Kingdom of Pets

Posted by blue-moose
Oct 31, 2009

We have a 1.5 year old Drathaar who has recently picked up a lovely new habit. Turbo is a great dog, and has been raised in our dog daycare/boarding business so has had socializaiton from day one.

Recently he's decided to exhibit a fantastic new behavior, and any new dog that comes to daycare, he wants to charge and nip at the base of the tail.....my friend jokingly told me that maybe he has tail envy as his is cropped....hahaahahah....don't I wish it were that easy!

Has anyone else seen this behavior before? I know it's a dominance issue, but I am just wondering if there's any certain trick to dealing with it that I haven't heard of....thanks!
Blue Moose

Posted by LetsPlay
Nov 1, 2009

Hi there,

it might be that he currenlty doesn't accept you as the leader and sees himself higher up the rank. The nipping might mean that he is trying to get rid of everything that could get your attention (a form of jealousy) or that he is trying to protect you.

If he had accepted you as the leader previously it will be easy to get back to that. It often happens that people start sending their dogs the wrong signals once they feel the dog is well trained and once they have established the pack status. Dogs are constantly observing us to see if we are still worthy of leading them.

It might also be that he is bored and is looking for a vent. If he gets attention from you when he does it then that is exactly what he wants.

Remove him in a matter of fact way whenever he tries to do that and put him in a quiet place for a few minutes. That way he will realize that biting other dogs taisl will get him nowhere.

Let us know what you think and how you get on.
John

Posted by blue-moose
Nov 1, 2009

Thanks!! I think that you are exactly right. I agree, he's challenging me and he's bored. I have found that by taking him with me in the morning when I run errands is helpful. I am also putting him on the treadmill during the day for more exercise when it's cold outside.

Tail envy?!?!?!?!?