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My puppy is barmy!

Jan Woodhall

Jan Woodhall

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So, Robin - ! When he is good he is very, very, good, and when he is bad - blinking nightmare!

Robin (Russian Wolf hound nearly 6 months old 'Borzoi'). So he is big, strong, athletic and full of fun! Oh, did I forget highly intelligent and self opinionated?

Seems to have a 'switch', can happen at any time at all! In a nano second! Walking along, la, la, la, BANG! No cue, and I've no CLUE! Takes a few minutes to get things under control and (during that time it is possible he is tugging at his leash, dragging us both into the road! or we could be in the park and he is jumping all over my back (and head!) for a few minutes - and it HURTS! I'm hoping he will grow out of this but really not sure :( He will sit when I look at him and waits patiently at the kerb to cross, starting to sit most of the time when dogs or humans approach - MOST of the time. Thoughts and advise greatfully received - oh and just an addage. He LOVES sausages, but NEVER interested once his switch is clicked! TIA. :)
 
Oh dear - the problem is that once they have flipped, its impossible to get their focus back. It's like trying to steer your car after you have driven it off the cliff edge.

I wonder if there are teeny tiny signs - canine body language is incredibly subtle.

On a practical level, have you considered a walking belt? If puts the strain on a stronger part of your body, gives you better balance because your centre of gravity is lower, and gives you both hands to tear your hair out.
 
Thanks for making me laugh! I think the walking belt might be a good idea for a weaker person perhaps, but I have horses, so am reasonably strong in the arms and centre balance - horses are far easier to handle when they flip! (rarely thankfully!) I'm just worried about being pulled over and ending up in hospital with a fracture! I'm 68 so would not be good! :( Whose idea was it to have a puppy!? :) ...................
 
Jan Woodhall said:
Thanks for making me laugh! I think the walking belt might be a good idea for a weaker person perhaps, but I have horses, so am reasonably strong in the arms and centre balance - horses are far easier to handle when they flip! (rarely thankfully!) I'm just worried about being pulled over and ending up in hospital with a fracture! I'm 68 so would not be good! :( Whose idea was it to have a puppy!? :) ...................
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Still unable to post any photos of him! :(
IMG-20200909-WA0001.jpg
 
Well done - and he is GORGEOUS!!!

Jasper did this. The main difference, though, is that he would focus on me, jumping up on me and grabbing my arms, rather than dragging me. Generally, I could hang on and stay upright as long as I stood still, braced my legs, and didn't try to walk on till he calmed down (I was early 50s then, but I'm a 7.5 stone weakling and he's a similar size to a Borzoi). He was worse in open spaces, so we clung to the edges, went down narrow paths and lanes, preferably where there were trees or fences to hang on to. When he kicked off, I'd turn away, arms folded in front of me, hang on to a tree/fence, and say nothing but wait till he had blown himself out. Once he had 4 paws on the floor again, I'd turn to him, praise/treat, and walk on. If he kicked off straight away - as he often did - I simply repeated it.

It wasn't great when he did it halfway across a busy road though:confused:

It tended to happen towards the end of walks, so shorter walks (and maybe an extra walk to compensate) may help.

Have we mentioned harnesses and headcollars in a previous thread? A front-fastening harness might help when he's pulling you. There's mixed thoughts about headcollars, but again, it could give you more control if he's trying to drag you. And even if there are drawbacks, it would be even more of a drawback if you did get pulled over and injured!
 
Oh yes - and they do grow out of it. If Jasper gets a rush of blood to his head he might get that look in his eye, but it's very rare - and when I give him a dirty look he'll calm down again and then ask for a treat for being good.
 
JudyN said:
Oh yes - and they do grow out of it. If Jasper gets a rush of blood to his head he might get that look in his eye, but it's very rare - and when I give him a dirty look he'll calm down again and then ask for a treat for being good.
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Well THAT bit is good news! LOL
 
JudyN said:
Well done - and he is GORGEOUS!!!

Jasper did this. The main difference, though, is that he would focus on me, jumping up on me and grabbing my arms, rather than dragging me. Generally, I could hang on and stay upright as long as I stood still, braced my legs, and didn't try to walk on till he calmed down (I was early 50s then, but I'm a 7.5 stone weakling and he's a similar size to a Borzoi). He was worse in open spaces, so we clung to the edges, went down narrow paths and lanes, preferably where there were trees or fences to hang on to. When he kicked off, I'd turn away, arms folded in front of me, hang on to a tree/fence, and say nothing but wait till he had blown himself out. Once he had 4 paws on the floor again, I'd turn to him, praise/treat, and walk on. If he kicked off straight away - as he often did - I simply repeated it.

It wasn't great when he did it halfway across a busy road though:confused:

It tended to happen towards the end of walks, so shorter walks (and maybe an extra walk to compensate) may help.

Have we mentioned harnesses and headcollars in a previous thread? A front-fastening harness might help when he's pulling you. There's mixed thoughts about headcollars, but again, it could give you more control if he's trying to drag you. And even if there are drawbacks, it would be even more of a drawback if you did get pulled over and injured!
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Such a gorgeous dog!

JudyN has said it all, so I'll just emphasise they DO grow out of it, and enclosed paths seem to freak them less than open spaces when they go through this phase (rather like horses). It's because they want to runandrunandrun, not knowing it isn't always safe.
 
Hemlock said:
Such a gorgeous dog!

JudyN has said it all, so I'll just emphasise they DO grow out of it, and enclosed paths seem to freak them less than open spaces when they go through this phase (rather like horses). It's because they want to runandrunandrun, not knowing it isn't always safe.
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Yeah, Hemlock, I would agree with you and JudyN. There is a high chance he will grow out of it! (PHEW!) he is still very young, and I posted his age as 6 months but actually he is younger, born on 8th May, so very, very, young! He is soooo big it is easy to forget, and despair creeps in! :( However, he is a great character, I love him very, very much! I can forgive the claw marks down my face and the tears in my clothes (just!) LOL
 
I cancelled a couple of aromatherapy massages because I was so embarrassed by all the bruises on my arms! It's a good opportunity to get rid of all those clothes that you don't like any more but don't feel it's right to throw away ;-)
 
JudyN said:
I cancelled a couple of aromatherapy massages because I was so embarrassed by all the bruises on my arms! It's a good opportunity to get rid of all those clothes that you don't like any more but don't feel it's right to throw away ;-)
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Ha ha! Saved you a few bob then on the QT! I think I could do with some relaxation currently! :) I very rarely throw clothes away! Got some going back to 1950's! I have two sweat shirts I bought when I was doing me neo-natal training! They had just started up BLISS (Baby Life Intensive Support Systems) and Emanuel designed the sweat shirts - Now they are put away until Robin gets a little calmer! LOL
 
My dog was/is the same! He’s much better than he was.... but still if he sees a deer or mountain goat that I won’t let him chase OH MY GOD. But at least he has stopped using my clothes and limbs for mid walk games of tug :eek:
 
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