at a loss of what to do

[amanda171]

my wee girl mitzy is 9 months old, she is a lovable, quiet and quite well trained dog we attend dog classes every week and walk for a total of 2-3 hours spread through out the day. mitzy has intolerance to normal dog food and I on a vets diet. we got Mitzy at 15 weeks old after the people that had bought her decided they did not have the time for her as they had a young toddler. Mitzy settled in nicely and became very attached to myself and my husband but does prefer me, she loves my two kids ages 15 and 10. I do have a cat that does not like the dog and will go for her from time to time, Mitzy does appear to be scared of him but will still chase other cats outside.
my issue is that Mitzy is timid when walking and if someone is walking towards us she will back away or lie flat on the ground, if near a school she becomes distressed when she hears the kids playing and tries to pull me away, her tail is still wagging all the time as though she wants to meet these people. after coming across this situation she will become excited and chew anything she can ie sticks grass or even start to dig. when out waking my dog stops every 5 mins to smell her own bits and to have a good old scratch this behaviour also happens in the house and is driving me insane as all I hear through the nigh is lipsmacking licking nawing and scratching. ino this must be some sort of nervios thing as she does it a lot when my cat is about. I thought this would get better in time but I feel its not improving and I don't know what else I can do to help.  sorry for such long post.

[daw]

Hi! your lovely young sounds a delight- and lucky to have found a new family after such a bad start.

Cockers are nervous dogs and yours may have a had a bad experience that you know nothing about- an unsupervised 3 yo can give a tiny puppy a lot of grief even without meaning to! I wonder if the sound of high-pitched children's voices brings this back? In which case like people it will take time and your patience to get over whatever bad treatment she had.

Itching- it's usually allergy, parasites or infection. I don't think you should ignore it- take her to your vet straight away and get a diagnosis. Sounds as if she's really uncomfortable. Get her health probs sorted and then you can start to build her confidence and trust and she will be a wonderful addition to your family.   

If your vet can find nothing wrong then I suppose it could be extreme anxiety- but you have to find out. Good luck with her.

[elaine.e]

I've just had a look at your previous posts and can see that Mitzy has had these problems for some time and that you've posted about them before. Sorry to learn that the problems are still ongoing.

It's not easy to get the full picture on a forum and without knowing Mitzy, but my guess is that you have a few things going on with Mitzy that may not be related to each other.

Because she's smelling herself continually I would take her and a pee sample to the vet to see if she has a urinary tract infection. You could also ask the vet to check her skin and coat to see if he can identify what's making her so itchy. 

I'd also try a change of diet. I know you already have her on a vet prescribed diet but to me it sounds like it isn't working. If you're sure she doesn't have fleas or mites then her diet is quite likely to be the reason for the continuous itchiness, and grains in the diet, especially wheat and maize (corn) are common causes of itchiness. Could you try her on a grain free kibble for a few weeks to see if that makes a difference? It can be difficult to identify some food intolerances or allergies (if that's the cause of the problem) but as wheat, maize and other grains are a well known cause I would be trying grain free for several weeks if she was mine, because that's easy to do and if it doesn't make any difference you've at least eliminated that as the cause.

Your description of her behaviour when you're out walking sounds like she's fearful. Laying down and backing off when people approach, and becoming distressed when she hears children playing are signs that she's unable to cope with those situations. The chewing sticks and digging that she does afterwards isn't excitement but is a stress reliever, a bit like you or I twiddling our hair or fingers if we're nervous in a situation. Wagging her tail doesn't mean she wants to meet  the approaching people that she's nervous of but is most likely wagging in fear or appeasement. Tail wagging has all sorts of meanings.

Have you considered getting a behaviourist in to see if he/she can identify the triggers for Mitzy's fearfulness and come up with a plan to help? Having somebody come into your home to see Mitzy there and out on walks could identify things that we can only guess at on a forum. If you're on Facebook there's a group called Dog Training Advice & Support who should be able to help you find a qualified behaviourist local to you. https://www.facebook.com/groups/374160792599484/

It would also be worth having a browse on the My Itchy Dog website to get some ideas of possible causes of itchiness. http://www.myitchydog.co.uk/

[amanda171]

Thank you for your reply and I have took everything said on board. I love my wee pup to bits and just want her to be happy she is just like one of my kids. X

[lescef]

I would get her vet checked as the first move. Are her anal glands ok? Maddie goes at herself and very often it's her glands. Have you considered feeding raw? Again, Maddie would lick around her 'bits' and make them red and sore, it then becomes a vicious circle. Since I put her on Nutriment this has gone and only comes back if she has certain treats.
The chewing of sticks etc does sound like stress so a behaviourist sounds like a good idea. You could try some desensitisation by taking some very tasty treats and head for the school when it is quiet. Keep your distance before she gets nervous and reward with the treats,  turn and walk away. The idea is to get closer and closer while still being calm eventually introducing children.  I had to do that with Maddie who didn't like noisy lorries and buses.