corvus
Posted : 9/6/2010 7:39:50 PM
I have had the same problems with Erik. He uses Kivi as a punching bag, basically. Most of the time he is nice about it and Kivi's thick coat means he barely feels it and half the time I think he likes it. But if Erik gets super aroused, he just has to find something to do. The worst is if someone is at the door or out the front and I leave him and Kivi behind a gate to see to it. It's never been bad because Erik is small and doesn't completely let loose, but I have done much the same thing as Liesje. I find toys work to a degree, but conditioning Erik to associate the excitement with food works better, because inevitably with toys Kivi will get in the way and that sets Erik off almost as much as the initial trigger. So if Erik thinks he's going to get food he goes into a nice training mode and is focused on doing what I ask him. Problem solved.
Just a thought, I have been wondering if part of why Erik lashes out is because he is quite a proactive dog. He needs to be able to act on things that bother or excite him. If he can't act on them he doesn't cope very well. This is why I often give him active things to do as distractions.
Another thing I've found remarkably useful with Erik is working on lowering his arousal. He doesn't quite have a reliable off switch, but I'm working on it. I had problems recently with him being quite vigilant and alert barking at every tiny noise. I had taught him to come right back and lie down, but he was still up and down like a yo-yo, so I tried settling him on his bed and giving him a dedicated, ten minute massage. I was amazed at how helpful it has been. He went from jumping up to alert bark every five minutes and taking several hours to calm down enough to go to sleep to falling asleep within half an hour of the massage, staying asleep for most of the day, and even when he's awake and up he is less vigilant and much quieter. He now takes himself to bed when I hit the study for the day and the vigilance at other times is fading to a much more sensible level. We are both much happier. At least until someone knocks on the door. 