Tail & Cat Chasing & Mouthing

Esprit64 · Post by **Esprit64** » Sat Nov 22, 2008 5:29 pm

Hello: I have an 11 mo old Lab/GSP/BCollie mix. Very smart, loving nature. Well exercised, many play/chase times daily. She's with me 24/7.

My dog seems to constantly seek attention. At times, she doesn't seem to want to settle. For example, she'll halfway jump up on my chair while I'm reading, will want me to pet her, etc. Since I know she just had good exercise/play time, I'll pet her a bit, but then I'll refuse her. I'll then see wheels circling in her head. Her head goes down as she looks up at me. Suddenly, she'll mouth my hand slightly, or nudge me. When I refuse again, she'll dart to the middle of the room, then the tail chasing begins. Then she'll chew on her front paw. More often than not, she'll come back to my chair and as she's facing me, her head will go down to the floor, almost as if she's doing a shoulder stand, she will then slide down and onto her back, like a slow-motion flip. She'll end up with her back on the floor looking up at me. When I fail to respond, she'll get up, slightly mouth my hands, etc. Should I walk away, she'll mouth my hands as she follows me.

The cat does well in tolerating my dog, and allows her near. My dog nudges her, smells her. But, when they're on the floor, my dog stands tall over the cat, and playfully tries to swat her. At this point, the cat gets a hissy fit. My dog is undaunted, she'll keep after the cat and seems to move her head just out of range of the cat's flying claws. No matter how many times I try to correct my dog, she'll just keep after the cat.

I've tried distractions for the tail chasing, reward for stopping, praise for good behavior. But, once I see those wheels turning in my dog's head, all training seems lost. The cat seems to like the dog, wants to like the dog, but I cannot blame the cat for not wanting to play rough.

Is this "boredom" behavior? And why does my dog continue to "mouth"? She's really quick in picking up many good behaviors, but I cannot seem to correct these bad ones. Thanks for any help.[/img]