Jad is an 8 month old whippet puppy who belongs to my clients, Chris & Michelle. They adopted him from a Craigslist ad after he had a rough start in life (possible puppymill beginning, leading into poor early imprinting experiences with humans and over-imprinting to extreme stimulation, leading into a several complete environmental changes over the first 4 months of his life...all leading up to now - where he's one kooky pup). In spite of doing VERY well in obedience training, Jad is a bit of a mystery from a behavior perspective. He is staying with us at Horsetooth Whippets to see if some of our whippets' charm can rub off on him. :)
We now return you to your regularly scheduled Jad update:
So, I began this saga (in the missing pt. 1 blog post) with a rant about routines. I'm trying to sort through Jad's behaviors and figure out how much is habit, how much is puppiness, how much is learned, how much is poor genetics or poor imprinting, etc.
Here's what I know so far:
Jad is NOT a morning puppy. Typical of a lot of whippets, he likes to sleep in. In fact, after he eats his breakfast, he's all for a nice long nap.
However, when afternoons roll around, Jad wakes up to his true puppy nature. He is FULL of energy. And yet, there is an element of his behaviors that seems more extreme than normal puppy energy.
Having talked with his owner, Michelle, about this, I'll try to describe it:
Jad wants something. He wants it very badly. So badly that he will pace, whine, and jump (on doors, counters, furniture, people, trashcans, shelving units, walls, etc.), & dig (floors, bedding, grass, dirt, gravel, solid rock). He will do these activities ceaselessly.
But...
Jad doesn't seem to know WHAT it is he wants.
When he's in this state of mind, he doesn't want to play (not interested in tug, fetch, tag, or anything else). This is weird in and of itself, since he WILL play all of those games at other times. When cut loose with the other dogs, he doesn't engage in play for more than a brief moment, and then is back to his repetitive behaviors. Even if he does engage in longer play with other dogs, his excess energy is not worn off, and when the other dog quits playing, he's back to seeking.
He doesn't want to hunt, forage, chew or eat. When offered food, chew toys, puzzle toys with food, etc. He very quickly loses interest and is back to pacing, whining, jumping, digging, seeking.
He doesn't want to go potty. Given ample opportunities both on and off leash, once outside he looks at you quizzically as if to say, "Why we out here?" When allowed back in, he's back to his desperate search for something.
He doesn't want to work or train. Normally a whiz at obedience work, Jad pouts, sulks, and shuts down if you attempt training activities with him during this mode.
He definitely doesn't want to sleep. If kenneled or back-tied, his seeking, whining, jumping, digging mode will increase exponentially. If ignored while restrained, he will continue protests for 3 to 5 HOURS at a time.
When it's time to go to bed, Jad recognizes our routine and amazingly settles right in. All of the dogs go to their individual crates, get a small treat (baby carrots for the chubbydogs, hard-boiled eggs for the skinnydogs, a 1/4" slice of a hotdog and a fish oil pill for each). Then the lights go down and all is peaceful - even Jad. After no more than a minute or two of restless circling and a bit of whining, he has gone right to sleep and stayed asleep through the night each night since last Wednesday.
Is he simply worn out from his exhaustive seeking exercises from the afternoon? Is he recognizing the routine of bedtime from the other dogs? Does light have something to do with it?
Wondering about the light thing, on Wednesday night of this week, I taught the final lesson of the day at the training studio with the lights off, just to give myself, my clients, and all the dogs a break of Jad's incessant whining. He definitely seemed quieter with the lights off. Will be repeating this experiment tonight. (Sorry, doggy clients Elway & Bella, we're having class in the dark tonight!!!!)
This weekend we are going to introduce Jad to the lure...wondering if what he WANTS so badly is to sprint? (The idea here is that when in doubt, have the dog do what it was bred to do. Thank God he's not a border collie, or I'd have to go rent some sheep!)
So...what will happen with Jad? Will turning the lights down low keep him quiet while his fearless dog trainer teaches class tonight? Will he run after the fake bunny this weekend and be cured of what ails him? Stay tuned.....
Jennifer Hime is the owner of Front Range K9 Academy & Horsetooth Whippets Kennels. She can be reached at http://www.k9counselor.com/
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