Dog problems

[helloBuddy]

Hi,

I just wanted opinions really.

We got a dog in 2016 and had just recently had a baby. We've always had difficulties with the dog, he's reactive on the lead and had separation anxiety. We've coped with this until the new baby arrived, the first few days he was awful, howling, trying to get near the baby etc. He has calmed down now and we've introduced him to the baby in a controlled way, however he keeps trying to get to her when not invited and lick her. I never leave them alone together which is a task in itself constantly having to move one of them from one room to another.

The dog also hates being left alone, we try and limit this but inevitably he has to be left sometimes. I can hear him barking when I leave the house and return. The neighbour has commented about it as well but so far isn't complaining. I also feel an immense amount and of guilt when I'm going because I know he hates it. He evens barks when we go to bed at night but will settle after about 5mins.

Does anyone have any suggestions? I would like to rehome but my partner is very against this. I feel he needs more attention then we can currently give him and needs somewhere without a baby. He's only a small dog but I worry what he could potential do. Does anyone know how easy it is to get him into rehoming charity?

Thanks

Sorry to hear about your struggles. There are things you can get to plug in around the house that releases a calming scent which helps pets with anxiety etc. Also, it might be an idea to have the trainer come with you when you go out for a walk with the baby, just for the first few times so that your dog can be involved too. I had my two dogs; a German shepherd and a collie cross springer spaniel and they would lay on the floor at the bottom of my sons moses basket and on the sofa next to his basket. I would take them both for a walk with me when I went out with my son in the pushchair, they were fine but the first couple of times they'd pull because they weren't used to the pushchair element but we kept stopping, sitting and then they'd be given a treat and off we'd go again. They soon learnt that they had to walk in line with the pushchair and it was great walking my dogs and me and my son also getting out and about too. My dogs unfortunately passed away due to illness a few years ago and I miss them so much. I know you're thinking about rehoming but please consider all options. Your dog is trying to adjust to its new life, it just needs a chance and some reassurance from those it loves. Good luck

A dog is for life, not just for Christmas

A crate is an ideal solution and shouldn’t be used as a punishment but as a safe and secure place for your dog to rest.

Adaptil diffusers can make a positive difference to anxiety in dogs.

Is he castrated? Neutering will also be of benefit.

He is castrated, we did this quiet early on.

I've arranged for a behaviourist to come and see him and talk things over and then take things from there.

I'm going to use a baby carrier and take him out for a walk and see how we get on tomorrow. He will get much more walks if I manage to take him with the baby.

I'm going to look at his diet and change that over the next week or so and I've been and bought him a new long and some chewy bones etc.

So hopefully fingers crossed we will get somewhere. He can be a good natured dog and is fairly submissive but not when he is out. I don't want to risk letting him off the lead at the moment but hopefully it's something we can do in the future.

Thanks for all the advice

We had a JRT and a Ridgeback when ds2 arrived. They were allowed to sniff him as soon as we walked through the door. Then we allowed it when he was on laps etc. Because it's curiosity and it's how dogs learn.

As it was out JRT was amazing. If da2 started to whimper in his bouncer, she would go over to him and just place her head by his hand. Over the coming months he would look for her head, and as soon as he found it he would settle again. We were always with her when she done it, they were not allowed alone together until he was older (but we had open plan living anyway).

Our dog were walked 3 times a day. An hour in the morning and evening and an hour and a half in the afternoon. They really needed the exercise! But in the afternoon I always used a sling to walk them both.

Please don't give up on him! Exercises him more, look at his diet and bring in a good trainer!!

he's a JRT/Daschund. He gets walked morning and night, the time can vary but minimum 20mins each time, usually more. He's on a mix of wet and dry food, tends to only eat this early evening. He's two and half years old.

I have a dog that's the exact same cross, similar age, by coincidence. When he came into my life (rescue) he was reactive as hell, towards other dogs and (weirdly) motorbikes. He's been with me 6 months and has vastly improved, though he's not perfect.

The things I have found are

• exercise is key. If he doesn't get walked to the point of exhaustion each and every day, he's horrible. A tired dog is a good dog, as they say (and a vastly less reactive dog too). For him that either means a good 45 minutes of non-stop off lead fetch (add extra time if he won't drop the ball reliably) or 3 hours of brisk walkies across a very large park. 2x20 mins walks per day result in him being a pain in the arse.

• your dog may be different (though the fact he can deal with other dogs in controlled situations makes me think he could be similar), but in the early days with mine he would react to 30-40% of dogs we saw when out. With enough exercise, this turned out to be largely a matter of him wanting to get to the other dog and greet them fast. If he can't, he becomes frustrated. For the same reason, he's also fine off lead. Now he has enough exercise and doggy social contact he's now got to the point where we can see a dog on the other side of a B road that he can't greet and he won't start barking(!). Unfortunately I suspect reactivity often draws people into a vicious cycle where dog is reactive = walked less because owners can't cope = dog becomes more reactive and you need to break that cycle.

• If you have a truly reactive dog (as mine is with motorbikes, but not dogs), this is a great fb group - look at the CARE method www.facebook.com/groups/1633448230248202/ It's worth noting, however, that reactive dogs generally only have certain triggers and are often fabulous dogs when those triggers aren't around. I, for instance, don't have any concerns about my dog and children (he'll let them stroke him on the bus for instance) despite being horribly reactive towards motorbikes.

