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    aeronene's Avatar
    aeronene Posts: 1, Reputation: 1
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    #1

    Oct 6, 2008, 05:32 PM
    depressed pup will not eat or poop
    My boyfriend and I bought a 3 month old german shepherd female pup. She's incredibly smart, friendly and energetic to the point of doggie madness; which is really fun, but sometimes she gets a bit over the top. This morning he took her out for her walk, and when they came upstair she peed in the middle of the living room. He scolded her mildly and cleaned it up; and when he came back out to brush her, she had pooped right where she had peed just minutes ago. He scolded her harder, grounded her (since she hadn't done anything outside her lining in a week, so he told her to stay on the lining -which was clean, obviously- until he came again), went for a shower, came out, and she was still sitting there.
    He called her to eat, asked her to eat, and talked to her for a while on behaving and being a good dog and stuff (somehow pep talks work on our rabbit, so we guess it may work on the puppy, too), petted her, and left for work. We both still haven't come home yet, so we haven't seen her, but my mother-in-law called about half an hour ago, telling us that the pup won't eat, poop, pee or even play, and just lays in front of BF's bedroom door, looking gloomy and whining.

    I'd never seen that before in a puppy, so self conscious behavior (or fear to be abandoned or whatever it may be that she feels?? ), so I have no idea what this is or how to fix it? She's really madly in love with my boyfriend, but she's been fine before about being left home alone most of the day, since we all work.
    I was talking to my friend today about some other odd behavior she has, that we can't fix, like eating her poo and biting people as fun. We tried giving her toys when she starts biting on us, but she kind of plays a second with them, then jumps on your lap attempting to bite on your nose like it's the most fun ever.
    I told them to be harder on her because a pup doesn't get it when they bite and you say in a sweet voice "no biting, no biting!" and continue to play with them and cuddle and show them how much you love them. In my experience that just encourages the bad behavior. Was I wrong to advice my BF to be harder on her? Is there anything we can do to fix this behavior, and most importantly; what happened with the situation first described above and how can we address it? BF already left for home to see to her and make sure she eats and does her business, but I'm afraid she might do that all the time, and that can't be healthy; he can't stop working to babysit her all day long, and she can't just stop pooping because her daddy isn't home =/. Please help!

    (PS: sorry for the length!! =$$$)
    KISS's Avatar
    KISS Posts: 12,510, Reputation: 839
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    #2

    Oct 6, 2008, 07:42 PM

    If you do a search here on "puppy biting", I'm sure you'll get some good advice. Simply put, puppies bite when playing. You have to not re-enforce the behavior.
    "No biting" is OK, but the dog has to know it hurts to bite. What's the best way to do that? Bite the puppy back.
    Play needs to cease too.
    labman's Avatar
    labman Posts: 10,580, Reputation: 551
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    #3

    Oct 9, 2008, 04:15 AM
    Biting the puppy only plays into its game. Young Labs, which I know best, and other puppies tend to very bad about biting. You see a litter of them, and all the ones that are awake are biting another one or themselves. I am not even sure they realize that when they are alone, if they quit biting, they would quit being bitten. At 3 to 4 months they are getting their adult teeth, and it seems they spend every waking moment biting or chewing. One thing you can do at that stage is to knot and wet a piece of cloth. Then freeze it. The cooling will soothe the gums. Only let the puppy have it when you are there to watch it. I maintain a Lab's favorite chew toy is another Lab. Otherwise they settle for any person they can. They keep hoping to find one that won't yelp, jerk their hand away, and leave.

    You just have to keep on correcting them, hundreds of times, not dozens. Provide sturdy, safe toys such as Kongs and Nylabones. Avoid things they can chew pieces off and choke on them. Keep them away from electrical cords. Crates are essential for most young Labs and other dogs.

    The pet stores are full of toys that many dogs will quickly chew up into pieces they could choke on or cause intestinal blockages. If you are not there to watch, stick to sturdy stuff such as Nylabones and Kongs. Keep a close eye on chew toys and quickly discard anything that is coming apart in pieces. Rawhide is especially bad because it swells after being swallowed. I don't trust any of the consumable chews. The dogs just gnaw them down to a dangerous size too quickly. These problems are the worst with, but not limited to, large, aggressive chewers such as Labs.

    The best solution to stool eating, coprophagy, is cleaning them up before the dog has a chance. You can try food additives, the home remedies pineapple juice or canned pumpkin or the commercial products Forbid or Deter.

    Why dogs do it is poorly understood. It may be diet related, but changing the dog's diet might cause worse problems. Whatever problems it causes for the owner, it doesn't seem to hurt the dog unless you are trying to clear up a worm infestation.

    For more information see Douglas Island Veterinary Service - Coprophagia

    Scolding a puppy for accidents is useless or worse if you don't catch them in the act. Otherwise it is too late. Check the sticky at the top of the page for more on housebreaking.

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