Change in Behavior: 2 y/o Now Constantly On Alert
I'm hoping to get some insight from other corgi owners on some behavior changes I've noticed in my two year old neutered corgi, Einstein. I hate seeing Einstein behaving like this. This is NOT the dog I know and love. :(
In July, we moved into a new house.The new house has hardwood floors, which the dogs will slip and slide on when they run too fast. I also noticed that Einstein wasn't getting much traction when he tried getting on the couch, so he would essentially clothesline himself when he tried hopping up. I have since bought a rug for under the couch and that has significantly helped with Einstein trying to get on the couch, as he gets up on the first try now.
The other big change with the house is it has a backyard (we were originally in an apartment) where I can let Einstein potty / practice his agility, etc. We still go on a daily walk and I exercise him in the yard by throwing frisbees, which he loves!
Around the same time, we also brought home a new corgi puppy, River. He and River will play, and they have plenty of toys that they share without issue, and River is great about submitting to Einstein.
What I have noticed is that since mid-July, Einstein is constantly on "high alert'.
- He waits for River to get into trouble. Even when I use a happy tone to call her to come or her name, he will search her out and mouth her neck or push her over.
- He is always listening for trespassers outside. He now barks at the neighbors walking past our house (with and without their dogs) and will bark in the yard if he hears other neighborhood dogs barking. This "new" bark makes him sound bigger than he is and makes him sound very aggressive / territorial. In our apartment, people would constantly walk by or make noise outside and he never barked at them.
- He is now sensitive to being petted and no longer enjoys tummy rubs. He will still let you pet him on the head and back. When you try to pet his belly, he will growl and bare teeth before licking your hand.
- Einstein guards his food - but only with River. I can walk up to him, put my hand in his bowl and pick it up without protest. Most days, he tries to bury his food with his nose and will just lay down by it without eating. River is fed and stays in her crate during the day, so there is no chance of her even getting to his food.
I have already spoken to my vet, who did a physical exam with no protest from Einstein, and she suggested I tried reinstating the "order" of my pack so that I am #1, Einstein #2, River #3. I have done that with feeding order, putting on leashes, etc. but I'm not sure it's changing anything. As of right now, we haven't gone back to the vet to address this issue.
I'm not sure if it's just him adjusting to the changes in his environment (new house / new puppy), if it's just him reaching maturity (which can come with behavior changes), or if there is an issue that needs to be further addressed.
Has anyone else gone through something similar??
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Jane on
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If there is nothing wrong with him physically, I would suggest additional exercise (perhaps by himself), an obedience class, and implementing NILF (nothing in life is free). With NILF you basically make him work for everything. Make him sit before you throw a ball, down before you feed him, shake before you leash him, etc (you can google for more info too). You can do the same with River. This just helps establish that you are the leader in the house.
I think the obedience class will also help, not only with training, but for him to see that you are in charge and he doesn't need to be so worried about everything. Plus they're usually pretty fun and you can spend some one-on-one time with him. :)
As far as his food, I personally would leave his food down for 20 minutes and then pick it back up. If he didn't eat, he waits until the next meal. He will learn to eat when you feed him, and not sit there guarding his food. Again I'd do the same with River.
Are they both spayed/neutered?
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Permalink Reply by Jenna on
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I'll work on implementing NILF more - that's kind of in line with what the vet suggested, but her suggestion was more about the "order" of things rather than "earning" of things to establish pack order.
Einstein has been through obedience classes and we have worked up to the third level agility class offered at our training club. I work with him on basic obedience / basic agility in the back yard and we go to class once a week to work with the instructor on more complex agility skills. Do you think it would be worth putting him into a separate obedience class just to get the extra refresher??
I'll work on feeding him earlier in the morning. Usually feeding the dogs is the last thing I do before I leave - I pour their food, feed Einstein, and send River to her crate and feed her in there before rushing out the door. Einstein has always been a grazer and River scarfs her food. But right now if the food doesn't get eaten it will sit there until one of us goes home at lunch to check on the dogs.Einstein is neutered and River will be 5 months old on 10/15 and my vet suggested getting her spayed no earlier than 5 months old. She will be spayed as soon as my vet gives the OK.
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Permalink Reply by Beth on
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My question would be this: does he seem stressed that he is guarding the house? Corgis are, in general, very alert guarders. Some more than others, but it's a common trait. If he's not looking stressed all the time, I'd take it as a combination of reaching social maturity and the changes in your home making him feel he has grown up and protecting the home is his job.
My Jack barks at anyone walking by the house and has since he's about 9 months old or so. Usually I will look out and say "Thank you, it's ok" and that stops him.
I agree about the 15-minutes to eat idea. Plus, if he's not eating right away, he may just not be hungry. Maybe try slightly reducing the amount he gets and seeing if that makes him more eager to eat.
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I believe he shows different levels of stress/anxiousness/alertness at different times, but never really just seems relaxed anymore.
For example, if he's barking at people walking by he's at level 8-9. If he's nosing his food, he's at level 5-6. If he's sitting on the couch or in his dog bed, he's still at level 2-3 of stress. He is always looking around, his ears are jerking around listening to things, and he's very restless/fidgety.
