# Bizarre skulking behaviour!!ADVICE??



## debtherat (Jan 29, 2009)

i have an 20 month old springer cross- I adopted her 8 months ago- quite nervous and timid due to lack of socialisation before i adopted her. last bank holiday weekend she snagged her dew claw and had to have it removed on Tuesday. On the Monday she began behaving strangely on our walk- skulking and lingering in bushes, and i did put this down to possibly being in pain from the damaged claw ( it was jutting out at right angles).
Claw was removed and everything went back to normal for two days then she started on some walks digging her heels in, sitting randomly in the middle of path skulking along again. Anyway tonight she took herself off 3 or 4 times to lie at side of track, and curl up submissively when i approached. I had to run with her to get her moving after which we went on our walk as normal with my other 2 dogs.
Is there a physical reason for this? Linked to the claw? She is giving no other indication of physical discomfort, or indication that the paw is bothering her and races about quite happily with the other 2 for the rest of the walk. 
This is baffling me!!
Any ideas anyone?


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## katiefranke (Oct 6, 2008)

I may have got it wrong, as its late and im tired, but it sounds from what you are saying that she is almost wary/frightened of you perhaps from her behaviour? can you think of anything that happened with the claw incident that would have linked you to the pain from the claw? as if she is now wary that you somehow caused it to happen? dogs can be funny sometimes with the associations that they make...

Otherwise are you sure she is free from pain now? could there be something still hurting her?


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## lucysnewmum (Feb 25, 2010)

is the place she is laying anywhere near where she originally snagged her claw? if so...try and avoid it if you can. she may be associating the place with the pain that she suffered.

as she has a history of being timid try not to approach her when she lays down...get her to come to you with the help of treats, toys etc. the more she realises that coming to you is a good thing the less timid she will become.

also, have her vet checked again, just to be on the safe side. 
gilly


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## leashedForLife (Nov 1, 2009)

debtherat said:


> *bold added - *
> 
> ...20-MO Springer-X, ...adopted... 8-mos ago-
> *quite nervous and timid due to lack of socialisation* before i adopted her.
> ...


she was already a timid + anxious dog on arrival - have U done anything to address her fears?

if she is unpredictably running-off, i would do one of 2 things - 
* couple her to her best-friend, who is reliable and biddable 
* failing that, keep her on a 30-ft long-line so that she cannot run off -

meanwhile i would look for a good pos-R trainer with experience in B-Mod and fearful/shy dogs 
Working with a fearful, scared or shy dog is a good resource - ESPECIALLY commit to memory the page on *thresholds + triggers*

good luck, hun, 
--- terry


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## paddyjulie (May 9, 2009)

katiefranke said:


> I may have got it wrong, as its late and im tired, but it sounds from what you are saying that she is almost wary/frightened of you perhaps from her behaviour? can you think of anything that happened with the claw incident that would have linked you to the pain from the claw? as if she is now wary that you somehow caused it to happen? dogs can be funny sometimes with the associations that they make...
> 
> Otherwise are you sure she is free from pain now? could there be something still hurting her?


You might have a point there

Paddy once let Mavis out to clean herself in the garden.it was night time..she was having a stretch on the front path as she had just woken up...she let out a huge yelp  something really hurt her.....she came running back in the house to me( this is what she does if anything is hurting) now if Paddy goes to let her out for a wee she will back , back into the house... i then get have to get up and let her out...no way will she now go outside for Paddy at night  

juliex


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## Guest (May 11, 2010)

One of my dogs used to behave like that when there was a hot air balloon anywhere in the sky


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## debtherat (Jan 29, 2009)

katiefranke said:


> I may have got it wrong, as its late and im tired, but it sounds from what you are saying that she is almost wary/frightened of you perhaps from her behaviour? can you think of anything that happened with the claw incident that would have linked you to the pain from the claw? as if she is now wary that you somehow caused it to happen? dogs can be funny sometimes with the associations that they make...
> 
> Otherwise are you sure she is free from pain now? could there be something still hurting her?


