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We have two dogs, Mahina and Tyrion, both pit mixes. They were my girlfriend's dogs before we met and we now live together. She's had them for 7 and 3 respectively. She used to have a dog named Aurora during the first 5 years she had Mahina, while she was with her ex husband. He had that dog alone at first before they met, and never socialized it or trained it; she was a nightmare. Impossible to walk, refused to obey commands, super submissive, and was generally just neurotic and creepy as gently caress. Aurora developed a habit of licking the couch compulsively until someone noticed and made her stop. She would go on for sometimes 10 or 15 minutes until she was thwarted, and would literally soak the couch through in the spot she licked. Mahina picked up on this and started doing it too, because dogs. Well now, she has taught Tyrion to do the same thing, so we have two dogs that lick the couch until it is soaked. We actively train them (clicker positive reinforcement method), take them to the local dog park regularly (1-2 times a week), walk them around the block twice a day. But the behavior continues and we have no idea how to stop it. What I've read is that under stimulation, lack of socialization, stress, and neurological problems can cause a dog to develop this behavior, and from my understand, Aurora had ALL of those issues. But our current dogs don't, and practice this as a learned behavior. What should I be trying to do about this?
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# ? Oct 7, 2016 03:52 |
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# ? Apr 23, 2024 13:42 |
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Cover the couch in something that tastes awful, even to dogs, and won't stain. There's a lot of those products people put on their kids' nails to keep the little shits from biting them that fit the bill, but I don't know where you'd get a whole vat of that.
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# ? Oct 7, 2016 15:30 |
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I'd gate them off from the couch for a prolonged period of time (1-2 months or more), in conjunction with upping exercise and providing other outlets for energy (kongs, bully sticks, antlers, etc.). Over time, the dogs should forget about the bad behaviour if they're unable to practice it with the added benefit of having learned other things to do to occupy their time.
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# ? Oct 7, 2016 17:01 |
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Bitter Apple is sold at pet stores and is used to prevent biting, chewing, and licking. You can use it on your furniture. It deters them because it tastes horrible, as the name suggests. Might be worth a try.
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# ? Oct 7, 2016 21:14 |