You Know Your Dog Is Psycho When....

[lance gt]

My 1 yr. old black Lab, Titan, has an attitude problem. He will attack and kill or maim anything that enters his domain. He's squared off against a skunk and didn't care after he just got sprayed, and got him anyway. Shook him by the neck and broke it. He just stood there as happy as could be, stinking to high heaven.

He jumped up 5' to grab a Possum walking along the top rail of the fence. Grabbed it, shook it violently and stood there happy as could be. Poor Possum. He's okay with other dogs, other than he likes to hump them all to show he's boss. At nine months old, he took on a mature Shepard and subdued him in less than 20 seconds. Had him by the throat before the other owner and I could do anything. He loves to play like that.

He enjoys Reg. size soccer balls to catch in his mouth, out of the air. Frizbees are okay, but something of size like the soccer ball just gets him going. We have three dead soccer balls now. Tennis balls are just to tear the hide off and shred the rubber ball inside. The oddest thing he does is bite his claws. He nips them down to size, so I haven't had to use the new PediPaws on him yet.

Is anyone else's dog this psycho?

 

[cloudy]

Try a Kong. It's about the only damn thing I've found that Marley can't demolish in about three seconds. They're made with bull dogs/pit bulls/rottweillers, etc. in mind.

 

[mountaindreamer]

I used to throw my mutts in the pool to make them burn off their energy. Swimming for a while always wears them out so they aren't burning holes in my carpet running around later.
I don't think they calmed down a bit until they were two or so. They still have their crazy days though. You can always get him snipped, they say that helps. *ouch!*
I also give mine Nylabones. Not the edible ones, the hard ones. My vet recommended them because they don't splinter like others do.
The Kong works great too, filled with peanut butter or something similar keeps them busy for a while.

 

[AngeloMichael]

I also give mine Nylabones. Not the edible ones, the hard ones. My vet recommended them because they don't splinter like others do.
The Kong works great too, filled with peanut butter or something similar keeps them busy for a while.

I'll second the nylabones, they were the only chew toy my dog wouldn't completely destroy in less than 5 minutes. She had a lot of anxiety issues and as a puppy would have diarhea until she bled from the anus. Once we started giving her the nylabones she worked all her anxeity out on those, she would chew on them for at least an hour and it kept her occupued and helped her work out her anxiety.

Now she's so calm it's like she's a different dog and she come to prefer these bones called "Chew 'n Clean", not as durable as the nylabones but ok now with her calmer disposition. I hardly ever brush her teeth but the vet says they are in great shape.

Whenever she wants to either go out ro to be fed she'll start whining and when you ask her the questions, "Do you wanna go out?" or "Are you hungry" when you ask the right one she won't bark she'll just go immediately to her bone and start chewing, if you don't get up and do what she asked you to though, in about 5 minutes she starts whining again.

Sometimes she'll get in a mood we call "Taz" as in Tazmanian Devil where she runs at cheetah speed from the back room, down the hall through the living room, into the kitchen, around the island, and all the way to the back room again. She'll go back and forth like this about 5 to 10 times.

She's also a nail biter and she also loves paper clips. If she finds one on the floor she'll work it until it's completely straight and then she's done with it and leave it for me to step on.

And she loves to make her own rules. You can call her by name or tell her to "come" until you're throat is raw and she won't move an inch. If you promise her "love and hugs" she'll come right away. She loves it when you throw a ball for her to fetch but then she brings it to just out of your reach so each time you have to come to her to get the ball. We have a ramp outside and her favorite game is to lay down at the top of the ramp and roll the ball down to you and have you kick it back to her, she'll catch it most of the time but if it passes by her and it's like scoring a goal. She'll then go and get the ball and bring it back to the top of the ramp and roll it back down to you again.

 

[mountaindreamer]

She loves it when you throw a ball for her to fetch but then she brings it to just out of your reach so each time you have to come to her to get the ball.

I though my one dog was the only one who had this weird behavior!
I have never understood why he does this. You can even tell him to bring it closer and he will move it a whopping two or three inches closer. My other dog will stick her ball right in your hand.
I thought he was looney...the only dog in the world who didn't know how to play fetch right!

 

[lance gt]

I though my one dog was the only one who had this weird behavior!
I have never understood why he does this. You can even tell him to bring it closer and he will move it a whopping two or three inches closer. My other dog will stick her ball right in your hand.
I thought he was looney...the only dog in the world who didn't know how to play fetch right!

Titan gets the ball, brings right back, but rams into you with it, then when you reach for it, he runs away with this nast looking smile on his face. If I say "Thank you" he'll let it go. At least he knows manners.
And he'll do the psycho run too. 5-6 laps around everything and a bark at you as he passes. Then he just stops and sits at your feet like nothing happened. Total space-cadet.
And those horrid, silent farts, only dogs know how to cook up and attack with. Just lie quietly and emit the most foul, rotten turnip smelling farts, acting like nothings wrong. It's some kind of sick dog humour, I think he hears me fart and smells mine, then laughs to himself and says, "You call that a fart? Wait till later, I'll cook you up a good one. I love watching your nose hairs curl."

