[Fisher 2010]

I was wondering if anyone has any issues with their dog eating the fur off of their tail? Our dog is now 17 months old and from time to time he pulls the fur off of his tail and eats it. We have attempted to spray this with bitter apple and this will work for a short period of time. His tail lacks a lot of fur as a result. We can stop him when we catch him in the act, but it is when he is in the crate that we do not have control over this.
Barking: When we sit down as a family, he will start barking at us for attention. We have attempted to ignore him, we have stood up to him, but he then comes back to bark some more.
He gets out for a 45 min walk every morning and for about another 1hr in the evening. Even with some good exercise, he will bark for more attention. Any great tips?

 

[tippykayak]

I was wondering if anyone has any issues with their dog eating the fur off of their tail? Our dog is now 17 months old and from time to time he pulls the fur off of his tail and eats it. We have attempted to spray this with bitter apple and this will work for a short period of time. His tail lacks a lot of fur as a result. We can stop him when we catch him in the act, but it is when he is in the crate that we do not have control over this.

Comet will barber his tail, but he does it mostly when it's dirty or salty from hiking or swimming. I think he's pulling at the tangly feeling, even though it's not visibly tangled. He really doesn't do it once his tail is brushed out properly. We also sometimes use Cowboy Magic as a detangler, and when I brush a teeny bit of that through his tail, he really leaves it alone.

I have no idea if that's why your pup is barbering, but brushing through it with a grooming rake and then a slicker might help.

Barking: When we sit down as a family, he will start barking at us for attention. We have attempted to ignore him, we have stood up to him, but he then comes back to bark some more.
He gets out for a 45 min walk every morning and for about another 1hr in the evening. Even with some good exercise, he will bark for more attention. Any great tips?

When you say you've "stood up to him," what do you mean? Some of the things you're doing to stop the barking might be energizing your pup and actually making the problem worse.

Honestly, even though your exercise schedule sounds pretty good, both problems could be related to a lack of stimulation. A leash walk isn't enough for some Goldens. Giving your dog a job might really, really help with both the barking and the inappropriate grooming. An obedience or agility class might be fun and help with the problems too.

 

[Fisher 2010]

These are also some really good ideas. We will still continue with the vet check up, and also try brushing his tail. As for the barking, I like the suggestions of giving him a job to do. I will start to explore some classes. I really believe this is more about wanting attention and needing more stimulation like you have mentioned. We do find that when he is off leash at our cottage, running in the snow and/or swimming in the summer, there are no issues with barking. As for the standing up to him, this makes sense, as soon as we get up he is more energized. Thanks again!