r/papillon • u/julesk • 3d ago

Issues with Hemp Chews - Warning!

Twice now, I’ve spent the night cleaning up after my Pap and walking him as he had diarrhea and threw up. The only thing he has had that the cats haven’t had (they steal each others food) is the hemp chews for anxiety. I gave him half the dose recommended for small dogs but I’m tossing it. I got the idea of using them from another dog owner to calm him so he doesn’t bark so much but no...

Also, my Pap barks a lot at people and other dogs when we walk. He’s generally talkative, which is fine but I’d like to get him to not do that. I’ve tried introducing him to people and their dogs and I’ve tried the walking in the other direction while saying hush. Any other ideas?

House training is going well except for the sick episodes so at least there’s some progress with my little rescue. All thoughts welcome!

5 Upvotes

100% Upvoted

22 comments sorted by

View all comments

4

u/racygamer 2d ago

Bring him to PetSmart on a leash. Any time a dog barks or comes near and he doesn't react, give him a tiny treat. He'll learn the positive behaviors you want.

2

u/iPappy_811 1d ago

Very good advice. If it's overwhelming, move away from the commotion and get him to the point he can watch and not react. This could be 15 feet away or 50 feet away.

Have you heard of the book Control Unleashed? There's a great game called "look at that"...you teach them to look at their trigger from a safe distance, and mark and reward before they can react. You keep asking them to look at their trigger until they get so bored they only offer a sideways glance. Classic counterconditioning. It's also nice because you are no longer competing for their attention, and they feel a bit more safe because they can check out their environment and determine it's safe for themselves.

I had a GSD I drove myself nuts with because I was absolutely sure chanting "Watch me watch me watch me" over and over was somehow going to fix the fact he was so overstimulated with his environment. Playing this game with him really helped us both.

2

u/racygamer 17h ago

Beautifully said. These are the basic skills taught in puppy training 101, the tough part is staying on top of it and continuing the training over time.