The Last Straw with Ellie! Rant/vent

My tuppence worth.....

Just like humans, dog's get stressed sometimes and will sometimes over-react to situations that otherwise they would ignore.

Could be that she is reacting to your own stress of the situation. We know that dogs do pick up on our emotions, for sure.

My mild-mannered Bacca bit me once - totally out of the blue while I was loading the dishwasher and tried to push him away from licking the plates. I don't know what set him off, but he has never done it again.

I wouldn't be rushing off to the dog pysch's yet unless this this is turning into a consistent pattern.

I would just spend a little extra "training" time right now. NILFR, etc. And keep your third eye open for any other strange behaviours.

I've been working with Indy on his insane barking at people/dogs walking by our fence. I'm seeing great improvement! Its all about consistency.

Now if only I can get him to to "consistently" chase the damned squirrels off the bird feeder!:rolleyes2:
 
This has been happening for a long time though hasnt it, Ellie has never really settled since the desexing? Over the last couple of years you have done so much for Ellie and I do think you undersell how well you understand her. If you feel her reactions are not normal then you definately know her best - don't doubt yourself. You are a great sheltie mum.
 
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*Caro said:
This has been happening for a long time though hasnt it, Ellie has never really settled since the desexing? Over the last couple of years you have done so much for Ellie and I do think you undersell how well you understand her. If you feel her reactions are not normal then you definately know her best - don't doubt yourself. You are a great sheltie mum.
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Yes, come to think of it, her problems probably did start at the time of her spaying and the obedience class she had right before that. She learned to bark at the obedience class and she also was bitten on the last day of class by a dog that had been horribly aggressive the whole time. Then she was bitten by the stupid neighbor dog. Then she had the spay from hell and the recovery that went on for over two months. She has also been attacked by two labs (together) one pitt bull x-large puppy (about 10 months old or so) and that HUGE boxer. All were unprovoked attacks.

She has bitten me twice--once in the arm because I was carrying mail and came through the front door and once in the leg when I was going out the front door and has bitten Richard I think three times or so, two times going out the front door and then the really bad bite on the walk last week.

I just was looking at all the links on The Reactive Champion for dog body language. Man, did I learn a lot just by looking at all of those! One thing I was horrified at was an article I read about how dogs try to communicate and we mis-read. A perfect example that I have obviously misread with Ellie. Ellie likes to get up in "her" recliner. When she is all sleepy and cozy and relaxed, I like to go over to the recliner and sit next to it and pet her and give her a massage. She remains calm and licks my arm over and over again. I thought that was her way of showing affection. I just read that this is a dog's way of appeasing itself and deflecting aggression. It feels trapped and knows it shouldn't bite, so it does something else to deal with the anxiety--like licking over and over again. Man, am I stupid or what?!? LOL! Sometimes I feel lucky that I still have a face! LOL! :dead:
 
Toffee's Mom said:
PS I love the thundershirt as well, most people I know have had great success with it :D
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I thought about the thundershirt but isn't it mainly for a dog who is afraid of "things" like vacuums or storms or once-in-awhile things? Ellie is not afraid of any storms and behaves beautifully with the vacuum (only Sheltie in the world Ladies and Gents!!). She is afraid of other dogs and some people and of course, now we know, lol, tornados and their aftermath (join the club). Wouldn't it be too hot to wear at class or out on a walk?
 
Lahree said:
One thing I was horrified at was an article I read about how dogs try to communicate and we mis-read. A perfect example that I have obviously misread with Ellie. Ellie likes to get up in "her" recliner. When she is all sleepy and cozy and relaxed, I like to go over to the recliner and sit next to it and pet her and give her a massage. She remains calm and licks my arm over and over again. I thought that was her way of showing affection. I just read that this is a dog's way of appeasing itself and deflecting aggression. It feels trapped and knows it shouldn't bite, so it does something else to deal with the anxiety--like licking over and over again. Man, am I stupid or what?!? LOL! Sometimes I feel lucky that I still have a face! LOL! :dead:
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Where did you read about the licking? Not sure if I missed that or what.

Lahree said:
I thought about the thundershirt but isn't it mainly for a dog who is afraid of "things" like vacuums or storms or once-in-awhile things? Ellie is not afraid of any storms and behaves beautifully with the vacuum (only Sheltie in the world Ladies and Gents!!). She is afraid of other dogs and some people and of course, now we know, lol, tornados and their aftermath (join the club). Wouldn't it be too hot to wear at class or out on a walk?
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The thundershirt can be used for any kind of anxiety. It definitely helps Toby out. He wore it alot in the beginning, any time he was anxious. Now he mainly just wears it for Thunder storms since he's calmed down some. He used to wear it on walks all the time.

Its made out of t-shirt material so not too hot, but I wouldn't put it on if the heat is really bad.
 
OntarioSheltie said:
Where did you read about the licking? Not sure if I missed that or what.



The thundershirt can be used for any kind of anxiety. It definitely helps Toby out. He wore it alot in the beginning, any time he was anxious. Now he mainly just wears it for Thunder storms since he's calmed down some. He used to wear it on walks all the time.

Its made out of t-shirt material so not too hot, but I wouldn't put it on if the heat is really bad.
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Oh, well, maybe a thundershirt would be a good thing to try then!

The licking was in a link on dog body language. Go to the home page and click on links and there is a entire section on body language. One link has a test on reading a dog's body language. It's really good! I can't remember which particular link had about the licking because I read them all, lol. It was to do with kids and dog interactions.
 
Lahree said:
Oh, well, maybe a thundershirt would be a good thing to try then!

The licking was in a link on dog body language. Go to the home page and click on links and there is a entire section on body language. One link has a test on reading a dog's body language. It's really good! I can't remember which particular link had about the licking because I read them all, lol. It was to do with kids and dog interactions.
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Which home page, the blog or the FB group wall?
 
while I find Reactive Champion blog very informative I would caution to read more into it than just a blog. Calming/stress signals are considered in context with everything else that is happening at the time. When Che does not want massage/ petting he just gets up and moves away. I doubt that Ellie really felt trapped...
Leo is kissy boy and has no anxiety issues yet he will do similarly to you describing Ellie's behavior. I taught him since early on that mommy likes kissy cuddly boys:smile2:
 
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