Anyone feed their dog/s Vitalin working dog food? hyperactive dog :(

[Marne]

I have posted several times over the past few weeks about my dog, he's being such hard work .

He is hyperactive all the time, he wont let me sit down without crying to be walked (I'm walking him 3 times a day, several miles each time which he spends off the lead chasing a ball, so loads of exercise), he's extra bouncy, as soon as I stand up he jumps around knocking my 8 year old over and annoying my other dog.

I used to feed him a mixture of dry and wet food (Vitalin working dog and chappie), the vet recommended I just fed him dry as it would fill him up more (because he is waking at 5am crying for food) but since being on just dry we have had the hyper behaviour, he's also pulling like a train on the lead and he doesn't seem to get tired, getting him to listen to me has become a struggle (as he is too busy jumping around going loopy), it has only just occurred to me that it might be his diet .

Vitalin has been the only food I have found that doesn't upset his tummy, the only food that produces poo's that I can pick up in the garden without making a mess, I am worried about changing it. He suffered with colitis as a pup and we think he may have a allergy to rice so finding a food with low rice content is a struggle. I have just bought pets at home own food which is meant to be similar to 'james wellbeloved ' and its potato and salmon (so low rice content), going to mix it with his other food tonight and see if it makes a difference (or if it upsets his tummy).

Has anyone else had a similar experience with this food? I'm guessing it is a high energy food as it is produced for working dogs? we bought it because of the price and it didn't seem to have the additives in which other cheaper foods do. I cant afford to feed 2 dogs on JWB and I have not got the freezer space to do raw feeding (and I cant risk having raw chicken around with a autistic child that licks everything).

Thank you, will get him checked out by the vet, can't take him today as I havn't got a car to get him there ( he won't fit in my car so need dh's ). He doesn't seem to be peeing a lot and when he does do it he seems to do it by my other dogs food bowl after I have fed them, yesterday it was just scent marking as it was just a small amount but when he did it on the rug it was a larger amount so could be an infection. He's going to the vets wed anyway so will get him checked over.

Will also look at the raw feeding, I like the look of natures choice but I need to work out the costs compared to feeding him on a good dry food ( as money is tight having 2 dogs to feed ).

Marine, did you get him from a local rescue? Did they not advise of training classes in your area?
I hope it goes okay at the vets

We got him from a rescue but not very local, we have been giving a contact for agility but the classes are half an hour away, I can't get him in my new car and he hates travelling, even taking him to the vets in the next village is stressful. We have asked the vet about classes but there is nothing any closer .

He has finally settled in his crate ( with the door open ) after his long walk, he hasn't peed in the house since this morning, will see if he does it when I feed them later.

Marne, I've forgotten how old your boy is. Is he still adolescent?

I agree with what others, including the rescue, have said about him being over-stimulated. He needs to learn to have some down-time and not always need to be entertained, some dogs learn this more naturally than others and some will take as much exercise and attention as you can give them, whether or not it's actually good for them.

I think raw feeding will help. Our Collie x girl always did much better on raw than even top end kibbles. She was a Border Collie x Belgian Shepherd - both high energy, intelligent working breeds and was very full on as a teenager. We had to teach her that she didn't need to be manically doing something all day every day and sometimes it was ok to just chill.

Good idea to take him to the vets about the weeing as well, even if it doesn't turn out to be an infection, at least you'll know for sure it must be behavioural, iyswim.

he's only 18 months old so yes, he's at that age where he thinks he knows best, he has just discovered the scent of other dogs, when we are out he has started to get distracted and will drop his ball to follow a scent that other dogs have left (before he was only interested in playing ball) and he has only just learnt to cock his leg so scenting is a new thing to him, hopefully getting him castrated might help with this?

He is still asleep in his crate which has to be the longest he has slept during the day in a while, so seems one long walk a day will settle him better than 3 smaller ones.

Thank you for the link, makes complete sense, I will start giving him treats when he's calm (as long as he doesn't hear me getting them, I will keep some in my pocket).

Good to hear he slept for a good long while - it would suggest we're on the right track with less/more consolidated exercise and reduced stimulation.

If he's just starting to cock his leg now, then yes, I'm afraid he has arrived at the terrible teens. Neutering may or may not help with the scent marking, unfortunately it's impossible to predict which dogs it will make a difference to in that department.

Teaching them to settle and be calm can take a bit of persistence, but it's really worth it when you end up with a dog you can take anywhere and know they'll sit/lie calmly whenever you need them to.

I added the cue 'settle' (said in hushed tones whenever they were lying quietly) to my two when I taught them, so now they know what I want them to do when I say it. It's the last thing I say to them when I put them to bed at night too, which is useful when you have a youngster that doesn't have the sense to know when they need to stop and rest.

My pockets are always full of treats and I keep a dish of fresh treats in the fridge too and use them to capture behaviour. I'm sneaky, so I'll do all the things that I usually do when I'm making a cuppa and grab a few treats while I'm there so he doesn't catch on. It also means I have a nice cuppa to enjoy while I settle down for a sofa-based training session.

Well he has been castrated today, spoke to the vet on the phone and she said he was very bouncy after his op and is being hyper so looks like it's not going to make much difference! he dragged me into the vets this morning with his tail wagging.

It takes a few months (at least 3 iirc) for the testosterone to leave their system, Marne, so the fact he's still lively today is no indication of whether or not the op will have an effect.

In the meantime, if you keep working on the settle and reducing stimulation you should start to see some improvements.

Good luck with keeping him away from his stitches - has he got a giant lampshade to wear?

Have got him home, he's very quiet and sleepy, vet said its rare for a dog to start licking their stitches as soon as they come round so have advised that he wears the collar until his stitches come out. He's on cage rest for the rest of the day and his best friend ( my other dog ) is lead next to the cage keeping him company.

The bonus of him being sleepy is I can reinforce the 'settle' whilst slowly feeding him bits of chicken for his dinner ( if I give home a meal in a bowl he is likely to eat it to fast and be sick ).

I drove home whilst being knocked in the face by the giant cone, my dh's car is so tiny that he fills the whole back up ( seats down ), hopefully he will keep the cone on.

The cone of shame really hurts if it isknocked into you, doesn't it?
I am glad he seems ok

I am covered in bruises and marks , he hasn't got the hang of walking through the door without getting stuck! he's following me around ( worried I'm going to leave him ) so keeps bashing me with the bloody cone.

Ouch! I dread the time Pip has to have one. He has absolutely no spatial awareness as it is - as his ever-growing list of injuries are testament to. Dread to think what chaos the cone-of-shame is going to wreak in our household.

How's he doing today?

After one was spayed she just kept running at me and pinning me up against things, so I took it off!

He seems fine today other than banging into everything with his cone ,he wont let me out of his sight and cries if I leave the room, he's desperate to go for a walk but is only allowed a 10 minute walk on the lead, I havnt took him out as I know he will get too excited.

Good that he hasn't noticed. My Boxer cross lad didn't notice he'd been done, neither did Lurcherboy - mind you, Lurcherboy did manage to pop all his stitches, as he was full of beans, but fortunately only one at a time, so they didn't have to be redone.