Guest elayne Posted November 28, 2005 Report Share Posted November 28, 2005 Hi, I have a 2yr old male pup. He is always so tense when he is around sheep. I practice walking in and out of the field with him so that he does not know exactly when we are going to sheep. I have had to keep a leash on him at the post so that he does not take off early. He can not sit for even 2 minutes on the sidelines at a trial. You can watch his body physically change. After working sheep, and it is only 10 minutes at a time-he is foaming at the mouth and shedding plenty of white hair from under his black coat I need ideas on how to calm him down. He gets plenty of exercise by going running with me at least 4 times a week at least 8 miles, swimming and when there is limited time we play tetherball. He is very physically fit. I feel that if I can calm him down, he would make great progress. He is very talented and really a great dog to have around. Any ideas would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance. Elayne Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Amanda Posted November 28, 2005 Report Share Posted November 28, 2005 Elayne First of all, exmamine your feeding regimen. Cut back his protein. Lot's of people feed too high for the amount of work a dog gets. I feed 24% laamb and rice but up to Performance percentage at about 30% when I am competing with the dogs. Dogs are more like horses that way than we think--hot feed, making hot horse. Do enough sheep work to get him tired. He might learn to pace himself. With confidence that there is more coming, he might relax into the job. Some dogs are hyper. I do not personally like working with that. But I would assume we would not see too much hyperactivity in say, a dog that was working all day. Eight miles once a week is not really that far. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest elayne Posted November 28, 2005 Report Share Posted November 28, 2005 Hi Amanda- Thank you for your reply. It is 8 miles a day, at least 4x a week. It still might not be enough though. We can not get to sheep more than 2x a week and I'm wondering if that can be our problem. He's just full of energy. I will try changing the food, that's a good idea. He's with a trainer right now who says he might be too physically fit. I know I am exhausted :-) Any idea on how long it would take to see results if at all?? Thanks again- Elayne Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Amanda Posted November 29, 2005 Report Share Posted November 29, 2005 Elayne Yes, two times a week is not very much on sheep. That could be your problem. Feed less than 24% protein. My dogs get a lot of exercise and usually work daily for their 24%. Depending how you feed, a month? It might not help but it will do no harm to try. Amanda Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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