Reluctance to do things that used to be fun

[loren Kristunas]

I''ve continued to work with Sage on clicker training. She is picking up on everything very quickly, but still seems very hesitant and reluctant to do the tasks. She is thrilled to get the treats, she is very food oriented, but for example slinks reluctantly over to the target 10 feet away, doesn't run or even walk enthusiastically, or gives calming signals and refuses to go. With many things with Sage, she learns something enthusiastically and is very excited at first and then completely loses enthusiam for it after it is learned. She has done this with fetch, swimming and other things as well. I thought she had really liked working on touching targets from a short distance, but now the same pattern is forming. The first few weeks we had her she played fetch like a fiend, then she stopped. Then we taught her to swim, she loved it, couldn't get enough, now she won't go deep into the water. I'm just not sure what the problem is. We certainly aren't being aversive in teaching these things, but she almost acts like they are punishment after a while, but not at first. Any thoughts on my puzzling dog?

 

[Doberluv]

What amount of time are you spending at each task? Maybe she gets bored very easily. My Dobe gets bored easily so I switch around and don't spend too much time on each thing and even just plain play inbetween training tasks. Does she get punished for anything? Maybe she's super sensative. That is puzzling why she acts like she's being punished.

Has anything changed in your household lately? Is there any extra tension or stress? Just think back and see if there's anything different with the dog's enviornment. Could she have a medical problem? Maybe you should get her thyroid checked. Sometimes that has a lot to do with moods. I just don't know what it could be, but I guess I'd get her checked over by a thorough vet first thing and go from there.

I am also puzzled by this behavior. Maybe someone else will have some other ideas for you.

 

[loren Kristunas]

Well at first she wants to play at these new things for a long time, I'd throw the ball for fetch maybe 15 times or so, she's swim and catch sticks in the water for about the same. Then she just stops doing it, usually after about 2 weeks of enjoying the same activity. This isn't anything new, I've noticed it about her since we adopted her 6 months ago. We aren't punishing her or making her do these things, but we want her to have fun and play, and she just loses interest in all the activities we try, after having fun with them for a while. She has very mild elbow dysplasia in the left elbow and mild grade 1 luxating patellas, but no lameness or indication of pain. She loves to run and jogs 3 miles with me every morning and plays hard with the few dogs she will tolerate, she doesn't seem to favor it. The vet said these were so mild she didn't think they would be problems until she was much older, so hopefully it's not that. I guess talking to the vet is a good idea, though. To me it seems like boredom, like once she learns something it loses interest to her and then she only does it because she knows we want her to, and then not at all. She was pretty unsocialized and I think probably abused a bit from her behavior, a shy, fearful dog in general, but very affectionate and loves to play and interact when she gains confidence. Incredibly smart and quick learner, seems to like to problem solve, that's why I thought clicker training would work well. Could it be past history stuff, abuse or the way she was played with or trained in the past? The only things she has been consistently interested in are playing with the few dog friends she is not aggressive with, she can do this forever, or playing hide and seek in the woods, she loves that. She loves hiking and chasing squirrels too. But the structured play activities, as I said, she loves them at first and just burns out or something.

 

[Manchesters]

Luxating Patallae etc.

Well at first she wants to play at these new things for a long time, I'd throw the ball for fetch maybe 15 times or so, she's swim and catch sticks in the water for about the same. Then she just stops doing it, usually after about 2 weeks of enjoying the same activity. This isn't anything new, I've noticed it about her since we adopted her 6 months ago. We aren't punishing her or making her do these things, but we want her to have fun and play, and she just loses interest in all the activities we try, after having fun with them for a while. She has very mild elbow dysplasia in the left elbow and mild grade 1 luxating patellas, but no lameness or indication of pain. She loves to run and jogs 3 miles with me every morning and plays hard with the few dogs she will tolerate, she doesn't seem to favor it. The vet said these were so mild she didn't think they would be problems until she was much older, so hopefully it's not that. I guess talking to the vet is a good idea, though. To me it seems like boredom, like once she learns something it loses interest to her and then she only does it because she knows we want her to, and then not at all. She was pretty unsocialized and I think probably abused a bit from her behavior, a shy, fearful dog in general, but very affectionate and loves to play and interact when she gains confidence. Incredibly smart and quick learner, seems to like to problem solve, that's why I thought clicker training would work well. Could it be past history stuff, abuse or the way she was played with or trained in the past? The only things she has been consistently interested in are playing with the few dog friends she is not aggressive with, she can do this forever, or playing hide and seek in the woods, she loves that. She loves hiking and chasing squirrels too. But the structured play activities, as I said, she loves them at first and just burns out or something.

