Run Away Dog

[Biscuitsmom31]

I have a large outside dog this is very skittish. He only lets my DS 5 and me pet him. Thanks to the nice weather, he's gotten some ticks. I bought some Advantage to put on him but he it is impossible to get it on him. I swear the dog is psychic. It's like he knows what we're planning.

I tried to get him while he was eating. I stood beside and slowly lowered my arm and started to squeeze. Before the first drip hit his back he ran off and hid under the shed. We probably won't see him for a couple of days.

It would be nice if we could get him by the collar, but he won't keep one on. He has a neck like a horse that is wider than his head so he just slips them off over his head.

I feel awful that he's scratching and miserable. Does anyone have an idea how I can help him?

 

[DawnCt1]

Yes, Get him to obedience class. Even an "old dog can learn new tricks". A dog that you can"t control enough to provide basic health requirements for, is not a dog you have control of. He needs to obey, no matter what it is about. It is important to have control of all aspects of your dog, especially the mouth. When all of dogs were puppies I counted their teeth daily. Not because I ever needed to know how many teeth they had but because I needed to control their mouths. Control their mouths you control the dog. There wasn't a dog that didn't respond to "leave it" and drop what they had in their mouths or have something in their mouths that I couldn't take away. If you can do that, you can apply any flea and tick control you need to.

 

[The Mystery Machine]

Well....let's see.

First off you have to teach the dog that "doggy grooming" can be pleasant.

Teach the dog you basic sit and down first. That is step one, if you haven't done that already.

Second, once he is sitting for you without treats everytime, you add on another piece. Massage the dog when you have him in a sit and down.

Once he begins to love that introduce words with the massages. We used "brush" because we brush our dogs.
They come running when we say "brush" because over time they have associated with something they like.

Also you can have the "item" next to him while you massage so he can see that the "item" is not going to hurt him.

OK...once he is calm and trusts you, then you can do the meds. Over time he will enjoy the attention and perhaps you can do more with him.

This takes time to build up trust.

If you want the "quick version" for meds, like I have to do ear drops everytime it rains...and Butters knows it....I had to learn to be "calm assertive", as Cesar Milan puts it.
Pretend you are a vet worker. They cannot go into a room with a dog anxious.
He comes in and I do it. It took me awhile to get like that. However he WILL get an infection if I do not put the drops in so I HAD TO overcome my own anxiety.

Good Luck!