[nagdu] Lickers

[Kaye Kipp]

Well, I've had her for a year and a half, but sniffing is another of her
obsessive behaviors.  I do try to redirect her, but sometimes she gets
really into it before I catch her.

Kaye

-----Original Message-----
From: nagdu [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Tami Jarvis via
nagdu
Sent: Wednesday, May 27, 2015 8:16 AM
To: NAGDU Mailing List, the National Association of Guide Dog Users
Cc: Tami Jarvis
Subject: Re: [nagdu] Lickers

Kaye,

Some dogs are obsessive lickers, and I seem to remember that it's a behavior
flaw poodles can be prone to. It's worse when the dog is under stress, as
she would have been at the school and in her new home, but I guess they'll
keep licking when they're not stressed.

I agree that the best approach is to substitute another behavior by
redirecting her to, say, a nylabone or rawhide or whatever she likes to
chew, then give her attention as an added reinforcement. Other types of play
can also help reduce stress and build positive leisure behaviors. 
If you can manage some sort of run play with her, that seems to do wonders
for my poodles to let off work stress. I was going to mention that a nice
sniff 'n stroll is a good way to relax, but it's probably not a smart
strategy with a new dog. Hm...

You can also simply nudge her nose away from what she's licking to stop her
without adding the stress of a punitive correction, then give her some quick
attention and praise for redirecting. As much as you can, giving her a
substitute behavior to satisfy her oral fixation should work faster.

Obsessive behaviors can also have chemical causes and need to be treated
medically. There are drugs for that now for dogs, I guess, but I prefer
something like Rescue Remedy or another natural calming formula. The only
other one I've used is called Happy Camper, but I prefer Rescue Remedy. Once
it settles the dog down, I can then work on the behavior without all the
interference from stress hormones and start creating happy endorphins for
the behavior I want and all that jazz.

Good luck!

Tami



On 05/26/2015 09:54 PM, Kaye Kipp via nagdu wrote:
> Well, that could be, but she's always done it; even at the school.
>
> Kaye
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Debby Phillips [mailto:semisweetdebby at gmail.com]
> Sent: Tuesday, May 26, 2015 8:58 PM
> To: NAGDU Mailing List,the National Association of Guide Dog Users; 
> nagdu at nfbnet.org
> Cc: kkipp123 at gmail.com
> Subject: re: [nagdu] Lickers
>
> Maybe she's bored?    Debby
>
>
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