Bad Habits are becoming a list.

Annette's picture

My lab x border collie is about to turn 1 year old. I have gone through some rough times with him and just when I thought he was settling down I am now wondering about some of his new behaviour. 1. We live on 5 acres and what we originally thought was our boy just exercising has become an annoying habit. When he sights a car, truck or sometimes pedestrian he will charge down to the fence line and run at full speed along the fence line as if he is racing the car, barking as he approaches the end, he is not aggressive. If he is at the other end of the property and sees a car coming up the road he runs at full speed to meet it. He does the same with us when we are leaving our home. When my husband is on the ride on mower he will just run up and down behind him for hours on end, tired of course but this does not dampen his spirit. 2. He has begun sniffing at our visitors, male and female's bums and crutches it is so embarrasing. I find that he becomes excited and when he is told to sit, which he does, he has a pink 'dick' looking at us. This is a regular occurance. Will desexing help to stop this? 3. When our boy is outside with us he will often come and sit at our side, he will raise his paw and constantly paw at us. I will shake his paw or give him a pat on the head. This seems to then excite him and he may then jump. Otherwise if I ignore him he will repeatedly paw at me or begin to bark. 4. Finally I am concerned as we occasionally get kangaroos on our property. Recently we arrived home from work to find that our boy had obviously been chasing them and with exhaustion they had died. We found one which he had started to eat. I did not get angry with him as I thought this is his space and it was after the event. He ignores the kangaroos if they are on the otherside of the fence. Should I be worried? How can I stop the above behaviour, sorry about the list - all help appreciated.

Annette

Comments

Aidan's picture

Kangaroos, excess energy and "red rockets"

Hi Annette, wow, that is quite a list!

If you hadn't told me he was a Lab x BC I would be guessing "Is he a Lab or a Border Collie?" You hit the jackpot and got a bit of each!

Kangaroos, as peaceful as they generally are, can kill a dog if required to save it's own life. A big roo (usually only a Red will get large enough) will strike with the hind legs and gut a dog.

Chasing cars, even from the safety of behind a fence, is obviously also a risky activity. One day someone might leave a gate open, and then what?

I really have to suggest some management. Personally, I would fence off a run or yard with at least a 1500mm high fence. Unless you're really good and have a lot of spare time, you probably aren't going to train a dog not to engage in these activities faster than the environment is training him to engage in them. Does that make sense?

So that leaves management, and my preferred solution would be a fence away from the action (with the appropriate shade and shelter included).

The "Red Rocket" is nothing to worry about. Most male dogs do it, desexed or not. Desexing might reduce it, but there would be no guarantees.

I don't believe that sort of erection is inappropriately sexual, it is not a lewd or offensive sort of sexual arousal. How can I speak on a dog's behalf? I can't; but my observations lead me to believe that dogs just have a joy of life that involves healthy and normal sexual arousal that isn't linked to sexual intercourse. In humans this is deeply suppressed, so we have trouble understanding it (and as far as I can see, we're the only species who have problems with sexual misconduct).

A young Lab x BC is going to need a LOT of exercise, and a LOT of mental stimulation. It should be something you do every single day and take advantage of every meal and every interaction to provide. It could be as simple as spreading food over a large area, or putting some into an old milk bottle, or playing the Dinner Time Tracking game. For an in-depth look at Brain Work for dogs I suggest this e-book: Brain Work for Smart Dogs

Take advantage of your 5 acres. You've probably got room for a make-shift agility course, or to play the Two Ball Game, or some serious competition tracking or even Search and Rescue style area searching. Playing Search and Rescue once a week with a family member will give you at least two days peace and quiet while your pup recovers from the effort, once he gets good enough for some really challenging finds.

Regards,
Aidan
http://www.positivepetzine.com

Annette's picture

Too Much Energy

thank you for the advice. I do have a reasonably large run, high fence, that we lock my lab x BC in of a night time however, I do not like to do this of a day unless he has played up and I need to lock him away while I am at work. I am interested in trying the Play Search and Rescue, that sounds interesting. I think I will go back to some of the old habits, milk bottle, food gong etc. My only problem is when I lock my boy in his run during the day, with toys, he has already distroyed his new expensive dog kennel. So he needs some real stimulation. thanks again. Annette

Aidan's picture

Yeah, definitely more mental

Yeah, definitely more mental stimulation. I would leave him in the run, but make up for it with training, play and exercise.

Regards,
Aidan
http://www.positivepetzine.com