The Poultry Keeper

EGirl · Joined: 01 Nov 2007 Posts: 1322 Location: Dublin, Ireland

Hi all, you may remember we rehomed Kizzy, the (alleged! She's still growing) whippet about 2 months ago. She's a delight and I have managed to crate train her to stop most accidents around the house. We have also installed a baby gate to stop her getting upstairs as she was tormenting the cat on my bed, and got so excited she wee-ed a couple of times. I can't afford a new duvet every week so she is no longer allowed upstairs.

We still have a couple of issues though, and I'm not sure how to deal with them.
The first is stealing food. She will steal absolutely anything, wrappers from the recycling bin, toast, sweets, you name it. The other day she polished off about half a litre of goose fat that I had put outside to solidify. My fault for forgetting about it when I let her out. I did pay the price as she spent the rest of the evening vomiting, so I followed her around cleaning it up all night! Evil or Very Mad

We do not feed her from the table, in fact she is generally crated at mealtimes, we dont give her titbits and she gets a bowl of dry food each day, with half a tin of tinned food maybe every second day.

Am I feeding her too little? She often leaves the dry food so doesn't seem starving??

Second problem is jumping up at visitors. I generally ignore the behaviour, pushing her away until she's calmer, and giving the kids my affection until she behaves. She's quite big and easily lands her paws on the shoulders of children, which is scary and can hurt them. I would love to stop her doing this as it's a pain to have to crate her every time the doorbell rings.

Any advice gratefully received. Laughing

Elly · Joined: 18 Apr 2008 Posts: 356 Location: Norfolk

Put some hot chilli sauce on a couple of items on the side and see if that works. Our dog went through this stage, but stopped when she got a hot shock Wink

How much food she need is going to depend on size and excersice. She may not like totally dry food; you could add some warm water or mix dry with meat. Most dogs will eat all their food in one go. Does she gobble the meat down? Obviously dried food on its own needs to be a complete feed and not just a 'biscuit'. Our dog has a cup of dry complete food in the morning and 2 cups with some meat in the evening. She always eats after us, which is important in pack order.

The jumping up could be deallt with by clicker training, by enforcing good behaviour. \you could also try filling a small tin with screws/nails/bolts and shaking it everytime she does something inappropriate. The noise must be enough to shock her. Shutting her in a cage is not going to help her learn and may even reinforce the bad behaviour Shocked

Time and concistancy is the main thing and all the household needs to do the same thing. Your dog must know she is bottom of the pack; no sitting on furniture or other Boss things. Smile

Good luck
Keep smilin
Elly

crazypianolady · Joined: 26 Mar 2008 Posts: 793 Location: Nottinghamshire

I found with my dogs that jumping up was an exuberant form of demanding attention. The cure was for people to ignore the dog completely until she was sitting down quietly, then she was greeted by the visitor. (The problem was training visitors to understand the idea of IGNORE THE DOG COMPLETELY. PRETEND IT DOES NOT EXIST. Honestly, the dog learned quicker than the people!)

As with all things - patience, practice, and perseverance!

Good luck! Smile

EGirl · Joined: 01 Nov 2007 Posts: 1322 Location: Dublin, Ireland

Thanks guys. I think the main problem is getting my OH and small kids to reinforce the rules. Might try the chilli thing though....
She's hard to ignore when she's on top of you though. I ask people to push her off & avoid any eye contact until she is calm. In fairness she does obey me, I'm obviously her pack leader, but I think she sees the kids as equal, which is a problem with greeting and when they want to have toast sitting on the couch....

Will keep trying, thanks.

Tia Maria · Joined: 13 Oct 2008 Posts: 78 Location: Wiltshire

Hi

She's a Lurcher yes?

In gypsy - Lur means thief, cur means dog therefore - thief dog!!!!

I have a lurcher, love her to bits and would recomend the 'breed' to anyone BUT she will steal food - she's a lurcher!!

