A dog that bites it’s owners, eats cat poop and won’t run??!!?
Posted By: Spicy on May 03, 2009 at 6:49 amTags: bites, dog, owners
Recently, I was called in for a dog that bites it’s own owners, eats the cat’s poop and refuses to run.
Let’s start with the cat poop. This dog could have been missing a supplement in it’s diet. I am a big advocate of dog food supplements.
Do you really think that any living thing can get it’s nutritional needs met with 1 can of anything? Imagine if the government gave 1 can and told you that everything you need is in there.
Wouldn’t you still crave fresh fruits & vegetables? Just because a label has tons of vitamins and minerals doesn’t mean that your body will absorb it all.
Dog’s need fresh fruit, vegetables and supplements. I use “NuPro” supplements. I’m sure that other good ones exist.
My point is that a dog eating poop is not always a bad dog. Your dog’s nutritional needs may not be getting met.
Even if it turns out to be behavioral, you should still give a dog supplements in my view. Their coat gets shinier and they just seem healthier all around (to me anyway).
If the poop eating is behavioral then 1 method is to reward the dog in the presence of the poop WHEN THE DOG IGNORES IT.
This reward can be whatever the dog likes. Petting, treats etc….
This particular dog that I was dealing with was bored. It’s owners never ran with him. This dog wanted to run.
Dog’s don’t usually bite their owners. When this happens, it’s usually a symptom of a much larger problem.
In this case, the dog wasn’t getting enough exercise. It was frustrated and it didn’t even have a bone to chew on.
Dogs need to release physical energy. They want their muscles to be exhausted. They are not like us. They don’t want to sit on the couch and eat pizza.
Don’t get me wrong, they WILL sit on the couch with you and eat pizza. However, they would rather be running through the woods and jumping over fallen branches.
This is what’s in their DNA.
The couple that I was working with told me that their dog hated a certain park. They also told me that their dog hated to jog / run.
So, I took the leash and went alone to the park with the dog. The dog was hesitant. I paid the dog little attention.
My energy was focused on running. As a leader, I knew we were going to run. My focus was on the path ahead. I was looking our for fallen branches, holes in the ground etc…
I knew that when I ran, the dog would run. I was right or rather mother nature was right.
So, I started running and when I looked back I could see the dog smiling. I have never met a young dog that didn’t like to run.
When people tell em that their young dog doesn’t like to run, I laugh. That’s because I know that the owner doesn’t like to run or has given up.
The same thing happens with the rain. People always tell em that their dog hates the rain. Oh yeah?
Well, do you like the rain? Do you jog with your dog in the pouring rain WITHOUT AN UMBRELLA?
Doing things that you don’t like to do can be a growing experience. It shows you that you must change in order for your dog to change.
Oh, by the way. We make really awesome “I love my boyfriend shirts.”
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