Rhodesian pup chewing on herself

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abbyneo
Posts: 415
Joined: Wed Sep 21, 2011 6:53 am
Location: Illinois

Rhodesian pup chewing on herself

Post by abbyneo »

Hi everyone! So happy with the last responses that I got that I decided to post again and ask another question :lol:

Neo, our almost-11 week-old Rhodesian pup sometimes grabs ahold of her feet and bites them..not sure if this is normal. I assume it is just crazy puppy stuff, but just want to see what you guys think.

Also put pictures up in the pictures board :)
Flyby
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Location: Scotland
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Re: Rhodesian pup chewing on herself

Post by Flyby »

I don't think it's a problem, but, if I might pass on some lessons and friendly advice, try to get your pup comfortable with you touching her paws and claws. The reason I say so is Odin has a thing about his feet being touched, which is ok until he needs his claws trimmed. He's not happy about that at all. It's a problem I need to address, but if you get Neo comfortable about it, that's a very good thing. Prior to the claws being trimmed, Odin loved the vet, and he still does to a degree, but just the front office. When the actual door to the vet's surgery opens, he's suddenly glued to the floor, and all of that stems from claw trimming. We've never managed a complete trimming, we've tried twice on different occassions, and I think we perhaps managed 9 claws in total, but that was still enough to lose some of his confidence in the vet.

Odin wasn't forced into anything, but he was muzzled and held firm and he really didn't like it and fought all the way. It was pretty clear this was more than a lack of confidence but real anxiety, so we stopped and backed off immediately. I saw everything in that instant how being too forceful with a Ridgeback was such a bad idea and how a 'little thing' might cause your dog become highly strung. When the dog says no and means it, - listen, take a step back, and re-think your strategy.

The other thing to watch is her ears. Ridgebacks have a very high blood supply to their ears and I think they use them to cool down like elephant ears. This means they get hot, waxy, and a bit itchy sometimes. Odin would start shaking his head and I just needed to clear the the wax out. It's nothing frightful, a couple of wipes with a tissue. He actually likes getting it done now, but he didn't at first. He got used to it slowly, and I'm hoping to get the paw thing resolved the same way.

But I reckon that's it. Get Neo well socialied of course. And physically do it, don't put it off, get her adjusted to other dogs when she's young. Go out of your way to do it, take her to classes and mixing with other dogs. You'll never regret it. Odin is a bit bigger than normal, the book says RR's should be 35-38kg for a dog, but he's 50kg and a bit intimidating if you don't know him.
Last edited by Flyby on Sat Sep 24, 2011 4:05 am, edited 1 time in total.
Sarah83
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Re: Rhodesian pup chewing on herself

Post by Sarah83 »

Is the skin red on her feet? Does she chew them a lot? What are you feeding her? Foot chewing is a common sign of allergies and a lot of dogs have problems with wheat and corn/maize, both of which are found in a lot of dog foods. Course, there are a lot of other things they can be allergic to but wheat and corn are the easiest to rule out simply by changing to food and treats that don't contain either.
abbyneo
Posts: 415
Joined: Wed Sep 21, 2011 6:53 am
Location: Illinois

Re: Rhodesian pup chewing on herself

Post by abbyneo »

Thank you both.

Flyby-We are definitely socializing her the best we can right now, and since she doesn't have all of her shots yet, that is limited to playing in the apartment with Abby, the Boxer, and meeting some kids outdoors when it's potty time. Like I said, we just moved across the country a few months ago, so our friend-base is limited. One of my coworkers has a lab pup that is the same age as Neo, so as soon as they're both adequately vaccinated, they will be having playdates, and Neo will begin going to the dog park with big sister. As for now, it's playing with sometimes grumpy Abby and crazy kitten. We are going to get her in training LITERALLY the weekend after her shots which is the first week of October. http://www.houstondogranch.com/ This is the place that we're thinking of taking her..check out the "hotel rooms"...they look better than some that I've stayed in!! :lol: But we're going to go visit this facility this weekend to see what we think.

Sarah-thanks for the advice. When we first acquired Abby 5 months ago, she was on a very low quality food, and had many problems (diarrhea, itchy feet, eyes, etc.). After trying a few cheaper brands, I decided that we were going to switch her to grain free food because I suspected a corn allergy. Both Abby and Neo are eating Blue Buffalo Wilderness which is grain free, so I don't think it's an allergy issue..it just looks like she gets overly excited when she's playing and needs something to put in her mouth and her foot is the most convenient thing! :roll: I'm not 100% sure, so I will check the ingredients in the training treats that we've been using and possibly make a switch.

Thank you both!
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