Does Belle need a shrink?

[casmeows]

Our adorable black lab, Belle, is 9 years old and has been BAD all of her life. Lucky for her that she's with us. Otherwise, she'd been either in the pound or put down long ago!

All her life, she has had an insatiable appetite. We also have a lab/golden mix, Samantha(age 12), who is "Miss Perfect". She is totally appalled with Belle's behavior but sticks up for her since we think Sam thinks, Belle is her baby.

We have decided that Belle is never going to change, so have given up disciplining her when she is BAD, which is every day.

We have always had to push things to the back of the countertop, put things up high, etc. Altho' we do this, she ALWAYS gets into something. Either it's the cat food(pushed way back) or things on top of the microwave(bread, rolls, marshmallows, etc.). If nothing is found in the kitchen, she empties all wastebaskets and eats tissues and papertowels. If our son leaves this bedroom door open, she always finds something there. She has never gotten sick until 2 nights ago. He still had a large Reeses PB Santa in his room that she was able to knock down. At 1:30 AM, up it came. She also has eaten polished rocks and about $100 in cash, and passed both. Once she also swallowed a whole bandana and another time a sock - both that she brought up. She has no class and eats anything, including cat poop.

We've tried spraying, fencing(that she chews), baracading(that she pushes over, etc.

She's always been afraid of loud noises, and doesn't like being away from her home. They're both strictly indoor dogs that we've had from 6 wks of age.

So why all the mental problems? They have each other plus 3 cats that they both love. They both sleep on our bed at night and are terribly spoiled. We've tried to analyze Belle, but to no avail.
She's ALWAYS hungry(even tho' she has lots of toys and chew things).

Any help would be appreciated.

[purrley]

WOW:eek: :eek: I thought I had problems with my little chihuahua - and welcome to pet talk - I'm sure you'll get the help you need here. I'm just a new dog owner so I can't be the one to help, but I can sure sympathize and I do. Good luck - sounds like you got your hands really full - I'll be reading your replies throughout the day and learn something myself. Again welcome to this fun, fun site - I know you'll enjoy being a part of it;)

[carrie]

Hi and welcome.

It sounds to me like Belle is frustrated and stressed.

She needs direction and discipline that she can understand and respect. More excersise and training to release energy and use up some of that mental energy and some rules that are made to give structure to her life are needed.

A behaviourist would be very helpful to make your dogs lives more rewarding and less stressful for everyone.

[sasvermont]

Sounds like your doggie could use a little doggie Prozac or two. Really. It may relax the dog just enough that it won't be so obsessed with eating things. Talk to your vet! Good luck!

[AdoreMyDogs]

Welcome to the site!!!

I sounds to me like Belle is bored. Sometimes hunting breeds which were bred from hunting stock have stronger work/play drives then the dogs who were bred for companion and show.

I would say that Belle needs a job, for sure. Have you taken Belle to obedience classes? Either way, I would enroll her in a positive reinforcement class right away and then enroll her in the next class immediately after she graduates from that one. I think she needs to think more. She needs to be challanged and she needs to learn. It's never too late to start, so don't let her age stop you.

Assuming Belle is not overweight, after she has taken enough obedience to teach (or remind) her of the basics (sit, stay, heal, down, come) I would sign Belle up for agility class. Agility provides them with the mental challange, as well as give them an outlet for their energy.

Stick with the agility and keep signing up for the next classes. Keep advancing and improving. It will get more and more fun and chances are, you both will develop a huge passion for it. Belle will have a job and you may even be able to compete one day.

Agility is a wonderful, fun way to keep the mind and body active, and to give those "working dogs" a job to do.

Please don't drug Belle. That may stop her from chewing and eating things that she shouldn't, but it does nothing for the actual problem. She needs a job, not to be drugged. If you stick with obedience and agility I am certain that you will see improvement in Belle's behavior.

Best of luck. Please, please let us know what you decide to do. Keep us posted on your progress.

[sabies]

Wow, 9 years of Belle being bad! Perhaps she acts that way because there are other animals around, to get extra attention. 9 years isn't too old to learn though, I wouldn't give up on disciplining but try another method. (I'm sure you tried it all but perhaps a behaviorist could understand the dog's actions and come up with a new solution to try.)

Do you give her extra attention when she is good and ignore her when she's bad? Does she get enough exercise?

I can't imagine a lab getting to the top of a microwave - Belle, if only you would put your energy and resourcefulness to good use!!