A few more questions about Zeus.

Question
QUESTION: Hey, Renee. As I mentioned in an earlier post, Zeus has a very sensitive stomach. His stool is NEVER firm, EVER. Basically, the way a stool would look if a dog has diarrhea is the way that his stools look almost all the time. Occasionally, there will be structure to his stool, but it'll dissolve when it hits the ground.

When we asked the vet (two of them), we were told to feed him only once a day. There's no way I agree with that. He's extremely thin, and we're trying to add weight to him.

My sister correlates the structure of his stool to the heat... but then again, wouldn't this be a more common problem with dogs if that was the case? Why just my Zeus? I don't believe that.

I think it's his food. He still eats stupid Pedigree Large Breed, which just about every expert on here agrees is terrible. My parents are convinced that it's the best food for him since the vet said it was. (They really only mean that because it's the cheapest they can find.)

Do you think switching to a higher quality food would solve the problem?

Also:

Zeus has a terrible tendency to nip at my ankles unprovoked.   I know Boxers don't deal well with negative reinforcement, so I try really hard to ignore this when it happens, and to not look him in the eye. The only problem is, it can get very painful at times. It's a pretty sensitive part of the body, so it's almost hard not to shift my feet or try to edge him off, giving him attention as a result.

Do you have any recommendations to stop this behavior? Is this an act of playfulness or aggression?

Finally:

I've been trying to knee him off gently when he jumps on me, but Zeus has developed a death grip. It seems like he only gets more egged on when I knee him, and the second he's down, he jumps right back up. He wraps himself around my leg, almost as though he's trying to hump me, which is strange seeing as he was neutered three weeks ago and is fully healed.

Any ideas to make this jumping stop?



ANSWER: Hi Dan. Don't feed him just once a day. He needs to be fed twice a day, for the rest of his life. Some dogs do really well on Pedigree, or Dog Chow, or any other brand out there. If a dog is doing really good on a certain brand of dog food, then that's what works for him. Some dogs can't process the corn and grain in dog foods. If your boy isn't doing well on this food, then by all means, change his food. When looking at different brands, check the first three ingredients. The first one should be some kind of meat, chicken, lamb, ect. If corn or grain is the first two listed, move on to a different brand. Explain to your parents that a better dog food may be more expensive at first, but it will even out and even be cheaper in the long run because once the dog has been on the food for awhile, it won't eat as much, and will produce less stool. As for you boy being thin, a lot of Boxers will look pretty awful when they're going through a growth stage. My own will shoot up tall, and be thin. Then, it takes them a bit for their weight to catch up. If your boy has been properly wormed, and is on a good food, then I wouldn't worry too much about his weight for now. If he continues to loose weight, then I'd get him to a vet.

As for the nipping, carry a water bottle with you. When he goes to do this, spray him in the face, and give a loud NO. Ignoring the problem won't make it go away all the time. This can turn out to be a serios behavior problem if you don't do something about it now. Keeping the dog on a leash while inside of the house will also help with this problem, as well as housetraining.

The jumping part, try the same thing. Carry a bottle of water with you,, and when he goes to jump, spray him in the face. You don't even have to yell. Usually, the spray gets the dog's attention. When he jumps, don't praise him, or pet him. When he greets you by sitting, or by not jumping, then praise and pet him. I'm telling you, the spray bottle works wonders at times. Try doing this: have someone in your house put the dog on a leash, and bring the dog to the door. Have that person put the dog in the sit position, and when you walk into the house, if he tries to jump, completely ignore him. If he sits quietly, pet him. If he tries to jump, have the person holding the leash quickly turn away with him and walk away. Keep doing this. Eventually, he'll get it. Don't keep a leash on him if no one is home. Obedience training will also help with these and any other behavior problems that may come up. Good luck, and if I can help with anything else, let me know.

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: I've tried the water spritzer...

only problem is, Zeus is... well, really smart. If I put it down someplace, he realizes:

"If Dan doesn't have that thingy, then he can't do that to me anymore! Hah!"

Also, he likes it on hot days...

I'll try again, but it seems to egg him on or provoke him; either way, the nipping doesn't seem to stop.

Answer
That's why you have to carry the water bottle with you.:-) You can also try this: get an empty can, fill it with beans or pennies, tape the top. When he's doing something that's not apropiate, throw the can. Not at him, but kind of close by. The sudden movement and noise usually catches them off guard, and diverts their attention. When he's nipping, give him a toy or something else to chew on. Eventually, he'll get the idea that he's not suppose to be chewing on you. I strongly suggest obedience classes for this boy. Good luck!