Question
Keelee
We live in S.Central WI & with the change in temp. we have noticed a few mice around the house and know our dog "Keelee" is obsessing with them staring @ cabinets/closets ect. for hours and she will not stop. She is not sleeping till she is so exhausted nor is she eating well.What can we do to get her to stop her compulsive behavior with the mice,as we are starting to get concerned with her health.We are trying to get rid of the mice but live in a Duplex with no one living next door and a Landlord who lives 100 miles away,so he is of no help in our extermination of the rodents. If you could give us some kind of training tip/advice on how to get her to stop this behavior.Thank you for your time and advice in this matter...
AnswerHi Ed,
This is not a short fix. This dog's heritage is to go after vermin so you will be fighting 100 years of breeding.
Short term to get her to eat:
Take her for a long walk, maybe an hour or so, Try to feed her while she is away from the house. Find a place you can sit down and relax and try feeding her there. If there is no place, then feed her outside the house on a porch etc. If you need to, hand feed her. You want to get food in her. Walk her as much as you can each day to tire her out and to give her new smells.
She is going after the mice due to smell and hearing them.
Take two small cotton balls and put them in her ears before you go back in the house.
For smell, take a teeny teeny bit of vicks vapo rub and put it just above her nose. Do this also before you go into the house. You only need one drop and that will dull her smell.
Now long term you want to divert her attention from the mice to something else.
Teach her the command "Leave It"... you do this by making her sit then putting a treat on the ground and telling her to "leave it" Of course she will try to get it. So you just repeat it. When she gets the idea and just hesitates. Tell her "Good Leave It" and treat her with a different treat as you pick up the one on the ground. Repeat this until she understands the command.
When she goes after the mice, put her in a crate and give her one of those large cow knuckle bones, or some hamburger meat. Something she really likes. Liverwurst is really good to use. It is irresistible. When you pick her up from the cabinet, tell her "Leave it" and put her in the crate.
Or if she likes toy, put a toy in the crate This toy is a special toy and will only be brought out when mice are around, this way it stays fresh.
Ok let me know how this is working for a start.
Nancy
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