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| Doleful Zak; Unhappy wee patterdale | |
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| Topic Started: Nov 22 2008, 07:55 PM (121 Views) | |
| zakaroo | Nov 22 2008, 07:55 PM Post #1 |
Squeaker
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Hi guys! I have three dogs, Zak the patterdale terrier (5yrs), Kelpie the mongrel (13 yrs) and now Jasper the Parson Russell(3 years). I've had Jasper for around six months now and up until he arrived Zak was a happy playful typical patterdale terrier but since Jasper arrived he seems to have gone into his shell and he certainly appears less happy and full of life. Jasper is a bit of a handful and is very inquisitive and playful and wants to play all the time whereas Zak just wants to be left alone. Question is - is there anything I can do to bring wee Zak back out of his shell? All suggestions will be gratefully received. |
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| zandd | Nov 22 2008, 08:02 PM Post #2 |
Moderator
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Oh gosh not come across this before,usually it's more a problem of conflict when a new dog arrives,not an existing one feeling doleful.Do you spend time with Zak on his own at all? Not easy I know with 3 dogs but maybe that would bring him out.Do either of them use a crate,Zak as a retreat Jasper to calm him down a bit. |
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| zakaroo | Nov 22 2008, 08:36 PM Post #3 |
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Squeaker
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yeah - I make sure that all three dogs get personal quality time and they have a crate in the house which Zak likes to retreat to and Jasper goes in when he is in disgrace. Occassionally they play together and Zak likes to play ball with Jasper out in the garden. Sometimes they will play tug with each other but other than that Zak wants nothing to do with Jasper. This doesn't stop Jasper trying to play with him though! |
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| zandd | Nov 22 2008, 09:10 PM Post #4 |
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Moderator
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Oh dear I'm stumped then as they would have been my suggestions.Hopefully someone who does have experience will have better advice. |
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| Tafia | Nov 22 2008, 09:42 PM Post #5 |
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Total Gas Bag!
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Could it possibly be that he's just getting that little bit older and possibly more grown up? That combined with a new, high energy companion which is utilizing his energy in way that Kelpie, being that so much older couldn't? He perhaps feels totally exhausted having a PRT full time nagging at him to interact and play and who can blame him - I know a PRT who exhausts me after a couple of hours! |
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| Laura | Nov 26 2008, 09:59 PM Post #6 |
One of the regulars
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Sally, my 2 1/2 year old patterdale is sitting next to me with a very knowledgable look...If she could talk 'human' she'd be saying "I know how he feels" just as Meg (1 yr old JRT) dives onto her head and starts pulling her ears... :err: I'm sorry to hear Zac is not himself. Our girls don't have much of an age gap and are both very young. Meg sounds just like Jasper. She wants to play with Sally (or anyone for that matter) all the time, as roughly as possible, whereas Sally likes to sleep for at least 20 hours a day :rolleyes: We got around it by making sure Meg had plenty of play times with people, so Sally could relax and have her cuddles. But I have made sure I've left them to sort themselves out instead of listening ot Sally when she came to 'tell' on Meg. Teeth have been shown, and Meg has had the odd nip when she pushed Sally too far, but she would't have learned otherwise and Sally wouldn't have realised she could stop Meg if it got too much for her. (I do step in if they start to fight, usually when a ball is involved :rolleyes: ) We've had Meg since 8 weeks but Sally has only showed a real interest in playing with her the last 4-5 months, they seemed to just 'click' suddenly and they love to play now. Sally will even leap on Meg unexpectedly to start a play fight. I like the suggestion that Zac is just a bit more grown up now, I thought Sally really matured when we had Meg, but when I thought about it I realised that Meg was such a :hyper: hyper little monster ( :wub: ) that Sally seemed like a really calm little :angel: in comparison!! Sorry, that wasn't really advice. Hopefully Zac and Jasper will 'click' like my two, prehaps when Jasper calms down a bit more? Does Jasper have any other doggy friends he can use up some energy with? Just out of interest, who is in charge out of the two of them? Is Zac just being more submissive? |
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| HillamHotDogs | Dec 2 2008, 04:09 PM Post #7 |
Squeaker
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Don't know if this will help but Millie our Alpha femail went 'off colour' after her accident and didn't want anything to do with Daisy our second Border/Lakeland. This went on for over three months then she would start to respond to Daisy's play bows, but also snap at her to reassert her position as Alpha female. She is fully recovered now and plays with Daisy every day so it could be positioning behaviour. |
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10:16 PM Nov 25