• There's an element of both mental and physical exercise, and he needs both. The physical exercise is obvious, but the mental exercise is about training - both the serious sort (don't pull on the lead!) through to party tricks (roll over) and enrichment activities that get his brain working - Kongs are a great start, but this group has some excellent ideas www.facebook.com/groups/canineenrichment/

• For reasons that are long, boring and irrelevant, I had no control over what he was fed for the first 5-6 months that I was in his life. Unfortunately, his then-owner insisted on feeding the cheapest dog food, which had ingredients that started off with "cereals, meat and animal derivatives (4% chicken)" which is utter shite. I went on www.allaboutdogfood.co.uk and found a better quality, low cost alternative (Markus Muhle, but there are lots of options out there) and his behaviour has become easier to manage. Note that almost all the foods you can buy in a supermarket (Pedigree, Bakers etc.) are low quality options.

• Dogs Trust does a lot of preventative work (i.e. preventing dogs coming into rescue for behavioural reasons) and I've heard good things about their dog training scheme which you could try www.dogstrustdogschool.org.uk/dog-school/

• JRTs and JRT crosses are one of the most common breeds that come into rescue. If you do try and rehome your dog, expect that he will languish in kennels for quite some time, especially as he's reactive. Be very careful with where you send him; some 'rescues' (e.g. RSPCA) put dogs down that are healthy and rehomeable just because they're a bit short on kennel space. As a dog that's not particularly easy to rehome, your dog could end up being put down. Whatever you do, do not try and rehome privately. As a private individual, you do not have the resources to identify a suitable owner. My dog was frankly traumatised by going through 5 owners before his second birthday, with 1-4 paying sod all attention to his training. Don't let that same fate happen to your dog.

• Some advice here about introducing dogs to babies (not my area!) www.learnwithdogstrust.org.uk/be-dog-smart/dt-bds-8pp%20antenatal%20leaflet-web.pdf

Bit of a random collection of thoughts from someone who has a very similar dog; given the time and effort he sounds entirely 'fixable' to my untrained ears. In my experience, there's a lot of time and effort involved in this sort of thing, but that's what you signed up to when you got a dog (much like having a baby) and you can't just give up because it's challenging (much like a challenging child).

NRFT but I'd say, get a sling for the baby and walk the dog like that. of course you're very protective of baby since it's such a miracle you had them when you didn't think you'd be able to. But at the moment, the dog hasn't done anything wrong. It's really crucial you don't get cross with him when he is trying to lick the baby as you don't want him to associate being told off with it. Keep him off the furniture if possible, so he isn't on a level with it - that might need some new training! and reward him when he is wagging around the baby. Have the baby in a sling when you give him his food. Find somewhere you can let him off the lead to get some of his tension out so he's not so wound up and anxious. Play ball with him there.
Baby age isn't the tough time with a dog. It's toddler age when they are trying to play with them and not listening to what you tell them. Don't forget to train your baby to be respectful of the dog too.

Haven't read the full thread so don't know if this has been suggested.
Could you not use a baby carrier/sling to carry baby so you have both hands free for walking your dog?
I have 2 dogs and a just over year old, I couldn't have survived the early days.
I also found the more the dogs are kept away from something the more they want to see it, so I never kept them away and they soon lost interest.
I sympathise with the never leaving them alone as that was a chore BUT again my baby carrier was amazing as baby was in there and I could go to any room I wanted.

Maybe try Adaptil? We used the feline equivalent, Feliway, for an anxious kitten.

Ultimately you have two issues: the reactivity and the separation anxiety.

1. The reactivity is possibly a fear response. You need professional help so that when he sees another dog he associates it with positive things. It takes a while but is worth it. We've just been working through similar issues with our dog.
2. The separation anxiety. There is only one way to cure this which is slowly building up the amount of time the dog is left alone. You simply can't leave the dog for longer than they can cope with and this may be 1min or 10min. Same goes for at night. Move his bed to your room so he isn't alone.

Well done OP, when it comes to animals many of us are quite opinionated, but it sounds like you have listened to the advice and have put together an action plan. It's tough with a dog that is reactionary...I know I found it tough, and I didn't have a baby to look after! Hopefully with a bit of work, you can all find a way to be happy together. All the very best x

OP I'm so glad to read your update. You've taken everything suggested on board which is a credit to you.

Really hope things work out for you and your dog. Best of luck and please keep us updated.

You really seem to have listened OP and I salute you for that. Believe me, everything I've said is coming from experience with the nitty gritty of living with a nutjob dog. I'm also disabled and live in a crippling amount of pain so I know what it's like to have challenges and feel like you're losing your bloody mind cos you can only handle one thing at a time.

20 mins twice a day is way too low for a young jack Russel.
He needs 1.5 hours split between two walks as a minimum every day and most off lead so he can get his nose on the ground and have some mental stimulation. Jack Russell are strong minded and energetic dogs that need more than one really interesting walk a day and preferably three. They are barkers with separation anxiety almost as standard and need strong owners to give them a cast iron routine and firm boundaries. They are loyal clever and affectionate dogs. Your jack is bored and under exercised sounds like he was too much for you and I suggest rehoming so the dog will be happier.

Just a reminder that when you do change his food to do so gradually as it may cause an upset stomach if you do a straight swap. Gradually add a little of the new food to his current food everyday until he is having only the new food.