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Dogs Obsess Over Weird Stuff
10 years ago
I'm not sure how many of you know that I live in a house with four dogs. Two are my mom's, two are mine. All but Tank (my mom's bloodhound-lab) sleep in crates to prevent fighting because while they can behave during the day, at night, it never fails that a dog fight breaks out. It's never been super damaging, clumps of fur pulled out is the worst it's ever gotten, but the crates eliminate the possibility of a bad one breaking out. No idea why these happen and only at night, but they do.
Anyway... On to individual dog obsessions.
Tank (bloodhound mix as mentioned above); my mom's dog:
He's only three but acts old and grumpy and lazy. He also whines and gripes verbally over the "wait" command even though I usually only make him wait 10-15 seconds. He also has 0 tolerance for rough play, especially when theres a distinct size difference or one person is at a disadvantage. But his obsession, likely linked to his bloodhound heritage, is smells. He especially likes smelling burps. Eggroll burps must be his favorite because after I eat them, he tries to stay close to my face should I burp. This is especially annoying when I lay down before he has his eggroll burp fix. As the only dog without a crate, he is free to crowd my face all. night. long. He's so weird. Jake out does him though.
Jake (Bluetick Hound); my mom's dog:
Roughly 2 years old, he's finally slowing down some energy wise. But his baying has not. He has 3 obsessions: lights, his butt being lightly spanked, and staring at you adoringly for hours.
The first is insane because when he finds out that something lights up, he will stare for hours. He recently figured out that phones do and tries to occasionally crawl in our laps to stare at our phone screens with us. But he'll settle for staring at the light on the smoke detectors. Do not use a laser pointer though. That's just... bad. He whines and keeps searching for it days after the initial game.
The spanking is pretty weird though. He will back up to you, butt in your face even, expecting attention. Accommodating guests will pet or scratch his butt, but will soon learn that this just makes him back up further and more aggressively. He's only satisfied with firm pats/light spanks on his butt. No one knows why. I've accepted that Jake is just a mystery.
And the staring at people is the second most common complaint, first being his baying. Unlike other dogs, the staring has not been connected with begging for food or needing out as he'll continue to stare and refuse to go out or move his bowl so he can eat and stare at the same time. Again, he's a mystery.
Maggie (Great Pyrenees-Lab); my furbaby:
Maggie is a cuddle monster and an attention hog. She especially liked stealing the attention of male guests for whatever reason. She adores Rhiannon's boyfriend. She cuddles any time someone is open for them even though she weighs more than most ten year old children. Maggie is also a dog that is VERY sensitive to illness and injury and stays close to anyone injured and has been known to pick up that someone is getting sick before even they know. She obsessively sniffs injuries and shows slight aggression to other dogs when they get too close to the injured body part that she is guarding (this is mainly with me, but recently did so with Rhiannon's bf as well when he was over and she realized his wrist was hurt). She's a sweet dog that I love so much. <3
Monster (Catahoula mix); my furbaby as well:
He's still young and hasn't developed any clear obsessions other than acting as the annoying kid brother to the other dogs. Scooting or wiggling across the floor on his back is a thing he does though. He also likes to use his paws a lot, but even more so, he likes to use objects in place of his paws. He'll prop a toy up against the couch or squeeze it under the couch cushion to keep it in place while he chews on it. Fascinating little canine brain there. I love my unusual little Monster <3
Anyway, random tired musings over.
I'm healing but my equilibrium is off, which happens to some while healing from a tonsillectomy apparently (something to do with swelling near the inner ear). I've kinda bruised myself a little (a lot) from losing my balance lately. This sucks, but it's temporary. I'll be fine. I'm managing to sit up for only half hour sessions before feeling so tired I have slight trouble breathing. I'm making the most I can of those sessions, but I can't exactly accomplish much yet. The doctor has prescribed brief outings, (1-2 hours) just getting out of the house so I have to push myself a little, every couple of days, taking a day to rest in between so I don't bring my immune system down by tiring myself out completely. I should feel better energy wise within a week I'm told.
I'm also going to try a new anxiety medication or something so I can sleep at night properly. I have issues with sleeping pills since I'm allergic to half the available types and the others I'd have to overdose on to sleep through the night. I've tried every herbal and cycle oriented method I've found and no luck. I have issues falling asleep, going back to sleep, and the like because of anxiety filled thoughts of worry and depression so that's why I feel an anxiety medication may help. If anyone has had a similar issue and found an anxiety medication to work, I'm open to solutions as my primary doctor prefers to be told what to prescribe apparently... She likes the prescribe what's asked and see how that works method of medicine... I'm open to holistic things but I've tried nearly 3 dozen types at this point. New age medication may be my only choice.
