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Post by kandie on May 30, 2015 16:28:46 GMT
we have a 10 month old field spaniel lab mix
have had him since he was 3 months old.
He is sweet. Not aggressive. He is not scared of a lot but he sure seems to have sensory issues!!
We cant brush him, we cant cut his nails, we cant pet him unless it is his hind end only
we can put tick stuff on him. We cant look in his mouth or ears.
he freaks out at certain noises too, the vaccuum, my daughter when she plays guitar, when you make duck noises with your mouth.
He is just an weird dog!!!!
he is out third dog. The other two were not like this. Is this normal for a dog??
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Post by heather on May 30, 2015 17:36:00 GMT
Ugh. We have one of those. While we've made great improvements, he's still a nervous dog.
When he is scared or nervous do not reassure or comfort him. It reinforces that there's something to be scared of. You need to build up his confidence. Lots of happy reinforcements.
Keep handling him and be patient. If he doesn't like to be brushed, show him the brush, let him sniff it and examine it. Stroke him with the brush just once, when he's good with that, do it twice, etc. Keep handling his paws, ears, etc. just to the point when he starts to get uncomfortable. Then praise the ever loving shit out of him. Keep pushing him...just do it slowly and be extremely patient. Every advancement, no matter how small, is the BEST. THING. EVER. and deserving of a doggy party.
Also make sure he knows his place. Do you currently have other dogs? Are you respecting who the alpha dog is? Reinforce who the boss is.
If you don't make progress now, he's going to grow up to be a neurotic pain in the behind. That's not good for him or you.
Warning though...if you make progress in one area, expect a relapse or new issue to pop up. Just work through it.
It's a lot of work and frustrating. But worth it. Good luck!
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Post by Dori~Mama~Bear on May 30, 2015 19:48:26 GMT
Get a different type of brush. Find a groomer to cut his nails. I have 3 dogs. Pearl is great with nails. Skippy is ok but we do have to drug him. But gadget... I have to take him to a groomer friend of mine. She is the only one that can cut his nails. He just melts into her hands when she touches him. Skippy hates being brushed. We have worked with him for years. We have to start at his bottom area and work our way around his body. We do find that if we brush him every other day we can brush him easier and he has less tangles. I have also found that me not grooming him worked much better and he doesn't fight the brushing as bad.. good luck keep working with him.
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scrapaddie
Drama Llama
Posts: 5,090 
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Post by scrapaddie on May 30, 2015 19:51:26 GMT
Try beginning by touching him where he likes to be touched and then go to another place and then back to where he likes to be touched. do this slowly every day or several times a day. eventually, hopefully, he will allow you to touch other body parts without having the first touch him where he likes to be touched. It may take months. For instance if you like to be touched on the rear begin by rubbing his butt. Then move your hand up maybe along his ribs and then back to his butt.
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Post by crimsoncat05 on May 30, 2015 20:00:34 GMT
Keep handling him and be patient. If he doesn't like to be brushed, show him the brush, let him sniff it and examine it. Stroke him with the brush just once, when he's good with that, do it twice, etc. Keep handling his paws, ears, etc. just to the point when he starts to get uncomfortable. Then praise the ever loving shit out of him. Keep pushing him...just do it slowly and be extremely patient. Every advancement, no matter how small, is the BEST. THING. EVER. and deserving of a doggy party.
Also make sure he knows his place. Do you currently have other dogs? Are you respecting who the alpha dog is? Reinforce who the boss is.
If you don't make progress now, he's going to grow up to be a neurotic pain in the behind. That's not good for him or you.
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^^^ this. One of our dogs was so freaked out by us touching his feet that he had to be physically restrained to clip his nails (like, one of the vet techs laying on him to hold him down so the other tech could clip them). He's about 2 1/2 yrs old now, and is better about it, but still doesn't like it. If I give him a chance to realize what I want to do, he will run and hide from the comb / brush and clippers. (he knows which drawer they're kept in, and if he sees me open that drawer, he's gone like a shot.)
I have no idea WHY he has these issues, but with time and attention, he's gotten better and is still improving.
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Post by peano on May 30, 2015 20:05:33 GMT
As far as nail clipping goes, I take him to the vet and the genius that is the groomer there found that if she puts a dog in the bathtub and turns on the water, it distracts the dog from the nail clipping. My dog has gone from jumping a mile if you tried to touch her feet, to jumping voluntarily into the tub...and she no longer needs the water running.
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Post by kandie on May 30, 2015 20:05:38 GMT
Thanks everyone!! glad to know he isnt totally abnormal!!!
I will to all of your suggestions!! hopefully we can improve this!! he is a sweet funny dog, love him to bits, but sheesh!!! as my teen would say "he has issues"!!!
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