Posted by Mike Otto on March 05, 2003 at 12:20:43:
Hello,
My recently (last month) adopted two-year-old female has been
biting a pile carpet ... we're spending "Reading Week" at my
permanent residence ~ she doesn't do this at my work/college
residence.
I've been trying to stop this - clapping loudly and saying her
name loudly, going over and prying her mouth away (gently, of
course) from the carpet, and then 'reassuring' her that she's
a good girl (she is!) - but this hasn't seemed to slow her down.
When I'm back at my 'other' residence, I will be grabbing a
bottle of "Bitter Apple" to spray on this carpet ... so hopefully
this will help next time, but ...
Has anyone else had this kind of problem?
Any suggestions for another action I can take?
ALSO ...
She (and her 6 month old companion) were possibly 'abused' /
definitely neglected in her previous residence, and when
she came to me, she was quite a biter (hard and long).
She has come an incredibly long way with me, but she hasn't
been exposed to many other people, and all she meets she bites!
I'll continue to 'expose' her to folks, but any suggestions on
how I can speed this process of socialization?
She apparently was kept in her cage for most of the last
six months, so I am kinda expecting that any real change in
behavior will take at least that long ... but I'm likely to
change work/living arrangements yet again this summer, so ...
Thanks for any suggestions,
Mike
