Advice needed about farm dog

[bhpride]

At my yard there's a gorgeous collie chained to a kennel - proper farm dog, not even house trained. He let off for a fair amount of time everyday, taken places etc and well looked after

Anyway I let him off every evening, he's always very excited to see me as hes known for over a year and I always make a good fuss of him

and follows me as I get on with mucking out etc. Anyway he started nibbling at OH clothes constantly which was very amusing for me but when he wasn't there last night the dog nibbled on me - a lot!! He's chewed two impressive holes in my jumper. I tried ignoring him, being strict but I couldn't stop him.

Anyway I was told this could be down to insecurity? Is that correct, is there anything I can do? I'm was thinking of getting him a big bone tonight to chew on because as soon as I played fetch there were no problems.

He's such a lovely dog but this chewing/constant nibbling is a problem...

and I am worried about him incase he is insecure etc

 

[devilinajar]

Unless the dog normally has bones then dont give him one, this is for two reasons. A- if he is not used to them it will give the dog an upset tummy, and B- bones can splinter and cause major problems in the intestines so should never be given to un supervised dogs!!!!!!
As for being insecure, if this is life the dog has always has, then it will know no different and the chewing will just be an attention thing as knows no better!!!!!

 

[bhpride]

awww brilliant will get him some squeaky toys tonight then, he'll love them

 

[KarynK]

In defence of RAW bones they are a natural food for dogs, in fact they are an essential part of the diet performing along with fur and toenails the fibre like part of a dogs diet. Dogs don’t need plant fibre like us.

Mine have all been rescues and fed on can or tinned "food" before I got them, they were immediately changed to a natural diet with no ill effects and loads of benefits. They regularly eat the bones of rabbits, deer, pigs, cattle, birds and fish with no ill effects and I have been feeding them this for over 10 years. You are far more likely to encounter stomach upsets and allergies on cooked commercial diets than on bones, in fact bones harden up the faeces, which is why dogs have anal glands.

I wonder if anyone can tell me the exact date when dogs became incapable of eating bones? after all it took 50 million years to perfect the system but then a few decades of canned and sack food has apparently changed that?

Re this dog he is a worker that wants to work and being tied up is making him hyper and needing to use his energy, which is probably what he is trying to tell you. A ball on a string would be perfect, it takes little effort to send it a good distance even if like me you throw like a girl! If you have time to spend with him do some agility type stuff, teach him to jump!

If you do give him a bone ask the owner first, and the golden rule don't feed a bone anywhere near a meal of commercial dog food, that is when real problems can occur.