My poor scottie dog, Bogey, has the blues! He has allways been a toy loving dog- he has a basket full of "babies" (i.e. stuffed toys with squeekers in them) in the living room and a smaller box of toys in our bedroom and througout the day he takes them out and brings them to us to play. R and Bogey have a ritual: every evening around five thirty, Bogey grabs one of his babies from the basket and brings it to Robert with a pleading "AROOO" , tail wagging, ears up, and feet prancing: his way of saying "it's time to play NOW." This has been the ritual since he was a puppy- he is now two years old-and it is one of the things we love about him (Ben loves babies also, but prefers to rip them apart and take the squeeker out. He only gets the urge to "play" this way every once in awhile).
Last week, however, Tragedy struck. Bogey and R were playing with a new toy- a very long "loofa dog" with multiple squeekers- and, somehow, in the game of tug they were engaged in, Bogey's beard got pulled. Bogey squawked, came barreling upstairs (I was in the bedroom at the time) and lept into my lap, shaking and whimpering.
Bogey has not touched one of his precious babies since. He absolutely will NOT play toys with R. He will not play toys with me. He will not even play with them by himself. We have tried and tried to entice him to play again, but nothing doin. Everytime R tries to engage him in a game of tug, Bogey wags his tail, whimpers, (he clearly wants to play), and then tucks his tail down and seeks me out to hold him.
We did a lot of research on Scottish Terrier's before we got Bogey, so we knew they were rather sensitive dogs- their feelings get hurt very easily. But Bogey seems to be takin this to the extreme! It's breaking my heart (and R's too- he feels so guilty!) to see my once toy lovin playful little buddy moping around and *not* playing at all.
Has anyone out there ever dealt with this kind of neurotic dog behavior before? I am desperate for ideas for how to help this little goof ball get back to his normal self. Before this, the only thing that ever "scared" him was R sneezing (a sure fire way to get Bogey to run to me to "save him" is for R to let out a sneeze!). Where is that little tough guy scottie attitude? He wasn't hurt- I checked his teeth, his gums, and his beard and could not find any sign of serious trauma.
Does the Dog Whisperer deal with "Toy Trauma"?
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5 comments:
Poor Bogey. I think he will come back around after he is done having his feelings hurt. My dogs have "babies" too. That is what we call them as well. I hope he is back to his self again soon.
Awww, I feel for the little guy. Yep, Scotties definitely get their feelings hurt and they don't easily forget who hurt them. My 9-year old will still not forgive me for catching his ear when fastening his collar. That happened a couple of years ago and he still trembles and tucks his tail EVERY time I put his collar on after his bath. They have a way of making you feel terrible about what you've done. I think they're secretly laughing at us!
I'm sure Bogey will be back to playing with his babies very soon. My advice is to just wait until he decides he wants to try playing again. They really like to do things on their time schedule, not yours. In the meantime, feel like a heel. They love it when you do that! LOL
i am no stranger to anxious dogs! We have a supremely anxious doggie and even got another doggie just to help her calm down (it worked but just a little). One thing I have learned from trainers is to never ever acknowledge the fear. If you have sympathy and snatch him up and coddle him, it just reinforces to him that he has a good reason to be afraid! So as painful as it is, do not let on to him that his fear is even remotely rational or justified. And I would also suggest that R stop trying to initiate the playing - it might juts be a reminder of the fear. Eventually he will come around and be initiating it himself!!!
Hi Kellie,
We have 2 Scotties and 2 Scottish Fold Cats (www.hampshirehooligans.com).
Wheaties, I have found, are a different type of Scottie. They are clowns, fools, if you will. I have had a similar experience w/our Wheatie, Tarquin. I think you should try to ignore his little fear. You and your husband should try playing a bit w/a toy at the appointed hour. I think Bogie will join in. Where did you get the gorgeous bedding?
lj
Poor guy. I know with Piper (and her "aunt" my mother's Scottie) if she's had something hurt her, is afraid, whatever, she'll definitely remember it for ages. The only thing that works with either of them is to associate the "bad thing" with food treats.
Our Scotties are both such four-legged vacuum cleaners (seriously, P's nickname is "the Hoover") that treats are a surefire fix. I start by getting the scary thing as close to her as she'll tolerate without running, then get a treat. Repeat 4 or 5 times.
Then I'll hold her securely w/ the scary thing just out of sight (say on the kitchen counter) or hidden on my person. Then I get out the scary thing, and while holding her, show it too her, again, with treats. Always with the treats. Repeat 4-5x, or until scary thing is no longer scary. P and I are currently working on this with the dog brush. heh. It's tricky!
And you're right, Scotties are sensitive, but also very smart, so he can learn that it was just a one-time thing. :)
Poor Bogey. Rub his ears for me. :)
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