I never taught him a "quiet" command but he has a pretty good "leave it" which we generalize as "don't pay attention" whether it's something on the ground or a dog in someone's backyard. However, when he gets to those higher levels and I try using the command to get him to stop barking it falls on deaf ears.
So now this is the new Einstein I am dealing with and it breaks my heart because he had no issues up until July and I don't know how to help him... :\
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Permalink Reply by Yuki & Ellie on
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He sounds a lot like my Yuki (not a corgi, but an American Eskimo dog) regarding the barking, to be honest. He will bark at leaves rustling in the driveway, people walking by (talking - our windows are too high for him to see out), dogs barking, and heaven forbid someone knock on our door or ring the doorbell. He takes his job as guardian/alarm very seriously and it didn't start until we moved into our current house from our last rental, which was also shortly after he turned 2 years old.
Yuki has been to obedience (after this new behavior), we've tried a no-bark spray collar, we've tried training a quiet command. Nothing has worked so far and I've simply come to terms with the fact that this is just the way he is. He's just a somewhat nervous/anxious boy who is relentless with his alarm bark unless I yield him and get him to come down from a level 8-10 alert level. So it's possible that Einstein has nominated himself to be the house protector! :)
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Have you ever considered putting him on some sort of anti-anxiety medication? I don't think I'm at that point with Einstein yet (but I'm getting there).
I wonder if him being on alert 24/7 is the best way for him to be feeling all of the time. He just never seems to be completely relaxed anymore, so I wonder if there is something that can just take the edge off for him to be able to go back to his happy self...
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I honestly don't feel that he needs it at this time, though as he ages that may change. He isn't so hyper-alert that he can't nap or relax during the day and as long as I am able to react fast enough I can block his focus on the smaller triggers. He does bark himself silly on the rare occasions we have to board him, though. He always comes home sounding hoarse.
One thing that does help him, though, is touch. It was something we learned at training and was practiced at every session. It's not massage, but a certain way of rubbing along his spine that was part of the positive training techniques the class was taught. When he's anywhere from, say, 1-8 on the anxiety/barking scale, he'll actually come to me and whine between barks, wanting to be touched/rubbed along his back and it helps him to calm down. When it's something bigger, like the doorbell, there's just no stopping him. He snaps to level 8-10 immediately and I have to yield him (also learned at training) before I can get him to pay even the slightest bit of attention to me.
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Permalink Reply by Marcie on
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Becca has gone through spells where she is on hyper alert. There was construction nearby for most of the summer. She felt the need to keep watch. I left the windows down on that side of the house and had background noise on, tv, ac, or white noise machine. The background noise helped.
Becca also guards food, but only from the cat. I feed her in her crate and the cat gets fed in a gated room. She seems to be more secure in her crate.
Have you looked into natural stress remedies? I have used the Vermont Naturals chews for my cat. I always keep a bag on hand.
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I'll look into that! I think he needs something to help him, but I don't want to put him on a medication unless it's absolutely necessary. I haven't heard of the Vermont Naturals before but it looks like they've gotten some good reviews.
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Permalink Reply by Becky S on
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lavender oil is also a natural "relaxer" and can be rubber / sprayed on their bed / pillow and it smells good. Brody does the same thing, but usually more intense when I'm home alone.
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Permalink Reply by Anna Morelli on
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To answer your original question (is it this or is it that?) I would say that it's all of the above. Each one of the changes you mentioned would require a major adjustment from the dog and he kind of got them all too close together for him to process and integrate in a way that matches your expectations. Since you can't go back and space any of the changes out, try a combination of avoiding the stressors you can and sticking to your guns on the important ones you cannot overlook, such as nuisance barking. This may require further changes, for instance in feeding patterns.
I agree with those who say you should not leave out his food. Feed him while you are still home, then pick up the bowl if he does not eat it. I would not even wait 15 minutes. A hungry dog will eat immediately, maybe fast or slow, but not stop eating. It may take him a few days to figure it out, but he will get hungry and eat at the two designated times. If he's not eaten his morning meal, you can give a bit of food when you come home for lunch to check on the puppy, but the idea is to have him hungry at dinner, where again you will not leave food just laying around at his convenience.
A new house with wood floors, especially if sparsely furnished, with not much in the way of wall hangings and curtains/fabric to absorb sound can really accentuate every noise and anything can set him off that he's not used to. Teach him "quiet" and enforce it without making excuses. Make sure you leave some soothing background noise in the house when you leave. Limit his time outside alone as much as possible, bringing him inside at the first woof that follows your "quiet!" command. If you are out with him and he ignores the command, put him immediately on leash and remain outside to enforce your rule. It will be "one step forward and two steps back" any time he gets away with barking, so don't let up on that.
He may also have become more dominant as part of his maturing and the new pack order. Make sure he knows you are the benevolent Queen, and he is in no way the King :-D
All this will take some time. Prioritize what you work on and, as always, build on success.
BTW I've also used Vermont Naturals for my cat when traveling. I would prefer you only manage him behaviorally if at all possible, because anything you introduce that affects his behavior will further confuse the issue which already has a lot of moving parts....
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Yeah, I will definitely work on incorporating a "quiet" command. As I mentioned to someone else, I usually use the "leave it" command but maybe that's not enough when he's really into barking at something/someone.
My new daily affirmation: I am the benevolent Queen. I am the benevolent Queen. I am the benevolent Queen.
;)
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