My mutt has a fixation
Note: This is part one of a three-part series on my dog’s tennis sphere obsession. Click these links to checked out part two, 10 indications your dog has a fixation as well as part three, breaking Ace’s fixation.
You’ve heard me joke about it, grumble about it as well as then half-heartily try to repair it. My mutt has an addiction to tennis balls. however not just tennis spheres – any type of type of ball, any type of dog toy, stuffed animal as well as anything round, really. as well as if there are no toys in sight, he brings me rolled up pieces of paper from the trash, candy bar wrappers, bottle caps, rubber bands, feline toys. Lately he’s been bringing me my hair ties. as well as if we’re outside without any ball, the fixation becomes sticks – usually just one stick in particular. He actually will not stop dropping a stick at my feet (whether I throw it or ignore him makes no difference) as long as that stick remains within sight or scent distance – as well as he has a great nose.
The mutt will not eat, drink, relieve himself, respond to commands or break a gaze from whatever it is he occurs to be fixated on unless I physically eliminate the item as well as put it in one more space or a closet. If we are outside as well as he is fixated on a sphere or stick, he loses all logic as far as overheating, getting as well chilly or responding to pain (cut feet from ice).
I’m not trying to state playing fetch is a poor thing. After all, my mutt is part retriever, he was bred to retrieve. Well, at least his relatives were. however retrieving should be fun for a dog – a game or a job, not a matter of life as well as death.
I have a strict plan to assist Ace, however very first I want to share exactly how the mutt got this way. There is no method to understand precisely what happened, this is just my assumption based on what I understand about Ace’s past, my mistakes as well as dog habits in general:
Ace did not online with me for the very first year of his life. He was adopted by a mom as well as child who already had one other dog as well as a cat. The mom told me she ended up adopting Ace since she felt obligated to take a pup from a litter where the mom dog was had by somebody she knew. She decided Ace might be her daughter’s dog as well as hesitantly brought the puppy home.
Well, this didn’t go so perfectly. Ace was never mistreated, however the child didn’t take an rate of interest in him. She was a teenager as well as was gone at institution as well as other commitments during the day. The mother, of course, worked a full-time job. This left extremely bit time for either of them to spend with young Ace, who ended up living most of his life in a kennel. He was never walked as well as never trained to do anything other than go to the bathroom outside.
And right here is where I begin guessing as well as putting the pieces together: Dogs requirement to be walked. It is that simple. as well as dogs that aren’t walked begin taking their energy as well as frustrations out in other ways. Some ended up being destructive indoors. Some bark as well as cry nonstop. Some ended up being aggressive. Others ended up being obsessed with chasing their tails, little animals, shadows, lights – or- a ball.
Playing fetch ended up being Ace’s one method to get interest from his household members (shoving a toy in their laps up until they ended up being annoyed as well as threw it for him). It was likewise the only method he understood exactly how to release pent-up energy. I’m sure as soon as Ace ended up being frustrating sufficient in the evenings, he was sent right back into his kennel for the night.
The finest thing that household ever did for Ace was put him up for adoption.
Along came me. I adopted Ace becasue he got along excellent with other pets, was housebroken, kennel trained as well as looked athletic sufficient to be my new running buddy.
I promptly began Ace on a structured training as well as exercise program the day I brought him home. This helped him discover the rules of my way of life as well as drained much of his excess energy. however the extremely very first morning I had Ace, he began bringing me his tennis ball. as well as what did I do? I threw it. as well as I kept throwing it. He brought it back as well as dropped it at my feet every time. It was adorable as well as great to have such a excellent retriever.
The very first thing my boyfriend Josh as well as I did was take Ace outside where we might throw the sphere further. We soon learned Ace didn’t even have to be leashed if a sphere was included since he would never leave our sight as long as we’d keep throwing the ball. Mükemmel! A dog that stays at our sides unleashed as well as retrieves!
Well, I’m sure you see what I did wrong. İAce için zaten bir sorun olan alışkanlıkları teşvik etti, sadece fark etmedim. Onu her gün yönettim, ancak aynı şekilde haftada en az iki kez onunla küre oynadım. Tıpkı alkolik arkadaşlarını bara getirmeye devam eden iyi arkadaşlar gibi sorunu besliyordum.
Tabii ki, yakında köpeğimin bir sorunu olduğunu fark ettim, ancak tam olarak nasıl onarılacağından emin değildim. Tam olarak nasıl tamir edeceğimi fark edene kadar daha fazla inandım, ancak zorluk şimdiye kadar göz korkutucu oldu. Hiçbir bağımlılığın düzeltilmesi kolay değildir.
Son olarak, sorunun nereye başladığı ve köpeğime yardım etmek için değişiklik yapmam gerektiğine dair yeterli olduğunu anladığımı hissediyorum. Ace o takıntılı durumdayken mutlu değildir. Bir bölgede ve son derece sağlıksız bir zihin belirtisidir.
Bu bağlantıları tıklayın İkinci Bölüm, 10 Endikasyonu Köpeğinizin bir fiksasyona ve üçüncü bölüme sahip, ACE’nin fiksasyonunu kırın.