I have a problem with my otherwise lovely dog. He is a rescue dog,
about 1 year old with a very nice temperament. I have had him at home
for the past 3 weeks and prior to that walked him daily for a month or
so. In all that time he has had an unhealthy obsession with his back
leg, growling at it and biting it. This obsession has come and gone,
but he is now back to biting it, so much so that it is bleeding. This
is something of a vicious circle as his foot is obviously in pain, so
it bothers him, so he ends up biting it again.

The root of the problem seems to be related to food. When he is being
fed, he will sometimes stop eating from his bowl and start growling,
as if another dog is there ready to steal from him. If I don’t break
his concentration in time he will start barking and will also snap at
his back legs. If left unchecked he will start spinning, chasing his
foot, barking, biting and yelping. This also can happen when he is
bored and seems to remember that he has a grudge against his foot.

The vet has checked his foot and thinks it is fine, so it seems likely
it is a psychological problem. I have tried reassuring him when he is
eating, tried giving him plenty of food, tried distracting him etc,
but he can’t seem to get over this idea that he will lose his food if
he is not aggressive and he ends up taking it out on his foot.

At all other times he is a very affectionate dog and is only a danger
to himself, so any suggestions welcome please as I am running out of
ideas of how to help him.

On Fri, 9 May 2008 12:20:50 -0700 (PDT), lovezoo
wrote:

I have a problem with my otherwise lovely dog. He is a rescue dog,
about 1 year old with a very nice temperament. I have had him at home
for the past 3 weeks and prior to that walked him daily for a month or
so. In all that time he has had an unhealthy obsession with his back
leg, growling at it and biting it. This obsession has come and gone,
but he is now back to biting it, so much so that it is bleeding. This
is something of a vicious circle as his foot is obviously in pain, so
it bothers him, so he ends up biting it again.

What's the longest length of time he's gone without biting his foot?

And if you can remember back, was there anything in particular that
happened around the same time that he started biting his foot again?

The root of the problem seems to be related to food. When he is being
fed, he will sometimes stop eating from his bowl and start growling,
as if another dog is there ready to steal from him. If I don’t break
his concentration in time he will start barking and will also snap at
his back legs. If left unchecked he will start spinning, chasing his
foot, barking, biting and yelping. This also can happen when he is
bored and seems to remember that he has a grudge against his foot.

Where are you feeding him? Do you have any other dogs? Children?
Cats?

Have you tried feeding him in his crate?

[...]
At all other times he is a very affectionate dog and is only a danger
to himself, so any suggestions welcome please as I am running out of
ideas of how to help him.

Is he a mixed-breed? Purebred? If so, which breed?

Do you do any formal obedience training with him?

Do you give him any exercise?

If so, how much?

--
Handsome "Jack" Morrison

The best commencement speech you'll never hear.
http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/...821,full.story

Reality-based community comes out in support of religious extremism, provided it's the extremism
of the religious Left.
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0508/10126.html

The top ten list of things envirinomentalists need to learn (pay attention, Bozoman!).
http://depletedcranium.com/?p=368

The nanny state, explained.
http://hotair.com/archives/2008/04/2...ate-explained/

The total witlessness of Obama apologists.
http://rightwingnuthouse.com/archive...ma-apologists/

Moment of Truth in Iraq: How a New 'Greatest Generation' of American Soldiers is Turning Defeat and Disaster
into Victory and Hope, by Michael Yon.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/pro...283155&s=books
http://www2.nysun.com/article/75405

A book that *every* American should read (and NYT #1 bestseller): Liberal Fascism, by Jonah Goldberg.
http://www.amazon.com/Liberal-Fascis.../dp/0385511841

"lovezoo" wrote in message
...
snip

This also can happen when he is
bored and seems to remember that he has a grudge against his foot.

The vet has checked his foot and thinks it is fine, so it seems likely
it is a psychological problem. I have tried reassuring him when he is
eating, tried giving him plenty of food, tried distracting him etc,
but he can’t seem to get over this idea that he will lose his food if
he is not aggressive and he ends up taking it out on his foot.

At all other times he is a very affectionate dog and is only a danger
to himself, so any suggestions welcome please as I am running out of
============
A have a couple of suggestions that you might want to try.
I wonder if you just sat with him and you placed a tiny bit of foot in his
dish at a time, if this would keep his concentration only on the food,
You could also hold a clicker or squeaky toy in your hand, and when he
starts to grab his foot distract him with the squeaky toy.
Also, I think I would try to give the dog as much exercise as possible every
day by walking him two or three times a day. This would stimulate his mind
and tire his body enough to take his mind off his boredom and thus relax
him.





ideas of how to help him.

"pfoley" wrote in message
m...

"lovezoo" wrote in message
...
snip

This also can happen when he is
bored and seems to remember that he has a grudge against his foot.

The vet has checked his foot and thinks it is fine, so it seems likely
it is a psychological problem. I have tried reassuring him when he is
eating, tried giving him plenty of food, tried distracting him etc,
but he can't seem to get over this idea that he will lose his food if
he is not aggressive and he ends up taking it out on his foot.

At all other times he is a very affectionate dog and is only a danger
to himself, so any suggestions welcome please as I am running out of
============
A have a couple of suggestions that you might want to try.
I wonder if you just sat with him and you placed a tiny bit of foot in his
dish at a time, if this would keep his concentration only on the food,

You could also hold a clicker or squeaky toy in your hand, and when he
starts to grab his foot distract him with the squeaky toy.

Also, I think I would try to give the dog as much exercise as possible every
day by walking him two or three times a day. This would stimulate his mind
and tire his body enough to take his mind off his boredom and thus relax
him.
=============
Oops, sorry for the typo; I meant put a tiny bit of food in his dish at a
time; not his foot.