 

[sadangel]

The golden lab we had chewed an entire couch apart while we were gone. The whole damn thing! She was not quite two at the time. *sadly, she died a year ago.*

 

[lance gt]

The golden lab we had chewed an entire couch apart while we were gone. The whole damn thing! She was not quite two at the time. *sadly, she died a year ago.*

That's sad, I know they're with us for a short time, but it still makes a hole in your life when they're not there. At least your new couch is safe, until you decide to get another one. lol

 

[McKenna]

I have two labs, 6 and 4, and I swear they are in perpetual puppyhood.

One is very easy going, friends with everybody, and the other is the exact opposite.

Trapper, the 4 year old easy-going one, has odd quirks: When we're camping near water, he likes to do his "business" in the water. More hygienic that way, apparently. He is also the only lab I've ever known who, at 2 years old when we adopted him, did not know how to swim. He's come a long way, but the first time we took him to the pond he sunk like a rock.

Hawkeye is 6, and quite a neurotic mess. He has a special bed he's had since a puppy that he uses to "nurse" from. No lie. He will wad an entire corner of it in his mouth, lay down, and nurse, kneading with his paws until he falls asleep. We think it's some kind of self-stimulating behavior, something that soothes him. He also has epileptic seizures every 3-4 months.

Yes, they are named after the characters in M*A*S*H.

 

[lance gt]

This is going to be dingbat's first winter too. I can't wait to see him in the first real snowfalls. He thought rain was weird to feel, spoiled little sissy, wait till he sees a few feet of frozen stuff under his paws and his pee freezing to him when it gets real cold. That'll make him a tough dog.

 

[carsonshepherd]

He likes to "hump other dogs and show them who's boss," but YOU are supposed to be the boss, not him. You should be careful of these dominance issues, really...

My German Shepherd was a demon until he was about 4 years old. He has such an intensity about him, a determination that nothing, not even injury, will break his focus on a game of fetch. He will chase a stick or ball until he literally falls down from exhaustion. He's 8 now and he finally, finally listens to me.

 

[Tx Tall Tales]

Got a psycho Blue Heeler here. Smartest dog I ever had, very trainable and mostly obedient, but anything comes in the yard and he goes nuts. Kills rabbits, birds, turtles, mice, rats, snakes anything he can get ahold of. Almost drowned himself trying to get a turtle he dropped into the pool.

When kids are in the pool, he'll run around the pool over and over again. Any of them splash too much, or stay underwater too long, he thinks it's his duty to pull them out. The kids learn faster than he does.

The Kongs are great toys, almost indestructible.

 

[AngeloMichael]

Sadangel, so sorry about your dog, having had dogs all my life I know the pain the loss can be.

McKenna, I had a dog with epilepsy as well. She didn't have he first seizure until she was almost 2 but then they started to become chronic. After she went into a seizure cluster the first time we put her on meds. You might have to ask your vet about this, but after I lost Chase I heard that Gatorade has been shown to help with epileptic seizures.

Her farts were not silent and sometimes she'd be konked out on the meds and she'd fart loud enough to wake herself up, she'd sleepily lift her head up and look around wondering what made the noise. The meds mine was on, phenobarbitol and potassium bromide made her loopy. She was always walking around bumping into things, part of that though was that she always had to walk ahead of me but she had to keep checking if I was still behind her and while she wasn't looking where she was going she'd run into a wall or something. If I blocked her though and didn't let her walk in front of me she'd give me a little bite on the butt.

One time there was a squirrel running along the telephone wire and Chase was running on the ground beneath it keeping her eyes right on the squirrel and she ran headfirst into a wood pile.

I had another dog that was rodent crazy. We always knew when there was a mouse in the house with him. He'd dig up moles from the ground but he was the most crazy about squirrels. They drove him nuts. We had a weeping willow tree in the backyard and he'd chase squirrels up it and then get stuck in the tree. I had never heard of a dog getting stuck in a tree before him.

 

[cloudy]

The Kongs are great toys, almost indestructible.

I have a pit bull. She can't destroy a Kong. 'nuff said.

 

[jomar]

You may end up trying Buspar.

 

[OhMissScarlett]

My border collie is probably more sane and refined than I am. The worst thing he ever does is get into the trash occasionally when something tempting is in there, like a latte cup or some cheesecake. Right now he's sleeping on "his" sofa, on his special pillow that my mom made him. Princess.

I have had a lot of Labs, however, that practically chewed the house down. No other breed compares in sheer entertainment value, though, but they chew up everything and wander if they're bored. My neighbors work all the time and ignore their Lab, so he's adopted us. All of our tables and lawn furniture still have teeth marks on the legs from his endless puppy stage. He also chewed up my son's bike helmet, wiffle ball bat, soccer ball, basketball, volleyball, inflatable pool, a container of anti-freeze, a bag of potting soil, my gardening gloves...well, you get the idea.

Leash walking does help their focus, especially if you can get them to walk properly, which sometimes takes some work. Neutering will also help bring the wildness down a notch or two. It's absolutely necessary if you never intend to let them mate. Otherwise, they'll just be frustrated and more aggressive.