Manic Dog getting worse

[nickdrakeslovechild]

Hi Sorry if this is long, want to put the whole picture out there so I can get some help please.

Have a 7 year old male neutered spaniel. Had him since a puppy an he is lovely in nature, a real sweetie, but he has always been a bit manic. Took him to puppy classes and did well absolutely no aggression in him to people or animals (hes scared of cats).

Hes always barked a lot and run around in a figure of 8 panting. We had an animal behaviourist who could not find out what to do about either things! Hes sociable and does lots of chores around the house so we occupy his time and he gets 2 walks a day. I work from home so hes never left.

The barking and manic behaviour gets worse and worse, he will now bark and run around like someone is trying to break into the house when its just someone closing their car door 4 houses down. If anyone knocks on our door they think we have a pack of pit bulls. When we open the door we say hes noisy but soft and hes happy once he has seen them and wiggles around if its the 1st or 100th time he has seen them. If they come into the house be it a stranger of someone who visits everyday he will run and run around anxious and panting. If we crate him or move him into our bedroom he will howl.

The barking is now just as bad when we go out on our walks, if we stop for what ever reason he just barks and barks, if we turn a corner he will guard the corner and then run off barking uncontrollably, same if we pass any type of obstacle in the pathway. On all our regular walks they all know him and say "we knew you were here as we could hear him"

The behaviour indoors is now so bad, if we open the oven door, or infact any door or cupboard or go in or out of the garden or front door he runs round the house in a complete frenzy barking and hyperventilating and sounds like hes having a heart attack.

Had the same vets for over 10 years, they just want to send him to more different behaviorists and different sprays / defusers but how many different ones do we use before we say we want doggie anti anxiety tables (do they do them?)

Please, please, please does anyone have any advice? We love him so much, but he is getting worse everyday.

Anyone?

That must be really hard. What do you do when he displays the crazy behaviour? Is there anything that stops him eg food treats? Have you tried a filled Kong everytime the door goes or is he not really food motivated?

Both of my dogs would bark when the door goes, but if I throw some small treats on the floor, they are so busy hoovering them up they forget about the door.

There are medications but you do need to have a referral from a qualified behaviourist and consultation with a vet to get these. Ask to be referred to an APBC member they will be able to say whether medication is required or needed.

If you want to pm me I can recommend someone in your area

Thank you for replying. Yes tealady he does love his food so we have tried the kong and food rewards, he is just so focused on running and barking that hes in his own zone if that makes any sense?

muttynutty yes please, I will pm you.

Have you tried rewarding him when he is quiet and settled. This would reinforce the behaviour you want rather than him getting attention for unwanted behaviour.

Try that when there are no distractions for a few minutes so he succeeds. Then maybe sitting with him quietly for a few minutes and introducing distractions whilst you stay calm and clicker train him to not react manically.

He will learn that he will get a treat if he ignores outside stimuli.
The key here is to control his environment and introduce noises etc when you are expecting them but he isn't you can then sit and click and praise and reward in a calm way.

Can then start to do the same in garden and then finally on walks.

Hi, we are using a behaviourist/trainer at the minute for our 2yr old cocker spaniel as she also is constant (attention seeking). He waited at the house for her to settle down and after 3 hours she was still running about the house! He said she had to be taught how to relax and teach her that her bed is somewhere for her to go and chill out. Rewarding her for lying down.
The techniques he taught us was to give her a Kong with frozen low fat natural yogurt inside, make sure all four paws are in the bed and give her it. And doing the same with treats in her bed.
We also limited the access to the house she has when we're not in. She loves sitting on window ledge looking out but now we keep the blinds down to stop this and the barking.
Ignoring the barking so it becomes boring to her if she's not getting any reaction.
Bailey gets worse after very high winds, fireworks etc. If we take her out during these times she seems to cope better with a tight coat on. Have you tried a thunder coat. It's quite tight but I think it uses pressure points to try and relax the dog but make them feel secure as well.

Thank you for the replies, yes have tried and still trying the reward when calm and still. We have been at this for 7 years now and think we are at the end of the line with behavioural side. I am going to make an appointment with the behaviourist that muttynutty has recommended and see our vet again, I think its like with humans we can have as much therapy etc as possible, just sometimes a little medical help is whats needed. Will give it another go before then thou.