Young Hugo's Doggy Attitude

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Young Hugo's Doggy Attitude
Topic Started: May 24 2009, 11:02 PM (97 Views)
dirtychicken	May 24 2009, 11:02 PM Post #1
One of the regulars Posts: 200 Group: Full Members Member #806 Joined: May 3, 2009	Little Hugo turned 5 months today. His behaviour with my dogs is brilliant. He was at Lizzies Barn before coming to us which meant he was living loose with lots of different dogs of all shapes and sizes with no problem, although he did have his 8 year old grandmother with him as bodyguard. Because he's recently had KC and a 2 week course of ABs, he's not had his second vax yet, plus his heart problems, mean that Hugo only has his exercise at home and outside of the house he is carried in a pet backpack. However, when he is in the backpack - or just being carried - he turns into an absolute demon croc when there are other dogs around :angry: Today was an absolute nightmare. We went to a car boot sale with the little man in his backpack. There were quite a lot of other dogs around and he was lunging out of his backpack, barking and snapping at each one of them. When this happens, he tends to get quite frenzied and will just chomp on anything near enough and we carry a little teddy bear for the purpose! Today, however, he refused the teddy and chomped straight down on the base of Sophie's thumb - hard enough to draw blood. It's not affected how she feels about him, but she really does want to try and curb the behaviour. We know the blood has only been drawn because his baby teeth are so sharp, but I'd rather he didn't have such extreme reactions to other dogs. Is it just that he's thinking that he's better than them because he's higher up? :unsure:



Linda & Fred	May 25 2009, 07:09 AM Post #2
Chatterbox Posts: 703 Group: Full Members Member #571 Joined: November 28, 2007	From my experiences with Fred I'd say it's simply frustration. He knows he can't get there to meet and greet normally and he really wants to. Terriers do seem to suffer lead frustration - when I'm assisting at training I do see a lot of lunging, verbal terriers. Fred also started biting so I did muzzle him until he learnt to deal with his frustration but I'm not sure that is the best thing for a young pup. Unfortunately at the time Fred was doing it I was told to give him a 'really good check' when he lunged and put him in a sit. Which is not how I would deal with it now I'm more h'educated. Although not h'educated to know the best way of teaching him to deal with his frustration, sorry. :( I don't think it's anything to do with being higher up, apart from the fact that it's giving him a much better view.



zandd	May 25 2009, 09:23 AM Post #3
Moderator Posts: 22,625 Group: Moderators Member #48 Joined: February 5, 2005	:hug: for Sophie - puppy teeth flipping hurt :o Would also think it's because he's unable to read other dog's behaviour from that height and can't greet them himself.Lots of Terriers have a problem with being controlled when greeting other dogs,not sure if it's to do with height at all.Sorry if you've already mentioned but why is he in a backpack? If it's because of his health problems perhaps a buggy might be better as he will then at least be at greeting level?



dirtychicken	May 25 2009, 02:35 PM Post #4
One of the regulars Posts: 200 Group: Full Members Member #806 Joined: May 3, 2009	Thanks guys :flower: Lynne - he's in the backpack at the moment because he's not had his second vax yet (because of the recent ABs) and because he can't physically cope with walking very far or for very long. So yes, perhaps a buggy would be a better option and then he'd also be a long way away from edible flesh!! :rolleyes:



Nic	May 25 2009, 04:02 PM Post #5
Competition Manager Posts: 2,385 Group: Competition Manager Member #484 Joined: June 20, 2007	It def sounds like just puppy frustration, I am sure once he can be walked on the lead and sociales more he'll be fine, Twig was the opposite - absoltely petrified and ran if another dog came near her, she still sinks to the ground and goes all submissive but is far braver and well socialsed now, keep going Im sure he'll turn out great :flower:



Tafia	May 25 2009, 04:56 PM Post #6
Total Gas Bag! Posts: 5,819 Group: Full Members Member #134 Joined: November 17, 2005	I've seen dogs, who behave perfectly with other dogs when on the ground, turn into snarling, raving lunatics the minute their picked up so that could have something to do with it. But having little or no experience with a pup with Hugo's history plus an inability to think outside the box, have no ideas other than TTouch?



RJL	May 26 2009, 08:44 PM Post #7
Chatterbox Posts: 1,382 Group: Full Members Member #179 Joined: January 25, 2006	Ouch! Poor Sophie! :flower: I agree it sounds like frustration and also perhaps that Hugo has concluded (as only a small dog can!) that because he is hoisted out of the way, the dogs on the ground are somehow a threat and as he is restrained in the backpack, he would have no means of defending himself if they jumped at him - so screaming blue murder is the best form of defence. Could you just let him mix with dogs that you know are vaccinated, at ground level, until he can mix freely? If he learns that making an exhibition of himself and screaming terrier-expletives at other dogs makes them back off (and makes some react with a similar outburst) it can be a hard habit to break.



Linda & Fred	May 27 2009, 05:14 PM Post #8
Chatterbox Posts: 703 Group: Full Members Member #571 Joined: November 28, 2007	dirtychicken May 25 2009, 02:35 PM Thanks guys :flower: Lynne - he's in the backpack at the moment because he's not had his second vax yet (because of the recent ABs) and because he can't physically cope with walking very far or for very long. So yes, perhaps a buggy would be a better option and then he'd also be a long way away from edible flesh!! :rolleyes: If he's in a buggy he will be at dog level, so just as vulnerable to catching something as being on the ground?



dirtychicken	May 28 2009, 03:25 PM Post #9
One of the regulars Posts: 200 Group: Full Members Member #806 Joined: May 3, 2009	Linda was Eco Worrier May 27 2009, 05:14 PM If he's in a buggy he will be at dog level, so just as vulnerable to catching something as being on the ground? Good point :blush: I was hoping that he could be vaxed this week as the coughing stopped for 48 hours, but now it's back at full force so more ABs :err: Trouble is, because the cough is suspected to be KC he has to be kept away from other dogs anyway so I'm banging my head against a wall until the cough is sorted and he's vaxed. Thank you so much for the suggestions though :flower: Edited by dirtychicken, May 28 2009, 03:25 PM.



Linda & Fred	May 28 2009, 03:31 PM Post #10
Chatterbox Posts: 703 Group: Full Members Member #571 Joined: November 28, 2007	It is such a difficult one - my mum's 'sprollie' came from a puppy farm (mum and a litter rescued) and she had KC from there - so couldn't leave the house until she was about 4 months old as took ages to shift, so I do sympathise! She didn't really recover from losing that important time. I hope he recovers soon, he deserves to see as much of the world as possible.



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