Dog attacks telly!

Goffie

I'm afraid for my nice flat screen tv as my two year old westie takes great exception to any dogs appearing on it - or any animals, or people behaving aggressively.

He launches himself at it barking like mad and when i switch channels in a hurry he will whine and look at me as if to say what so I do now, and pace around the house all het up and panting, as tho he has to defend the house.

A friend suggested I try to distract him by getting him to do his tricks and praising him. That worked for a while but now nothing works bar sending him into the other room and only letting him back in when he's calmed down.

I feel sorry for him but it can be a real pain when you're calmly watching telly and this erupts. We cant watch any nature programmes and as for Crufts - he was nearly hysterical!:eek:

Anyone else come across this and have any suggestions? Thanks !

cowzerp

if he see's you as boss he'll be able to sit back and let you mind the house, he is just doing his job right now..

XJR

We used to had a cat that got involved in the snooker and tried get the balls as the raced across the screen. And around the same time we had a dog that didn't barked in response to dogs on TV. It was a source of amusement to us but sound like your fella would wreck the head !

MarkR

cowzerp wrote: »

if he see's you as boss he'll be able to sit back and let you mind the house, he is just doing his job right now..

Exactly. He seems himself as the alpha dog protecting the family. You need to show him you're the boss. Eat before him, walk before him etc.

My dog goes into defense mode if my wife is home by herself. Barks at people coming to door etc. Doesn't bother doing it when I'm home.

kerrysgold

Is this a westie thing?! my westie is exactly the same, she used to only attack animals but now she attacks anything she doesn't like the look/sound of and even recognises the music! She doesn't make much of a fuss when I turn it over though, she usually just goes back into bed or back to whatever she was doing before the attack commenced lol. here is a picture of her lol:

Sully

My westie does it when an animal is on the TV - even if its a cartoon. As soon as its turned of she watches the TV for a while before going back to what she was doing previously.

kerrysgold

I had to watch a babies cartoon for about half an hour the other day because she was glued to it and I didn't want to get the ''how-could-you-you-are-so-mean" look :P

Goffie

Thanks for the replies, everyone.

Cowzerp - how do we make sure he knows who's boss? Could you spell it out a bit for me?
We do eat before him etc ,he's pretty obedient, esp for my husband, but this telly thing happens even when my husband is there telling him to stop etc.

It started about 6 months ago after there was major aggro with some 'youths' outside our door - shouting, throwing stones (we had windows smashed) etc. It was pretty horrible and wasnt just our house on the estate that was targeted by these gurriers. Guards were involved and it stopped after a few weeks when we got pics of some and they were picked up.

My dog wasnt himself for ages after, very nervy and anxious. I used a DAP diffuser, made sure he got lots of exervise and he gradully returned to his westie self. Now this telly situation is escalating - its like he goes into high alert.

And its only the telly, doesnt care a jot about the postman coming, tho has words with the dog over the fence but I just call him in and that's the end of it.
Maybe we need some serious help from a behaviourist to stop this?

carwash_2006

I would say help from a behaviourist would not go astray at this stage.

Don't stress too much about showing him who's boss. Dogs thrive much better on positive reinforcement than that kind of bullying tactic. We are not part of their pecking order, they will get away with what they can whenever they can if they feel they can get away with it. Do you feel you have to let your kids know who's boss by eating before them?

I would imagine that the incident with the kids probably did make him overly sensitive to shouting etc, but I would say you are probably unwittingly reinforcing this behaviour now. If you get anyway upset when this happens that would feed his anxiety.

I would highly recommend getting in touch with Maureen Byrne of Dogs Behaving Badly - 086 8200010. She is a behaviourist who really knows her Westies.