Do dogs self harm?

[dany]

My beautiful Shar Pei keeps trying to hide his water bowl while im out. It started with hiding his feed bowl but we now take that away, but dont feel we can remove the water.

The trouble is when he moves the bowl around and / or hides it under things, he tends to graze the top of his nose until it bleeds. He has also started to run his nose under closed doors (strangely not the front door) so we are now wondering if he is using pain to ease the stress?

We dont leave him for more than 5 hours max and not everyday. We try not to have a routine and he has a companion that doesnt seem bothered by him or us leaving.

Any suggestions would be appreciated.

 

[nelliefinellie]

My old dog used to chew and lick the hair on his forearms and ended up with bald rough bits (called a lick granuloma). Apparently this is a stress response whicih develops into a habit (a bit like nail biting) and common in dogs that come from dogs homes as he did.

Not sure if the nose grazing comes into the same category though. Can you provide him with a fixed water bowl, and maybe a buster ball with some treats in or something to keep him occupied?

 

[haycroft]

could be a attention thing maybe hes suffering from anxiety seperation...how to you feel if you tried to cage him

or you could organise for someone to come in while your out
or try dog walker/dog sitters

or maybe you could hide pieces of food so hes gotta try and find it when your not there

 

[CAYLA]

Some dogs are hoarders...if they do not feel like consuming food/water/toys they will become obsessive about hiding it...the way they go about the behaviour i.e using his nose will end up scuffed or scratched.

Dogs can and will also self harm as suggested in above post when in pain/generally biting at at/or near the area thus causing damage to the area....lick granulomas/flea infestation/anal gland infections/joint pains are all common examples.

Also anxiety and behavioural maybe through boredom problems can lead to self harm, chewing obsessivly at paws ,tail e,t,c.

If he is just doing it with his bowls...try placing them in a more secluded area of the kitchen....also get him/her checked by the vet just incase there is any problems eating/drinking that he/she is finding uncomfortable...i.e medical theeth, throat e,t,c.

Try a dap diffuser to help relax him/her incase it is a bit of anxiety.

Does this only happen when he/she is left alone?

 

[dany]

Unfortunately we tried to fix the bowl once (but not again) as he then seems to do more damage to himself trying to move it. He isnt toy or food orientated, so any treats given on the way out of the door are left to the second we come back again. They arent hidden either (again strangely) its just the bowls.


Its definately seperation anxiety (always when left alone), made worse when he did his first stud job. Our girl puppy has just had a season too, so maybe thats why he has got so bad again.


He wouldnt allow a dog walker or even a friend in while we are out, its a shar pei thing.


Someone has loaned me a DAP, so will try that. We have also started putting rescue remedy in the water.


Thanks for the suggestions, keep them coming please.

 

[CAYLA]

Behaviour can be significantly altered in some dogs once used for stud...esp once they get a wiff following the deed...this can range for destruction, weightloss, anxiety

I take it you breed from them yourself...you will... be aware of the problems the breeds suffers...they look very healthy from the pics

don't see many like that.....I take it they don't suffer joint/skin problems/over bite problems? (Not sure if thats the correct term) we see a fair few in our vets with these problems.

 

[dany]

Dont get me wrong, he did do it beforehand as well, just got worse directly after for a couple of weeks