Haddie is good for about a small handful of treats (spread out) during our outings until she gets an ugly combo of a dry cough and gagging. When that happens, I worry she is about ready to toss up her cookies. Thankfully, that has yet to happen. But sounds awful, looks awful, and can make heads turn.
Yesterday in church it got to be so obnoxious that I took her outside, just in case. Nothing came of it, but she seemed to settle down with the breath of fresh air. I stopped giving her treats after that, even though we stayed for an additional thirty minutes back inside before it was time to go home. Although treat-less, she was thankfully well behaved.
Do other PR's have or have had this issue with their pups? What's the remedy? Is it a sign of stress? I am fairly confident her Gentle Leader is not too tight around her neck, but I will have our Trainer check it tomorrow at class.
Any advice would be helpful ... Thanks!!!
Sorry, no help this week. We're not supposed to bait our pups when they are working, so don't know what to tell ya! Doesn't sound fun though. Hope it's something easy to fix.
ReplyDeleteLisa, no treats on outings? I have weaned Haddie off more than when she was a pup, but maybe it is time to do even more, as in zero. So, sounds like you very well could have THE answer!! =)
ReplyDeleteI had this problem with my first puppy. The gentle leader was fitted correctly, but it just happened to bug her where it sits, so I switched to a Halti and the problem went away. The Halti has a losser fit around the dog's nose and throat and some dogs do better with this. I personally prefer the Halti over the gentle leader. This is just a suggestion, but it could be something else too.
ReplyDeleteChurry actually behaves horribly when I get kibbles out at home to try to teach her something! Thankfully, she just works really well with praise!
ReplyDeleteThe only thing about that is, they will likely be using food during her advanced training. It is probably best to figure out what is wrong now... I'm not much help as to what is causing it though, sorry :/
ReplyDeleteShe doesn't do this during her meals?
Ooooh, thanks, Ashley!! I will look into that!!
ReplyDeleteCarlin - that is awesome, as eventually Haddie will need to work just with praise too.
ReplyDeleteCarrie - she is great at meals - and never does this at home. Which just made me think that I should have Haddie were the GL around the house, treat her, and see if it happens. I guess that would determine if it is stress induced (?).
ReplyDeleteI would try that! Working with her at home with the gentle leader on with treats would help determine if it is due to the gentle leader or more with being in public.
DeleteThe only thing I can think of is that she's eating her treats too quickly and this is causing the hacking because one will get caught and then another and so on. If you don't already give her treats with a flat palm (like you would a horse) I would suggest trying it for a day or two and seeing if that helps a little. If not, there may be other ways to get pups to eat treats a little slower. I also wouldn't give her treats while she's moving (if you do that,I'm not too aware of how CCI give treats). Like, if you give her a treat while walking stop while she gets the treat and while she chews.
ReplyDeleteIt could be something else entirely, but my pups have sometime eaten too quickly and start hacking.
I've never had that problem, but I'd try to limit treats as much as possible in public (unless she needs them to stay in a down). I use treats every once and a while when I'm working on hardcore commands while walking through stores or large buildings, but I tend to stray away from treats when I have Hobart in a down. Sometimes at the end of an extended stay I'll give him a treat, though.
ReplyDeletejust some thoughts,
~Elijah & hobart II
Ansel had that dry cough and gag, but it was a random thing. With or without kibble, with or without GL on, it was just random.
ReplyDeleteWhen our puppies are younger my group says to wet the treats some, so before you go on an outing just add a little bit of water to the food and that will make it softer and might make Haddie stop coughing. :)
ReplyDeleteErin: I do give Haddie one treat at a time and space them out - the small handful description in the post was just the quantity of treats that it usually takes before she start this scenario. But you are right, she still may be gulping them down and not really clearing it before the next offer.
ReplyDeleteElijah: Yes, I think I do need to give fewer regardless.
Bethany: I thought that maybe a softer variety of treat while out might be the solution. I will check into that.
THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH FOR THE AWESOME SUGGESTIONS!!!!!
I had this issue with my last guide dog puppy Medford. Our CFR told us to use either hot dogs cut up into small bites or whatever brand the dog is on in the small breed formula that way the food is smaller and less likely to get stuck in their throat. With Medford he worked better with praise so i only used the food on rare outings.
ReplyDelete