I would never jog a dog with luxated patallae or even mild elbow dysplasia...and definitely not for 3 miles. Of course __I__ would NEVER be able to jog 3 miles even in my prime, roflmbo.

What the vet didn't tell you is that the dog will be in agony in a few years, and stove up and likely need to be put down. When a dog has luxated patallae, the bones are allowed to grind back and forth against each other because the tendon is not taut enough to hold firmly. Imagine what YOU would be feeling under those circumstances. Same for the elbows.

This dog should be on vitamin C twice a day, and also on some of the cosequien or condroxin (I have NO CLUE as to the spelling, rofl)

Exercise should be moderate.....what you yourself picture you could tolerate under the same conditions. The dog is depressed and weary from discomfort. Unfortunately vets don't always know what the "H" they are talking about. Check around and see if there are any orthopedic vets in your area.

I know you don't want to do anything to cause your dog pain, so try easing up on the exercise for a few weeks, and see if she brightens up!

 

[Doberluv]

I agree with being careful of too much strenuous exercise with those joint problems. I have a dog, my Chi mix with luxating patellas, had one surgery and now is beginning to show some soreness again in that same leg...where the vet said, once he had surgery, he'd have no more problems. I'm seeing some just recently again. Not fun. Three miles of repetative motion is hard on them. It's true that dogs will be very stoic about pain and will hide it as long as they can...(instinct to not draw attention to predators.)

That stuff which is good for joints is Glucosamine.

 

[loren Kristunas]

Hi, thanks for the feedback. I didn't meant to imply that she acts depressed or lame, she is very active, runs around and plays with my other dog right after a jog, will play chase me and run for long periods on her own without prompting. It's more that she will be very willingly active for weeks at an activity and then completely lose interest, but will participate willingly in a different new activity on the same day. The reluctance to move to the target is weird, but again, I don't think it's lameness because right after we finish she will run around after something on her own. However I did call my vet and she looked again at the x-rays, she said the dysplasia is very mild and will only probably cause her arthritis when she is older, and the luxating patellas are very mild and again shouldn't give her much problems right now, she feels the prognosis is quite good. However, she did advise backing off on the jogging, though she said exercise is good for the muscles around the joint and for her weight. It's all a balancing act. In a few months it'll be a year since the last x-rays, I'm going to have her take another set and show them to the ortho specialist to check for deterioration and we'll take it from there. She has been on Glucosomine and vitamin C since we got her. Anyway thanks for the feedback.

 

[Doberluv]

Well, good. I think that too, some exercise is definitely necessary. The muscles and tendons help hold everything together. But it was just a thought in case it was too much. Well, maybe it's just her personality. As long as she's happy and can find something to do, that's all you can do. Maybe she's super intelligent and is saying, "Ok Mom...how many cotton pickin times should I do the same darn thing over and over? How boring is that? Gee wiz!" LOL. I wouldn't worry too much. She could change over time anyhow. I've had pups who played with toys but when they got a little older, lost interest in playing with them and just prefered a nice walk or hike in the woods.

 

[loren Kristunas]

Yeah, I won't worry too much about it, as long as she's happy at some things I guess she's fine. I really wanted her to swim because swimming is a low impact exercise good for the joints and she liked it so much at first. I am taking her to the mountains this weekend, it will be a good test, if she swims in the new environment she's probably bored by the same old swimming hole, if not, it's something else. The warning about too much exercise was a good reminder, thanks for that, she seems so sound it's easy to forget about the hidden joint problems in there. Per the vet, I'll keep exercising her but will cut down on it and see if that makes a difference too.