Anyway... I'm done babbling. lol Please excuse any typos or the like. I'm posting from my phone and tired.
Have a great night and week, all!
Anyway... On to individual dog obsessions.
Tank (bloodhound mix as mentioned above); my mom's dog:
He's only three but acts old and grumpy and lazy. He also whines and gripes verbally over the "wait" command even though I usually only make him wait 10-15 seconds. He also has 0 tolerance for rough play, especially when theres a distinct size difference or one person is at a disadvantage. But his obsession, likely linked to his bloodhound heritage, is smells. He especially likes smelling burps. Eggroll burps must be his favorite because after I eat them, he tries to stay close to my face should I burp. This is especially annoying when I lay down before he has his eggroll burp fix. As the only dog without a crate, he is free to crowd my face all. night. long. He's so weird. Jake out does him though.
Jake (Bluetick Hound); my mom's dog:
Roughly 2 years old, he's finally slowing down some energy wise. But his baying has not. He has 3 obsessions: lights, his butt being lightly spanked, and staring at you adoringly for hours.
The first is insane because when he finds out that something lights up, he will stare for hours. He recently figured out that phones do and tries to occasionally crawl in our laps to stare at our phone screens with us. But he'll settle for staring at the light on the smoke detectors. Do not use a laser pointer though. That's just... bad. He whines and keeps searching for it days after the initial game.
The spanking is pretty weird though. He will back up to you, butt in your face even, expecting attention. Accommodating guests will pet or scratch his butt, but will soon learn that this just makes him back up further and more aggressively. He's only satisfied with firm pats/light spanks on his butt. No one knows why. I've accepted that Jake is just a mystery.
And the staring at people is the second most common complaint, first being his baying. Unlike other dogs, the staring has not been connected with begging for food or needing out as he'll continue to stare and refuse to go out or move his bowl so he can eat and stare at the same time. Again, he's a mystery.
Maggie (Great Pyrenees-Lab); my furbaby:
Maggie is a cuddle monster and an attention hog. She especially liked stealing the attention of male guests for whatever reason. She adores Rhiannon's boyfriend. She cuddles any time someone is open for them even though she weighs more than most ten year old children. Maggie is also a dog that is VERY sensitive to illness and injury and stays close to anyone injured and has been known to pick up that someone is getting sick before even they know. She obsessively sniffs injuries and shows slight aggression to other dogs when they get too close to the injured body part that she is guarding (this is mainly with me, but recently did so with Rhiannon's bf as well when he was over and she realized his wrist was hurt). She's a sweet dog that I love so much. <3
Monster (Catahoula mix); my furbaby as well:
He's still young and hasn't developed any clear obsessions other than acting as the annoying kid brother to the other dogs. Scooting or wiggling across the floor on his back is a thing he does though. He also likes to use his paws a lot, but even more so, he likes to use objects in place of his paws. He'll prop a toy up against the couch or squeeze it under the couch cushion to keep it in place while he chews on it. Fascinating little canine brain there. I love my unusual little Monster <3
Anyway, random tired musings over.
I'm healing but my equilibrium is off, which happens to some while healing from a tonsillectomy apparently (something to do with swelling near the inner ear). I've kinda bruised myself a little (a lot) from losing my balance lately. This sucks, but it's temporary. I'll be fine. I'm managing to sit up for only half hour sessions before feeling so tired I have slight trouble breathing. I'm making the most I can of those sessions, but I can't exactly accomplish much yet. The doctor has prescribed brief outings, (1-2 hours) just getting out of the house so I have to push myself a little, every couple of days, taking a day to rest in between so I don't bring my immune system down by tiring myself out completely. I should feel better energy wise within a week I'm told.
I'm also going to try a new anxiety medication or something so I can sleep at night properly. I have issues with sleeping pills since I'm allergic to half the available types and the others I'd have to overdose on to sleep through the night. I've tried every herbal and cycle oriented method I've found and no luck. I have issues falling asleep, going back to sleep, and the like because of anxiety filled thoughts of worry and depression so that's why I feel an anxiety medication may help. If anyone has had a similar issue and found an anxiety medication to work, I'm open to solutions as my primary doctor prefers to be told what to prescribe apparently... She likes the prescribe what's asked and see how that works method of medicine... I'm open to holistic things but I've tried nearly 3 dozen types at this point. New age medication may be my only choice.
Anyway... I'm done babbling. lol Please excuse any typos or the like. I'm posting from my phone and tired.
Have a great night and week, all!
As for mine? Iunno. Probably licking every little bit of exposed flesh she can find. She's adorbs, and it's not a habit I have issues with. Cross between a Norwegian elkhound, G-shep, and some malamute.
While on sleep meds: Melatonin 10mg works wonders for me.