Thanks for that.. that's kind of what I've been thinking- that she somehow associates the injury with me- and of course, i did try to put a temporary covering on it so she wouldnt cause further damage- it must have been causing her pain over the weekend and she wasn't too happy with me touching the paw.
The walk where she first started behaving strangely is nowhere near where she injured herself; I'm not entirely sure where in fact she did hurt herself, but it was at some point on a different walk.
I have found a training class in my area which she has been attending- can you believe how hard it is to find classes for older dogs (ie not puppies)!-mainly for socialisation.
Trouble is the trainer advocates use of a slip lead, so that unwanted behaviour is 'corrected', and I'm not entirely sure I Like the method, or that Katy likes it either. My other two dogs I had from puppies and I trained them using treat/reward based methods.
The claw injury seems to be linked to the behaviour she is displaying, but I do worry that my using a slip lead may also be compounding the problem. She wasn't lead trained at all when i adopted her- she walks pretty well now on a lead when on her own, but when I walk her with the other 2 on a lead she forgets everything she has learnt and charges ahead like a steam train! Hence use of slip lead- which has helped enormously, but then this problem has begun, and I wonder if this is contributing to it too.


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## cheekyscrip (Feb 8, 2010)

Try to have something she really likes (for Scrip cheese and fave ball works) trying to woe her when she sulks and maybe keep her closer to u for a while...extra tlc...has her behaviour towards u changed at all?


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## leashedForLife (Nov 1, 2009)

U can use a slip-lead, yes - 
just put a limited-slip AKA martingale-collar on the dog first, and run the slip--lead thru the D-ring :lol: problem solved! 
putting a WIDE martingale-collar high on her neck, as close to her ears as possible, and adjusting it to Lie-Flat + snug, 
will keep it from slithering down her neck toward her chest. 

how much does she weigh, hun? a medium-sized dog of 45 to 50# should wear a 1.5-inch wide martingale, if they pull hard - 
an inch-wide is OK if the dog is a relatively-low puller.


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## debtherat (Jan 29, 2009)

leashedForLife said:


> U can use a slip-lead, yes -
> just put a limited-slip AKA martingale-collar on the dog first, and run the slip--lead thru the D-ring :lol: problem solved!
> putting a WIDE martingale-collar high on her neck, as close to her ears as possible, and adjusting it to Lie-Flat + snug,
> will keep it from slithering down her neck toward her chest.
> ...


ok. i haven't heard of that kind of collar- is it something you can pick up in local pet suppliers or more specialised shop?
She only weighs @35 kg, and maybe I exxaggerated the pulling- she does pull and strain- probably would cause more problems if she was bigger/heavier.
As i say she walks pretty nicely on her own- put her with the other two and I guess its a pack thing- who will get pole position! 
U think its ok to carry on with the leash correction kind of training then provided its with the different collar? I have been reading a bit about how it may not be suitable for shy/timid dogs- but it is the only class I can find which accepts older dogs with issues and allows her some controlled socialisation.


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## leashedForLife (Nov 1, 2009)

debtherat said:


> ok. i haven't heard of that kind of collar- is it something you can pick up in local pet suppliers or more specialised shop?


How a Martingale Collar Works 
both of the Greyhounds shown modeling this collar are wearing it too loose - 
it should be up on the neck, FLAT when the leash is not attached, and snug. 
the collar is all-fabric or all-nylon-strap; there are CHAIN-loop martingales, too, but they can pinch skin between the links, 
or pull hair/break hair painfully as the chain-loop draws up.

there are no *corrections* as in jerking, sharp pulls, etc; just take up the leash, bring her back where U want her - 
to a comfortable close-position - LET * GO the leash-tension so theres a nice J-hook in the leash, 
near the clip (indicating slack tension), and move on.

the RELEASE of tension is her reward for being close - she can be anywhere near U, 
just not pulling.  its called LLW, loose-leash walk, not a formal HEEL. 
there are plenty of good videos on UTube - hers one for HEEL - 
YouTube - Choose to Heel 
simply loosening the distance/position criterion will give a LLW, on-leash.

happy training, 
--- terry


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## debtherat (Jan 29, 2009)

ok thanks. am going to have a look at some collars now.:thumbup:


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## Burrowzig (Feb 18, 2009)

MY first thought is that there was some pain. The dew claw had only been removed a few days - knocking it would hurt. Think of it as equivilant to having your little toe amputated, it will be sensitive for a while. She may have associated you with pain, but if there's no pain she shouldn't be thinking along those lines.


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