Remedy for Zoomies

[Phoebe's Mom]

Phoebe seems to be limit testing these days and I need some advice. She has 'fallen in love' with my Berber carpet in our lower level and races to gab at it the minute we reach downstairs. Unfortunately, she caught a piece and it unraveled and now she is smitten with the idea. It is unrealistic to not bring her down so I have placed her original--and thin and light--lead on her when downstairs so that I can make a quick correction when she tries to snag the carpet. The issue now is that she has become obsessed with it and when I correxct, she turns to nip at the leash--tangling herself--or at me. I then remove her and bring her upstairs to place her in the ex-pen until she is calm and we try it again. The problem is that I am doing this a hundred times a night thus making it a game and making myself look and feel quite ineffective. Do I really need to keep her crated the entire time we are downstairs or is there something else that I could be doing that I have yet to come up with? Any ideas/suggestions would be so welcome!!!

[Chris & Boys]

LOL! Just think how trim you will get - not to mention the fabulous calves that will develop. You know what a stair climber costs??? Seriously tho' - Fozzy has torn up my living room area rug. It is a custom made berber. Fortunately for me, I was sick of it any way. He has been catching the loops accidentally while chewing on a toy or running. I have never seen it happen, only the after effects. I have decided to leave the carpet there through the summer and get a new one in the fall. I have noticed when I keep his nails short and since he lost his puppy teeth, it has not happened in a while.

I think you are on the right track with what you are doing. The only thing I would try is to take her for a walk ( since you too are fenceless) and let her burn some energy off. That is the only way I know how to stop the zoomies! (Is she snagging with her teeth or nails??)

[Phoebe's Mom]

Her teeth! She has not lost any yet but I am praying it happens soon. The funny thing is that I am adamant about having her run off her energy before we head downstairs but since she has gotten older, she is still very much wide awake at the end of the night--she is only downstairs with us after dinner. I am taking her back for more obedience training the end of June and I have started working with her on 'leave it' as it pertains to the carpet. My youngest thinks that she is possessed and the funny thing is, she looks it as she tears around with my carpet unraveling as she goes!!! We, too, are leaving it through this stage and I hope to replace it come fall (bummer that it was new when we moved in 10 months ago!)

[Chris & Boys]

Well, her teeth should come out at 5 months. If leave it doesn't work, make sure she has a bullystick or something to keep her jaws occupied.

[Lynne B]

If she's just concentrating on one small area, you might try bitter apple on it. Personally I would spend some time teaching the 'leave it' command and using that when she starts to go after the carpet.

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

As you can catch her the leave it command is great but you do have to catch her at it. I would buy a cheap area rug and cover up the enticing spots. That worked best for us. However the china cat in the middle of the dining room floor does look odd. We tried bitter apple but our dogs LIKE it.

[LuvMyAbby&Kaela]

LOL! I love the term Zoomies! All my dogs, in their youth, did this - they would hype out and race like athletes doing hurdles and obstacle courses (down the hall , big circle in livingroom, under the coffee table, on and over the couches, and back again! )We would be exclaiming "whoa Nelly!" LOL! Sounds like your Phoebe is full of piss n vinegar! I never had the carpet snagging problem though so we enjoyed the entertainment. Just meant they needed to discharge some excess pent up energy. If I walked them more or longer their wouldnt be as many bouts of "zoomies" lol

[Maryann,Roo and Tigger]

This is a tough one. You might try distracting her with a bully stick, antlerz ( they really last) or stuffed frozen kong when you first go downstairs. Put down an old towel or bath rug and she must stay on that to keep her treat. This will also teach her "place". Maybe after a really good chew, first thing, it will break the habit that clearly is dear to her. "Oh goody, we are going downstairs, time for zoomies and and rug pulling." No guarantees, but worth a try. Good luck!

[Joy Originator of GiantSchnoodles]

HI PM, My suggestion is teach her leave it, give her something else positive to do. CAUTION: I have just had a similar experience. I got some old berber carpet & put it in the dog run. The next thing I knew, my 85 lb Giant Schnoodle had unravelled it and was tangled in the threads. Those threads could have cut off circulation in his legs and done untold damage. I threw out all the berber carpet from the dog run. I don't know what you are going to do in your house. Just don't ever, even when trained, let your dog be unsupervised on the berber carpet.
Here is my article on Leave it. I will look for my article on - yours & mine - I'll post it on my chat forum if it is requested there. http://disc.yourwebapps.com/Indices/224017.html

Leave it

Put your dog in a downstay (They have to know those commands first) on leash. Put a treat out in front about a foot away from nose. Say “leave it” . If he goes for it, say “uh uh” do a leash correction if necessary, repeat “stay” & “leave it” put treat down and do it again. Wait one second. Say”leave it” wait one second “leave it good leave it” or click and treat wi a different treat. Always use a different treat, not the leave it treat. Then do it for 2 seconds then slowly work up to 1 minute or however long your dog has a downstay. Don’t expect a longer “leave it” than your dog can do a downstay or your headed for failure. The objective in dog training is always to set up a win situation. When you have a reliable leave it at 1 foot, start moving the treat closer and closer. The command “leave it” should then work for no sniff, don’t goose the other customers, don’t eat off the floor during a performance when your supposed to be dancing. Well it doesn’t always work when your performing at a venue where there has just been a buffet dinner. Its also a big challenge when pulling a wheelchair in Costco with all those samples on the floor. People start thinking your dog’s name is “leave it”. Anyone who tries this, pls give me feedback on how it works for you or what variations you may use for your special dog.
For further training information go to http://disc.yourwebapps.com/Indices/224017.html
Puppy love from Joy and furry people
Copyright Joy de la Ren San Diego May 09