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GAL Website -> GAL Forum -> Behavioural Problems -> Think you spoke too soon Glenda
Post Info TOPIC: Think you spoke too soon Glenda
Liz Court


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Think you spoke too soon Glenda
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I think that Spud may have been Houdini/Uri Geller/Rasputin in a past life - yeah OK so Uri Geller's still alive but you get the picture.


He's got quite a character and he seems alot cleverer than either Willow or Alfie.  He can do Sit and Lie Down and Up and Shaky Hands while Willow looks on in bewilderment.   But there's something a bit other worldly about him.


He likes to chew.  Anything.  Last week in one day he ate his harness (he's eaten 6 harnesses we normally don't leave his harness on but I forgot), chewed the top off the remote control and ate my purse.  This is the tip of  a very large iceberg which includes countless pairs of shoes, a mobile phone and the toilet seat.   He does have his own toys.  He likes to destroy them and scatter the pieces around the house.


He also likes to come to bed with us and lie between us.  He's a very affectionate boy.  If we don't let him he whines and howls and makes chimp noises and  chews stuff and pees. 


So we got him a cage and decided he should sleep there.  We slept in the living room with him at first so that he could get used to it and it seemed to be working a treat.  When we moved upstairs he ate his bed - not a first.  Then the chimp noises started.  The next night he opened the cage, escaped and jumped on me at 3am.  It was spooky.


The night after that we muzzled him in the cage just like Hannibal Lecter.  He took his muzzle off, ripped some of the bars from the cage (think Incredible Hulk meets Godzilla), chewed the straps off his muzzle, escaped from the hole in the cage,  ran up the stairs and jumped into bed with us.  Willow - who was probably egging him on  - came with him.   He didn't eat our livers with some fava beans and a nice chianti but I'm beginning to wonder about his motives.


Now we can't use the cage (which was borrowed) because it is wide open and has sharp bits of metal sticking out all over. 


Just not sure what to do next.  I thought that perhaps an exorcism might help because there's definitely something a bit Mulder and Scully about him and his eyes glow red in the dark.  Then I thought a straight jacket (should be easy enough I work in a mental hospital) but he'd chew it off.  I could ask the vet to wire his jaws (joking) but he'd probably grow Edward Scissorhands and chop the coffeee table up - he's already eaten the dining table.


I really love the little ratbag but I think we need some advice so if anyone has any suggestions ...


 


 



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Christine Young


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Hi Liz


I'm ashamed to say that the tears were pouring down my face reading your post! After I'd composed myself, I still found myself chuckling reading it a second time. What an attention seeker Spud is - but you must be wondering if there's anything or anywhere he can't escape from. Or whether you'll have a house to come back to if you go out for an hour! He just wants to be with you all the time!


I don't have any suggestions for you but Vivian Silverstein is the GAL behaviourist and may be able to help you. Her details are on the forum under "Training - Greyhound and Lurcher Training Classes" and it's Dave's post that has her phone number and details of the training classes she holds.


Good luck and let us know how you get on. And give Houdini/Spud a big hug from me!


Christine



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evelyn


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Zelda did just the same as Spud initially. We felt she was at her worst when left alone and realise most of the chewing was due to separation anxiety. Everything was chewed...shoes and toys were her speciality. She was particularly fond of Barbie dolls...so much so that one day I went out into the garden to lift her poo and found Barbie's hand waving at me from her jobby!! After a year of having to hide things and anticipate the kind of things she might chew, she settled down and now we can safely leave her alone with Barbie, Ken and Italian leather shoes!!!!

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Janice


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My daughter, Amy, aged 8 has been rolling about the floor laughing her head off for the last 20mins at this. She says she can't wait to go to school tomorrow and tell her teacher this. Must admit I'll never look at a Barbie the same way ever again!!


Janice   



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skinnydugs


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My son is in fits at the barbie story. Hes glad its her and not Ken.


 


Esther



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Leolurcher


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Our Leo's chewing behaviour seemed more to do with "exporatory" behaviour rather than separation anxiety as he did it when we were sitting in the room with himHe was like a little child testing if anything was edible or taking things apart to see how they "worked" Like Evelyn we just hid things that we would have been very upset if he had eaten them. Leo's behaviour lasted for eight months and then for some reason he stopped literally "overnight".


One morning he seemed to get up and decided he didn't need to explore any more. Hint for anyone with a dog that seems to have this kind of behaviour. In the early days of hiding things etc be careful of moving objects in the house like an ornament to a new shelf etc or of anything new brought into the house because chances are the dog will notice the change or the new object and that object will be the next to be grabbed. That was a tip I got years ago when we had a young Pharaoh Hound. Some hounds can be ultra interested  in their surroundings and that coupled with their natural curiosity can cause problems in the early days with a moved or "new" thing. A new gate or something unfamiliar like that in a  field that the hound knows well can cause the same sort of reaction in a young or rescued hound. It spies a new thing and once it is off lead it makes a beeline for it ...to inspect the "intruder"


Good luck Liz


Eleanor



-- Edited by Leolurcher at 10:22, 2005-03-17

-- Edited by Leolurcher at 10:26, 2005-03-17

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glendy


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Awwww you have to love the little guy. He's so cute! He's just trying to keep life interesting.

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glendy
Chas


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Glenda,


Not sure you'd be saying that if Spud lived in your house......


Liz,


I was a bit gobsmacked reading your post.  Freddy went through a short phase of chewing the kitchen door and let him sleep in the living room.  Eventually worked out it was the dishwasher noises that frightened him - changed the time we put it on and everything was fine after that.  He also chewed some of the kids toys after we got Wilma, but think that was an attention thing - and we thought it was the new dog!!


Sorry can't be of any more help and hope you get to the bottom of the problem soon. (Vivian should be an excellent help!!)


Keep us updated!


Chas


 



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