AnnaKat

Thank you for the suggestion! I’ve tried that but she can’t focus and just ends up running for the dishes clinking and ignoring any commands. She seems to not hear much else other than the dishes!

Has anyone successfully desensitized a noise for their dog? My BC is very sensitive to the noise of dishes clinking together and silverware too. I’m trying to think of ways to prevent her from reacting so badly. She attacks the nearest drawer, counter, etc. by biting and barking. I considered having two bowls stacked with an extra special treat in the bottom one and letting her inspect them before removing the top bowl, clinking it against the bottom bowl, and revealing the treat. I also considered recording the noise to play throughout the day to get her accustomed to it. Does anyone have some better ideas?

Apologies for all the questions, but what kind of things do you buy regularly in order to have a balanced diet? I’m thinking seriously of changing mine to feeding raw but I’m nervous about making sure I provide everything she needs. And how do you know how much to feed? I suspect my dog will have no problem eating meals if I switch to raw but currently she will go days without eating much kibble and then eat well a couple days before going back to barely eating anything. She is on the small side already and the pounds she keeps dropping and gaining show very easily. Do you incorporate parts of the meals as treats in training sessions? I also use food puzzle toys frequently to keep her busy. Are there any good books or other resources you would recommend?

I’ve had trouble finding something my dog enjoys chewing. She loves antlers but they are very hard and I’m concerned about her breaking a tooth. Nothing else catches her interest as well as antlers though. Thanks for your input!

It sounds like good genetics and feeding raw is the best chance at caring for teeth. Thanks!

That’s a good point! the green tea idea sounds interesting. I’ll look into that. Thank you!

I wish mine liked Nylabones but she ignores them! She loves antlers but I grew concerned about how hard they are and stopped giving them to her.

This looks like a great option. Thank you!

Speaking of this, you may find it useful to make treat bags filled with a variety of treats so they never know what they will get as a reward and won’t get bored. Depending on what you put it in you may find it helpful to freeze the bags so the treats last longer and are easier to handle. My dog’s trainer does this and I found it very helpful in keeping a dog from becoming bored and also not overdoing any particularly rich treats.

Yes, you’re right. I should have clarified! May I ask what you’ve found in terms of how affordable it is to feed raw? I’ve done some research into it and I would prefer to feed raw but the expense is a concern. Have you found it to be much more expensive than buying a mid to high priced kibble? I imagine (like people who eat better and may have fewer doctor visits) you probably save money on vet bills by feeding better quality food and keeping them in good health via diet. Thanks for your input. Your posts are always detailed and informative and I appreciate that.

How do you provide preventive care for your dog’s teeth? Do you trust their everyday chewing will be enough, brush their teeth, provide special treats (greenies, etc.), or something else? I’d like to hear the best way you have found to care for canine teeth!

Could it be that he has learned it is a way to get your attention? Have you tried using puzzle toys to keep him occupied while you aren’t able to focus on him? I’ve found puzzle toys to help a great deal. My dog’s favorites are the twist and treat, orbee snoop, and lickimat wobble. I also use frozen stuffed Kong’s frequently.

Thanks for the help, everyone! I’m going to try to take up all the toys unless we are playing and also teach her to find. We’ve been working on scent training and adding toys in should add some fun in for her! I also tried the blanket trick but she ended up chewing on the blanket trying to get it out. I’m not sure what her fascination with putting toys underneath things is about! She may be getting bored so I will up her training time and see if that does the trick.

Yes, I thought it might be her way of getting me to interact with her toy. I’ve tried blocking everything off but she just moves to the next piece of furniture. It’s like she just prefers to push her toys under things! In the last minute, she has shoved her toy underneath three different pieces of furniture but thankfully has not gotten it stuck yet. I only intervene when she begins chewing on the furniture. The chewing is only when she can’t reach the toy and she is struggling to get it out again. should I just ignore it and see if it is the interaction that she is looking for? I have to interrupt the chewing but I can leave the toy hidden?

Anyone have a dog who pushes their toys under furniture and then cannot get them back out so they start chewing on the furniture? Any suggestions on how to stop this? I’ve tried spraying with bitter apple but it does not deter her. She does this over and over again, even if she loses her toy because of it. thanks for any help!

