYS went poop and pee, like clockwork when she got out. This helped huge too! 6) Not sure if the crate is a good idea....I know for some dogs, that feeling of 'denness' is good and does calm them. But I also know that for others, wanting to see what's going on around them is important too. If he barks more while in the crate it might even be harder to correct the barking because you can't see him very well and he can't see you. If you feel like you need to have him in a crate rather than just in the back seat, maybe try attaching a fan to the outside of it so it blows on him a bit. We did this with Mungo when we first brought him home and it settled him quite a bit. I think it is a combination of the white noise and the feeling of the air blowing on them. I am just going to throw some things out there for you...I am sure others will be able to offer some too.... -Is Kirby always excitable? Does it take much for him to start barking and being annoying? Does he greet people by jumping up or just the barking? Does he seem nervous or excited because the two are corrected different ways. -Regarding the anxiousness....have you tired some of the herbal remedies out there to maybe try and relax him a bit? Have you talked to your vet about it? There are also wraps that you can put on dogs as well to try and calm them. I have never tried them but one of our neighbors have one and it works for their lab. It might be a bit hot for a Sheepie though... -Regarding the barking... have you tried a bark collar? I am not talking about the shock type ones (I don't agree with that but that's my opinion) but the tone ones. We are currently staying with some family while our new house is in the process of being built and they use one for their little dog...he yaps all the time but that collar sure works on him! He HATES it and you don't hear a peep out of him when he has it on. It's so funny now because all you have to do is show him it and he shuts up! Mungo isn't a barker which is great but I can honestly say it works...at least for Mungo too when he does try to bark and he isn't even wearing it! He won't bark if he hears it go off and just makes a low key woof...barely under his breath. Hope some of this helps....Good luck! Cheers! Theresa and Mungo |
| Oh man. Thats a handful. Honestly if he is growling at you and biting your granddaughter after being corrected, that is a serious issue that needs to be addressed with a trainer. |
Thanks so much to both of you ... especially Mungo's family!!! You sure put a lot of thought out there for me! That's good! I appreciate it so much  1) Addressing the car issues: When we first got Kirby, he was 8wks. old. (I co-own Kirby with a friend of mine.) Kirby would go home with his "daddy" most of the time, at first. He would ride in his truck with him, in the seat next to him. When he would first get in the truck, he would bark and get excited, until they started out, then Kirby would lie down and put his head on my friend's lap. Then after a few months, Kirby came to stay with me. I have a Jeep Wrangler and would load him in the back, no crate. He would go simply crazy!!! Barking, jumping at every car that passed and trying to get in the front with me. Needless to say, we almost wrecked several times ... hence the enclosed (canvas) crate was suggested and for the most part has worked great. When I first put him in, he goes barking crazy, but after we get on the road, he finally settles down and I usually don't hear anything from him, UNTIL it time to get him out. My wish is that I could have him next to or in the backseat, setting and being good, but maybe I'm dreaming.  2) Excited behavior: I can say Kirby is excited when company comes ... he dances all around, wants to jump up on them, wants them to play with his toys with him. Most visitors are ok with this ... for a few minutes ... I am constantly trying to correct him during all of this. He will sit when I tell him, but if I back away to continue my visit, he's right back at it again. My visit then turns out to be all about correcting Kirby. I just feel he's excited most of the time ... always. I KNOW without doubt he does not get the exercise he needs ... this is MY fault. That is the ONE thing I didn't examine closely when I chose to adopt and OES. Trouble is, I love him now. He (Kirby) and I have had doggy to mommy talks ... I tell him he doesn't have a good mommy when it comes to exercising him like he should be. As stated in my original email ... there are some good reasons, as well as bad excuses for this. I should have realized and done my research. 3) I haven't tried a bark collar. I did try and use the shock collar for a bit. I honestly used it on myself to feel any shock. Although, it was very startling, the shock was minimal. I grew tired of weak batteries when I needed them the most. Seems they never lasted. That $150.00 item is on my shelf now. The bark collar could be something I can look into. I really feel, just as "Slickerer's" mommy said, I need a good trainer!!! I'm going to have to try to work something out with one because they are mostly very expensive. Something I don't "think" I've mentioned is that I have an English Bulldog, too. (Molly) She was my daughter's bulldog and I kind of adopted her. (long story) Kirby is 2 1/2, Molly is almost 9. Molly thinks she's queen of the house ... her natural nature. She and Kirby are jealous of each other, although, they can be the best of friends. This could be some of Kirby's "aggressive" behavior, I just don't know. They "fight" over toys very often. Molly doesn't want them necessarily, she just doesn't want Kirby to have any. I do so appreciate your feedback and I'm going to do my best to get these few issues, although big ones, corrected. I will always appreciate ANY suggestions you can give me. Your sheepies are so cute!!!  Thank you again ... it's good to make new friends God Bless and Merry Christmas!!! Marilyn Barker Lapel, Indiana  |
| This sounds a lot like what I recently went through with my own sheepdog! Same age, same behavior. Since you mentioned yourself that he isn't getting the exercise he needs, I'd first suggest more of that-- it was one of the main issues with my own dog who exhibited very similar behavior when company came over. In her head, (I'm assuming) people coming over meant more attention for her, so of course she'd be excited about that when she's not getting the time she needs to exert her energy! The barking was a way to rouse everyone's attention, and 9 out of 10 times people would look at her or touch her in response. Make sure your visitors know the drill with this! At the time of my dog's shift in behavior, I wasn't home enough to correct a new roommate and his visitors to avoid the situation. The other thing that I did was to expose her to way more situations where people would be over/in and out constantly and repeatedly for extended periods of time without initiating any activity with her to retrain her brain about the idea of people coming over. Without the chance to initiate that interaction, it no longer equated to immediate playtime, and with more exercise, she's no longer fully loaded with such insane amounts of energy that it just spills out as soon as someone is here. She's still in everyone's business, of course, but not in an unwanted and rude way. She now knows her boundaries. Mostly, anyway. To be sure, I too considered trainers and behaviorlists, but because the issues were obvious to me, I found it easier to work it out on my own. We're doing quite well now with a better routine! I hope this helps a little, and good luck! |
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