Sally and food, I am perplexed

It's entirely possible that this is compulsive behavior, Boss . . . an insecurity about getting enough to eat which has grown out of proportion . . . i don't really have any solution for you, other then spending lots of time, and frequently hand-feeging her. She many just need to grow out of it.

I'm not familiar with the breed. My dog does the same, but I think it's her nature. She's mostly lab.

Yeah Set that's my thinking as well, I am just really concerned about how to deal with it without increasing her insecurity. When we got her she was unable to play in any normal sense of dog play and now she has her cloth "lamb" and "duck" that she carries around from room to room and loves to play catch with a tennis ball in the yard (a really nice change for her). I am thinking she has arrived at feeling "safe" but the food behavior has not decreased a bit.

dys

I'm hardly an expert on dog behaviour, but I do listen to Dr Huw Worth, Oz president of the RSPCA, on ABC radio talkback quite a bit. (Grumpy old devil that he is! ) Anyway, from listening to him discuss situations such as yours, often, he would probably say that Sally is suffering from anxiety, as a result of being abandoned by her previous owner. Sort of compulsive/obsessive behaviour brought on by insecurity. Believe it or not, he seems to think that some animals need "expert help" to progress beyond this stage. Some sort of doggy behaviour modification training, I believe. Please note: this is not my view, just what I've heard him say time & time again!

Hm dys, have you given her these rawhide chewy bones?
It occupies our dog Max for hours on end.

In the beginning when we got Max from the shelter, he
would eat excessively too, but toys and the rawhide bones
helped occupy him with other things than food.

OK lets complicate the problem, we can leave the house for hours leaving Sally inside and she is fine with no behavior problems, sleeps in Diane's chair or my sofa but when we are at home she wil sneak off into another room and devour a candle or like when we went to Florida in the motorhome she managed to get my Stetson hat from the floor behind my seat and take it to the back where the bed is and chew my Stetson into tiny shreds. Weird?

Yes, that is rather weird.

I'm trying to think of what Dr Huw would say to that?: Hmmmm ... probably that she feels more comfortable acting out her anxiety when you & Diane are there. She feels safer to be herself when you're both around.


How's that for a theory?

Interesting.... how about doing training with her? Make her sit for her food. Have her do some simple tasks for biscuits. Make her sit and stay and then come to you after you walk away. Do these things routinely. Could be she doesn't see you as alpha.

BBB
Dys, get a second dog. Sally will be so busy with the new dog, especially if it is a young puppy, that she won't have time for scavenger hunts in your house and garden.

BBB

hmmmm.

My first thought is put everything up high as an immediate recourse, not a solution... but then I remembered. Sally is quite a springy jumper, isn't she?:

Re: BBB


Now that's a great idea, BBB! And a nice little tabby cat while you're at it, dys!

Corgi, my foot.



Sally's a lot better now, eh?

you think you have trouble? Maddy has discovered that he loves tomatoes from the garden. Both Maddy and Dolly love to dig up the dirt around my Raywood Ash trees. I had to cover the ground with river stones this week to keep them from harming the trees.

BBB

Not too odd. I had a shepherd that loved. The yard was cross fenced, and she wouldn't touch the ones growing through the fence. Toss one to her, and believe me, it wasn't a pretty sight.

dys :
ebeth's dogs were both "rescue" dogs . she got them about a year apart .
they both were extremely afraid when a foot would get near them - but after about a year , they no longer had any fear of a foot .
cleo actually sometimes gets under our feet and might inadvertenly get stepped upon - she yelps but is right back .
she likes nothing better than lying on her back and having her belly massaged by my FOOT ! (and i have large feet)
she even comes and gives me a nudge : "foot massage - and make it snapy ! " . she can't get enough of it and when i tire of it , she'll entice me to continue it .
bailey - being a male - is satisfied with a really good belly rub - but only when he is really relaxed .

bailey and cleo simply had to learn how to trust people .

at one time we had to leave the house and put bailey in his cage . he was quite used to it and would enter willingly . i wanted him to be comfy and put a small feather pillow in the cage .
when we came back bailey had completely shredded the pillow , the feathers were hanging on his fur and he looked more like bird - he just looked at me a little bit sheepishly .

going by b+c's behaviour , sally might just need more time - but i don't know that much about dogs .

btw cleo loves the fresh shoots of the hostas in the spring - she eats so many that her .... turns green - but she keeps munching . oh , yes : she also likes to get into the fresh chives - with disastrous results for anyone close to her later on . she farts heartily and looks around , like : "who did that ? " .
give my regards to sally !
hbg

this thread is 4 years old, sally dog as fine a dog as one could hope for she obey's my every command (when she wants to)

see dys , you just had to be patient !
hbg

I know that - that's why I brought it up again, since Sally is so happy now.