collie snapping when stroked but wants attention?

moneymabel

thanks Ali-I'll take a look at that

moneymabel

moneymabel wrote: »

why do they solicit attention and then snap? she does guard her food and toys, how do i deal with resource guarding? thanks for your help.

any advice on this in the meantime? I'm just curious as to why she snaps and then instantly wants more attention?! It's very odd!

DogsBody

Sometimes a dog that tries to rub itself on you is seeking reassurance/comfort, but this doesn't necessarily mean that the dog wants you to fuss her, particularly if she is a stressy sort anyway - she might find that too 'crowding' IYSWIM? Can't explain it very well (cos I'm rubbish at that sort of thing )

Fully agree with the Jean Donaldson recommendation above.

If you don't stroke her when she solicits attention from you, what does she do?

moneymabel

Thankyou, lol-no-i know what you mean! If you ignore her she pushes her nose under your hand,then she gives up and walks away. Thats a good point actually ,when people come round she always seems to come to me and the other half more, i always assumed it was because she wanted a fuss but perhaps it is coz she's feeling insecure and just wants reassurance.

sarabe

moneymabel wrote: »

why do they solicit attention and then snap? she does guard her food and toys, how do i deal with resource guarding? thanks for your help.

I guess it's all stress related. The dog wants attention but there is a conflict with the need to be possessive, it's a natural behaviour, a survival instinct to guard food, possessions, even the space around you.

Then there is the control element. 'stroke me now' 'stop stroking me now'. It's a collie thing

The Jean Donaldson book - Mine - a practical guide to resource guarding - is a good one.

You need to examine her environment and how you live with her and remove all the things that cause stress and anxiety and add things that give her more emotional stability.

Put her food bowl away so that she has nothing to guard and feed her from your hand. If she likes to do tricks or just sit on command then give her her food whilst she does this. If she finds carrying out commands stressful then just feed her a handful at a time but have her come to you rather than move your hand towards her. For a dog - If it moves away, it attracts - if it moves towards, it repels. Feed her away from the other dog.

Chewing is a good stress reliever but having to be constantly guarding it in case you lose it adds stress so you need to figure out a way to let her chew without feeling threatened.

Collies particularly like to chase and it's a great way to help her feel good. Does she like to play ball or frisbee? Again this is something she should have on her own and not have to compete with the other dog for.

Consider using an anxiety wrap. Is she worried by fireworks or anything else? It's all relevant if it adds to her overall stress.

elsien

Mutt used to snap when she was being fussed. In her case it was because she was stressed and nervous, and didn't know how to handle it, so the whole "fight or flight" thing kicked in and she'd take a flying leap. She wanted the fuss, but couldn't handle it when she got it. Perhaps this is something similar?

moneymabel

Thankyou very much, she loves frisbee, in fact we've just got back from the park! she chases the frisbee and the other dog chases her ball, luckily they aren't interested in the others toy. i've just bought them both a new Nylabone each and they are both happily chewing at the mo...fingers crossed! I've also bought tinned dog food as the older dog loves it and will eat it straight away whereas with dry food she tends to be not too bothered, hopefully this will solve that prob, if not will try the idea of feeding her from hand....perhaps not with tinned meat tho...urgh!
Could well be that elsien, she is a very nervy dog, however she's not bothered by loud noises or fireworks luckily.

ali-t

DogsBody wrote: »

Sometimes a dog that tries to rub itself on you is seeking reassurance/comfort, but this doesn't necessarily mean that the dog wants you to fuss her, particularly if she is a stressy sort anyway - she might find that too 'crowding' IYSWIM? Can't explain it very well (cos I'm rubbish at that sort of thing )

One of my dogs does this. He will jump up at the stair gate to say hello to people, wriggling his butt and full of doggy smiles trying to lick people. But if the person he wants to say hello to touches him or tries to pet him he backs off and acts like he is very uncomfortable.

He is ok while there is distance and if he gets to lick the persons hand but doesn't like people he doesn't know or trust in his space. Dogs are as varied as people

There_Goes_Trouble

sarabe wrote: »

Chewing is a good stress reliever but having to be constantly guarding it in case you lose it adds stress so you need to figure out a way to let her chew without feeling threatened.

One way to do this is to give her edible chews like jumbone, rask or dentastix. Leave her completely alone with them either in the garden or in a room with the door shut. Don't go back to her until you are sure she has finished the chew. That way she can focus on chewing with no worry about anyone bothering her or needing to guard the chew, so she will be less stressed, especially when you've done it a few times and she realises that you and the other dog are not going to interrupt her. Because the chew is completely edible there will be nothing left to guard when it's finished and you will not need to take anything away from her which could aggrevate the resource guarding.

Edited to add, that if you are giving her these kind of treats regularly you will need to reduce her diet a bit to prevent her putting on weight.

moneymabel

Thankyou, I'm going to get some dentastix anyway as i have moved her onto wet food from biscuits so that will be good to try.