Mine will be absolutely fantastic, wouldn't dream of taking food from a plate even if you said she could, but if you turn your back - she'll steal!

her favourite is the butter, the cat biscuits anything really - BUT only when no one is looking - and she can be very quick, huge eyes, all innocence, but still a thief.

she's better than she used to be. when we first got her aged 9 months she ate everything in sight, like she thought she'd never see a meal again. It took a year before she learned to trust that we would feed her regularly. She treats the stealing like a game, catch me if you can OR don't leave me where I can get to food - and she can get it from inside the closed fridge.
Very Happy

bronskibeat · Joined: 09 Sep 2007 Posts: 1768 Location: Clawddnewydd

I have to say, I agree with Tia Maria Sad

Lurchers/whippets/greys etc are prone to stealing food and its very difficult to stop. Try the chili method by all means, but be aware that she may just like it Rolling Eyes

Or, more likely, she'll just keep stealing until she gets something that hasnt been doctored. Best way is to keep everything locked away thats edible, a pain I know but you could end up with a dog with a torsion. We had a dog that thieved food and he managed to gutz half a bag of dried puppy food, he ended up with a torsion and a ruptured spleen and having his stomach stapled to his side to prevent it happening again. He continued to steal at every opportunity available (usually when friends and non-resident family were around and they tend to be less fanatical about closing pantry/cupboard doors Sad

)
With the jumping up, you could try turning your back on her and standing absolutely still without looking at her until she sits/lies down of her own free will. Then praise her like mad in the sit/down. If she jumps up again, repeat the exercise. She will eventually learn that she is ignored for the "bad behaviour" and rewarded for the "good" Very Happy

You will need everyone who lives/visits you on board for this though or she will learn that she doesnt jump up at you, but everyone else is fair game (thats the stage my collie Storm is at Rolling Eyes

I hate it when people say "oh, dont worry, he's fine I dont mind"............... aaaarrrrgggghhhh, but I DO mind!!!!!!)

Good luck Wink

milkmaid · Joined: 19 Apr 2005 Posts: 7424 Location: isle of lewis

there's some good advice there ,meg is a jump up to greet dog ,she doesn't do it to me runs up and sits and she's getting it with everyone else at a bit of a slower rate Rolling Eyes

EGirl · Joined: 01 Nov 2007 Posts: 1322 Location: Dublin, Ireland

Thanks so much guys. It's something of a relief to know that the stealing is a characteristic of the breed, and not a flaw in my dog! We are getting used to keeping food from her and I've put the responsibility on the kids to mind their food. If she eats something they've left unattended, they are told it's their fault and not the dog's, so the onus is on them.

As for the jumping up, I will just have a word with regular visitors and hopefully she will calm down as she gets a bit older.

I do think she's a lurcher, definately not small enough to be a whippet, and not big enough to be a greyhound, so somewhere in between. I have dreams of a houseful of them, so the foibles of the breed haven't put me off! Dont tell OH though... Laughing

Tia Maria · Joined: 13 Oct 2008 Posts: 78 Location: Wiltshire

they wind tjeir way into your affections very easily, love characters, loyal and loving. Ours loves us all but is DEVOTED to my boy.

Another characteristic we have found - is she HATES the rain and has been known to refuse to come out of her kennel for 2 days because it was raining. Only our boy can get her to emerge in the wet

Elly · Joined: 18 Apr 2008 Posts: 356 Location: Norfolk

[quote="EGirl"]Thanks so much guys. It's something of a relief to know that the stealing is a characteristic of the breed, and not a flaw in my dog! We are getting used to keeping food from her and I've put the responsibility on the kids to mind their food. If she eats something they've left unattended, they are told it's their fault and not the dog's, so the onus is on them. [quote]

The only thing with that is if the dog starts to think it is higher in the pack than the kids. It is always best for family dogs to know they are the bottom of the pecking order. Essentially you and your family should be able to take food from the dog, not the other way round Wink

Good luck with the training Smile

Keep smilin
Elly

bronskibeat · Joined: 09 Sep 2007 Posts: 1768 Location: Clawddnewydd

milkmaid · Joined: 19 Apr 2005 Posts: 7424 Location: isle of lewis

we had one for 15 years ,yes he stole ,i remember well the christmas i turned my back on a gammon and he had nicked it and ran up stairs with it ,he didn't like children very much so we had to be carefull with the pecking order ,his pathetic act was the walk home from the field he always had a limp unless i looked like i was going back then it disappeared Wink

,lovely dogs Cool

Tia Maria · Joined: 13 Oct 2008 Posts: 78 Location: Wiltshire

Oh the limp!!!!

My lurcher actually does have a bad foot at the moment having torn her pad while out with her boy the other night.

This does not stop her lifting her foot and limping across the room if attention has not been forthcoming - the trouble is she's using the wrong foot!!!!!

Bless her Rolling Eyes

bronskibeat · Joined: 09 Sep 2007 Posts: 1768 Location: Clawddnewydd

not always the brightest crayons in the box lurchers, are they Rolling Eyes

EGirl · Joined: 01 Nov 2007 Posts: 1322 Location: Dublin, Ireland

Can't resist a couple of photos of my thieving darling....I love this silly animal so much Laughing