Licking walls

SamW · 03-07-2008, 10:56 PM

My cocker spanial is running around the house licking, and actually eating, the walls in the house. Do any of you know of a way to stop this?

Thanks in advance

Curbside Prophet · 03-07-2008, 11:04 PM

Under what circumstances is your dog chewing on the walls?

What is your dog's daily schedule like?

Is s/he crate trained?

Who's responsible for the dog?

Has s/he been altered?

Is it the same wall, or different walls?

SamW · 03-08-2008, 09:01 AM

there are 4 different walls, 1 in the kitchen, 1 in the master bath, 1 in the forier, and 1 in a hall way. He gets excited sometimes and just runs around the house and smells the walls and then starts licking or chewing them.

I guess his daily schedule is normal, he runs around the house and plays with the kids. When I get home from work I am teaching him to sit and stay. Very basic commands only really.

I am not sure what you mean by crate trained

I am training him, but as for responsability it would be my wife and me.

If you mean has he been cut, the answer would be no.

I already answered this question above.

Durbkat · 03-08-2008, 09:06 AM

By crate trained he means, is your dog put in a crate when it can't be watched like when you go somewhere or go to sleep?

Does your dog get exercise, like taking him for a walk or run and playing games with him? To me it sounds like you don't do that to much and he has alot of pent up energy.

Curbside Prophet · 03-08-2008, 09:07 AM

I guess I should have asked how young is he?

Because, if he's running around in excitement and doing this, you since you didn't indicate any regular exercise outside of your home in his schedule, he'll need some physical activity other than chasing the kids around.

By crate trained I mean, instead of allowing him free roam of the house and access to the walls, can you contain him in a crate comfortably?

Do you plan on having him altered? Do you neighbors have unaltered dogs?

SamW · 03-08-2008, 09:16 AM

Yes he is crated in a 4 X 4 pen when no one is home.

He is 1 1/2 and gets plenty of exercise, in my opinion. My wife and I take him for walks when I get home from work and she takes him for one during the day. I play with him alot at night and with 4 kids he is usually running with at least one of them all day. Oldest child is 10 down to a 4 year old. Th eonly time he is not active is during the day while the oldest 2 are at school. My wife takes him out a couple of times a day. He usually only does this when someone gets home or if we have visitors and he gets excited to see them.

We have no plans to alter him in any ways. His tail has not even been doc'ed. One of our neighbors have 4 dogs that have not been altered, but are outside all of the time. One neighbor has a retreiver that has been altered.

I guess I should say Pongo, our dog, is a in side dog that is defenitely spoiled rotten by my wife, but does know the "pecking order" of the family. (He is second in command. LOL)

Durbkat · 03-08-2008, 09:23 AM

Why aren't you getting him fixed? What if he ever got out? He could get a female dog pregnant. Also unaltered males tend to wander. Which means that they will try and get out to get to a female in heat or will do anything he can to get away from you on a walk to get to a female in heat. My dog was like that, he was pulling on the leash and always looked for that opportunity to try and slip his collar or get out of the apartment as there was a female dog that lived upstairs that was in heat. After I got him neutered he listens to me better, doesn't have as much energy that he had before, doesn't pull on the leash, and doesn't try to get out.

Curbside Prophet · 03-08-2008, 09:31 AM

Take this into consideration, i can only assume your scenario by the descriptions you give. If I assume incorrectly, I'm not making a judgment, I'm just trying to make what I write fit the scenario I'm envisioning.

So, I hate to say this, but I think your dog needs more exercise. i know he's walked daily, and runs around with the kids, but I think a morning walk could be helpful. It's been my experience that game dogs do well with lots of organized physical activity. Playing with the kids should not be considered organized physical activity.

That being said, I think his play activity with your children should be monitored more closely. If he plays with the kids "all day". That's not always a good thing, and can lead to hyperactive behavior. So, perhaps adding a few rest breaks away from the children would also help to calm him down. And give him a pacifier like a frozen stuffed Kong so he can enjoy the breaks should he have difficulty with being isolated.

Does your dog know "leave it"? If not, teach this cue and use it when he approaches the walls.

Does your family practice NILIF (NILIF (nothing in life is free))? If not, please read the sticky.

Also, if your neighbors dogs are unaltered and in heat, the behavior may be caused by frustration that he doesn't have access to the ladies in heat. If you don't plan on competing with your dog, neutering him may minimize the motivation, but won't necessarily end the behavior.

SamW · 03-08-2008, 05:59 PM

I read the NILIF and agree 100%. I guess I should have tyold you up front. I was a K-9 handler in the Army, so I am well use to training and working with dogs. I have just never seen one act like Pongo in this manner. He is well aware that I am the alpha and re-acts when I command as he should. When I tell him to stop licking the walls he stops. But he still does it again in a couple of hours.

As for having him altered, not gonna happen. I may want to breed him at a later date.

Willowy · 03-08-2008, 11:17 PM

Well, if you want to breed him (presuming he's a good representative of his breed), you'll have to have all kinds of health tests and certifications done. And, for Pete's sake, please don't breed him if he displays neurotic behaviors (not saying it is yet, but it might turn out to be a truly neurotic thing). We don't need more neurotic dogs running around. Only the best representatives of a breed should be allowed to reproduce.