Walk advice

by Zrinko13 Wed Nov 15 2017, 15:45

Hi everyone!
Moa is a 4 months old and after every days walks about 3-4 km when we came home she went to her bad and starts to yelp and barking and bite herself and her bad, after 5-15 min she goes to sleep. I do not know is that distance too much for her or too little but on weekends we walk even more.
she even bite herself sometimes during the day, and we change her food from Josera family to Acana puppy&junior.
any advice or own experience is welcome.
tnx.

by **Nifty staffy** Wed Nov 15 2017, 16:36

There is an exercise rule of thumb that exists = 5 minutes for each month. So Moa would not need more than 20 minutes walk. I think you’re doing much more ...

Are you walking in town or in the country ?
Maybe she is sensitive to something she comes into contact with on her walks, like brushing past long grasses or weeds ?

by Zrinko13 Wed Nov 15 2017, 17:28

I realy didnt know about that exercise rule, now I'm pretty scared for her, although when we are in the walks she does not show signs of fatigue and I was led by that because she would constantly run around.

we walk in town and nature.

by **Nifty staffy** Wed Nov 15 2017, 17:41

Lots of questions to be asked.
Does she always scratch the same places ?
Do you use a collar or a harness ?
Is she scratching after wearing these for her walks ?
What do you use to clean collar/harness ?
If washing powder, maybe try a different brand (Human sensitive baby washing powders can help and don’t use fabric softeners)
Are you washing her regularly ?
Is she wormed correctly ?
Have you already spoken to your vet about this behaviour ?

by Guest Wed Nov 15 2017, 18:19

Great advice on the walking already, and a great list of questions.

Don't be scared, just scale back the walking. Sadly, dogs don't always know what's best (if only!) so it's up to us to moderate for them. Let her have a run, that's fine, but just fewer km.

Could you describe the biting a bit more - is it just one place, is it biting as in hard biting or itching? Does she only do it during/after walks?

It's a good idea to keep a diary, writing down all the details you can think of. List things that Nifty Staffy has mentioned, and also plants that she's coming into contact with, treats as well as food, the weather even. Then look for patterns to see if you can find what's in common.

by Zrinko13 Thu Nov 16 2017, 13:37

Nifty staffy wrote:Lots of questions to be asked.
Does she always scratch the same places ? No, the most front and rear legs
Do you use a collar or a harness ?collar
Is she scratching after wearing these for her walks ?using 3 dirfferent collar,
What do you use to clean collar/harness ? regular disinfection wipes
If washing powder, maybe try a different brand (Human sensitive baby washing powders can help and don’t use fabric softeners)
Are you washing her regularly ? we wash her about monthly
Is she wormed correctly ? how do you mean it
Have you already spoken to your vet about this behaviour ? we're scheduled next week

by Zrinko13 Thu Nov 16 2017, 13:50

LizP wrote:Great advice on the walking already, and a great list of questions.

Don't be scared, just scale back the walking. Sadly, dogs don't always know what's best (if only!) so it's up to us to moderate for them. Let her have a run, that's fine, but just fewer km.

Could you describe the biting a bit more - is it just one place, is it biting as in hard biting or itching? Does she only do it during/after walks? she like become nervous and start more itching herself and her bad or me. Most often after walks but sometimes over the day but not so intense.

It's a good idea to keep a diary, writing down all the details you can think of. List things that Nifty Staffy has mentioned, and also plants that she's coming into contact with, treats as well as food, the weather even. Then look for patterns to see if you can find what's in common.

At first I thought it was about food but now it's been a week for a new diet. I'll see what the vet. will say on Monday

by Guest Thu Nov 16 2017, 16:27

The first thing I'd do is stop washing her. You don't need to unless she gets really smelly for some reason, so if she rolls in something for example. Whether or not that makes a difference to her now, you need to be careful in general about over-bathing and removing the oils from her skin and coat.

If she's biting mostly after exercise I would discuss that with your vet as a possible trigger. It might be that exercise is causing pain, for example. Animals will sometimes bite at things that hurt, and chewing at other things might be what we call displacement activity, where you bite something else instead.

If the change of food has made no difference, it would suggest that it's either not the food or it's an ingredient that's common to the different foods. Try just plain raw chicken or turkey and cooked rice for a few days to see if that makes any difference (and maybe discuss with your vet first).

Don't change two things at once, though, or you won't know what's made the difference. Either reduce exercise or change diet. I'd reduce exercise first as it sounds like you're doing too much anyway.

by Zrinko13 Sun Nov 26 2017, 12:33

Hello everyone,
we were at vet. and she told that white staffys are skin sensitive (and other similar breeds). Vet recommend salmon oil in food. She have white staff herself and her sbt have some skin problems too.
We change the food, reduce exercise, start use salmon oil and situation is much much better, but there are still occasional itching.
Offtopic: Do you give fruits and vegetables outside of meals and which?

by ScotchStaffy Sun Nov 26 2017, 15:43

Hi there - what a beautiful puppy. I give Leah apple slices as a snack, they're good for chewing. Just don't let them eat the core.

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