Gentle Lake, thank you for the advise! I spoke again with the behaviorist and she encouraged me to not seek out any local trainers saying they would be more likely to train behaviors to stop (behavior suppression) but not fix any underlying problems. She wants to do behavioral modification and right now has me avoiding all situations that trigger anxiety like new people, leaving the house, high pitched noises, etc. It makes sense I think? I'm not entirely clear on the whole plan. She has me training things like the touch cue and settle on a mat. Later on she will have me work on desensitizing she says with things like putting a harness on. I'm not suppose to use a leash or harness right now to avoid triggering an anxious response. I'm hoping that if I keep with her plan then things will work out. Thank you for the resources as well! I will definitely look at Click to Calm and see if I can educate myself!

I hadn’t thought of that game! We have named some of her toys and she does know them so this will be a really good one to try. Also thanks for mentioning Kikopup’s videos. Those look like a fantastic resource. Thank you!

This is great advise and I appreciate it! I needed to hear that part about making up tricks and having fun. I’ve been a little overwhelmed and uncertain about training and I get a little stressed. That takes some of the pressure off and reminds me to keep it all fun. I definitely need to remember to keep it fun for the both of us. I tried some games this morning with hiding her breakfast and we both had fun. Thanks again for the help!

Thank you! This helps a lot. I'll look into classes--I didn't even think about just watching the classes and not bringing my bc but that might work. I'm a little intimidated by the idea of competition style training but I’ll look up some YouTube videos on it and see what I can do. She is super smart so she picks up on things really quickly. I’m the one holding her back with my inexperience.

Does anyone have any tips on how to keep a dog mentally busy? I'm sure this probably comes up a lot so apologies but I'm looking specifically for calm things for an anxious dog to do that will tire them out and are also easy for an inexperienced dog trainer to do! My bc has a lot of anxiety and we recently went to a behaviorist. I think it's going to help a lot with the training plan and medication plan that she set up but for now we are not going to take her for walks (she's anxious in new places) or throw the ball (she's a little obsessive) so I need to really get her tired out with mental activities. Of course training will help with that and we have a training plan set up but I was wondering if anyone has some ideas for calming mental challenges for an anxious dog . I have two of the puzzle toys which she enjoys (one with buttons she has to slide to receive the treat and one which releases treats as they push the ball like shape around) but there are quite a few hours in the day to fill and I'm having trouble keeping her occupied. She doesn't take naps during the day usually so she just wanders around, pushes toys in my face, or asks for petting. I'm not an experienced trainer at all but I thought maybe there are some easy games to teach her? Or any ideas on how to get her to settle down for a nap so I can work? The vet mentioned scent work would be great but I have no idea how to get her started in that. Thanks!

Purebred puppies in my area tend to run about $600. A quick check of local border collie kennels shows they are charging $600-700 for pups that are ABCA registered and parents who are registered + hips checked + dna testing. The kennels near me are all working dog kennels but I know of one kennel not too far away that breeds AKC show border collies and they charge $2000+ for pups. I don’t understand how but they have a waiting list for their dogs so someone is buying at those prices! I’m not sure who though!

Thank you so much everyone! These all look great!

My BC had a toy that she absolutely adored and unfortunately it finally fell apart. I've been looking for something to replace it but haven't been able to find anything! It was fairly small (about the size of a soft puppy frisbee) and in the shape of a starfish. One side was a bit of a canvas material with the other side soft but not fuzzy enough to attract chewing. The edges were reinforced with a thicker canvas like trim and there was a small squeaker in the center (I usually prefer no squeakers and I'm careful about them but she was never unsupervised with this toy). There was nothing on either side that stuck out to attract chewing so it was perfect for her. Everything I've replaced it with has either been too plush (gets soaked with drool and yucky!), has something sticking out (she ends up chewing on it rather than playing with it and rips it off), or isn't durable enough (she goes after weakness apparently! Anything not reinforced seems to attract chewing). Has anyone found a similar toy that would work as replacement?I know it sounds like a silly question but she really liked this toy and it was great for indoor play since it was soft. It was made so well she couldn't rip it open.

Hi Ryan, I'm not qualified at all to give advice on this issue but I wanted to suggest posting this in a new thread. The original post is from last year and your reply may be overlooked.

Thank you for the suggestions! I hadn't thought of most of those and I'm sure they will tempt her.