Dogs with ADD
Ann Silberman
I have noticed that certain breeds of dogs have a lot of difficulty
paying attention to anything (other than eating dinner). These dogs are
known for their impulsivity, ie. running into the street without looking
first, chewing on the first interesting thing they see, and jumping upon
their owner, especially when the owners hands are full of groceries. They
are easily distracted - when throwing the ball for them they always seem to
chase a butterfly instead. They don't seem to be able to be quiet, and
breeze can make them bark for hours. While you may say "sit" in a loud
and commanding voice, they either lie down, jump on you, or go into the
kitchen to check their dinner bowl. In dog obedience school, they run
all over, sniffing the backsides of their classmates, chewing on grass,
or scratching their fleas, instead of concentrating on their
lessons. Many of these dogs are quite intelligent. I have concluded that
these dogs have AD(hD).
AD(H)D Dogs are:
Springer Spaniels, Australian Shepherds, Border Collies, Mini Poodles,
Irish Setters, Shit-Sues (I know), Chihuahuas, Terriers, Norwegian
Elkhounds, Greyhounds.
Non AD(HD) Dogs:
Basset Hounds, Rottweilers, Labs, Huskys, St. Bernard.
As far as I know, there has never been a cat with AD(h)D in the history
of the world.
--
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
When you don't know where an...@netcom.com
you're going, every road will Ann Silberman
take you there.
Ian Ford
They " adopted " him because his owners couldn't manage him. I think Max
has canine ADD !
Ian
gl...@delphi.com
>As far as I know, there has never been a cat with AD(h)D in the history
>of the world.
about it ... you know how cats are supposedly so "inscrutable" and
so "mysterious" and "thinking deep thoughts" and also how they are
so "independent" and only "do what they want to do" ???
Well ... maybe they're just lost in the clouds daydreaming! They
don't even HEAR you call them by name ... that's why they don't
respond. They wander through the house in a daze. They're not
thinking deep and inscrutable thoughts ... they're thinking "Now
what was I coming into this room for? Wait a minute ... it'll come
to me...Let's see, I was going to eat some nine lives? No, I
remember ... I was going to use the litter box. Hey, wait a
minute! Look at that COOL sunbeam coming in the window! Bet
it would be nice and warm to lie down on the rug there ... hmmm,
seems like I was on my way to do something ..."
Nancy G
got two of the lil' suckers
and as far as I'm concerned, they're BOTH ADD-no-H
Susan Mudgett aka little gator
Ann Silberman (an...@netcom.com) wrote:
: AD(H)D Dogs are:
: Springer Spaniels, Australian Shepherds, Border Collies, Mini Poodles,
: Irish Setters, Shit-Sues (I know), Chihuahuas, Terriers, Norwegian
: Elkhounds, Greyhounds.
: Non AD(HD) Dogs:
: Basset Hounds, Rottweilers, Labs, Huskys, St. Bernard.
I have to disagree on Bassets. I have Coonhounds myself, and comparing
notes with other hound owners we decided that all scent hounds(which
includes Beagles, Bassets, Coonhounds, Bloodhounds, and other similar
breeds) have ADD. They love their humans but aren't very interested in
obeying them. They are so stubborn when they don't want to do a thing
that it's mistaken for stupidity. They will bump into table legs and
forget to notice because they're thinking about something else.
Hounds will be obsessively focused when going after something they
want: food, pettings, and especially following scents and chasing
prey. Bloodhounds especially are famous for their obsessive focus when
following a scent trail, but you can't get them to pay attention any
other time. The rest of the time anything distracts them. And its
obvious they do things impulsively, especially when a rabbit runs by.
Hounds, especially Coonhounds and Bassets, have a reputation for being
untrainably dumb. Yet they are usually quite intelligent as dogs go,
they just don't like to pay attention. In obedience class,(attended by
non-ADD me, my ADD spouse, and our ADD hounds) the trainer will ask us
to repeat an exercise 10 times. We tell her we'll do it only 2 or 3
times. The dogs will learn it that fast but further repetitions bore
them, and when they get bored they start doing it wrong. We insist
that our dogs can't handle a 1-hour class and take them out for a
break in the middle of the session, which no one else in class does.
They do really well our way and we all enjoy the class. When we did it
the teacher's way all four of us were bored and frustrated.
Cheryl Shipman
: As far as I know, there has never been a cat with AD(h)D in the history
: of the world.
: --
I have one. This is the most ADHD creature I have ever met. He'll hyper
focus at times -- returning repeatedly to eating the house plant when I
turn my back. But also will run laps through thr apartment (flip turns
off the walls.) He switched in mid air between leaping from the tall
bookcase onto the older cat to chasing light reflected from my watch face.
He gets into everything -- we have a latch on the outside of our bathroom
door. He's very smart -- we watch him studying the older cat as she begs
treats, studying how he can do the same, but completely unteachable when
its something we want him to learn. He takes things apart and "forgets:
to put them back together. He'll chase the fur mouse under the chair and
start playing with a string, then he'll unplug and reset the answering
machine, then remove the objects from my dresser
If he's hyper focused he can't hear his name from the same room.
Otherwise he can hear you sit down three rooms away and be snuggled in your
lap before you're all the way down.
He is indifferent to social expectations. the older cat tells him every
five minutes that she hates him, and he still kisses her, jumps on her,
bites her tail. he's very lovable, completely impossible, destructive
and defiant.
Can't tell how he does in school; we can't find one that'll take him.
Cheryl
______________________________________________________________________________
Cheryl Shipman hon...@mail.sas.upenn.edu
Benjamin Franklin Scholars/General Honors/ 310 Hayden Hall
University Scholars Philadelphia, PA 19104-6316
University of Pennsylvania 215-898-7451
Cheryl Mathison
>I have one. This is the most ADHD creature I have ever met.
..
>He is indifferent to social expectations. the older cat tells him every
>five minutes that she hates him, and he still kisses her, jumps on her,
>bites her tail. he's very lovable, completely impossible, destructive
>and defiant.
This cat reminds me of an animated short simply titled "Cats". It's
about two cats...one "normal one", and one "Odie" type...<grin> The
black one is "normal"...it tries to sleep...the ADHD one will cuddle next
to it and roll over on him...
The normal cat goes and drinks in the toilet...the ADHD one will try that
and fall in...
It goes on and looks like "my life" all the way through...people look at
the ADHD cat and think "jeez...what a *DUMB* cat"...actually, I can tell
that the kitty is merely ADD...<grin>
It's a funny animation. I saw it about six years ago at the Festival of
Animation in San Francisco...it was *GREAT*!
Hugs from one Cheryl to another!
Cheryl
kal...@randomc.com
A. A. Stoll
Susan Mudgett aka little gator <s...@harvee.billerica.ma.us> wrote:
>
>Ann Silberman (an...@netcom.com) wrote:
>
>
>
>: AD(H)D Dogs are:
>
>: Springer Spaniels, Australian Shepherds, Border Collies, Mini Poodles,
>: Irish Setters, Shit-Sues (I know), Chihuahuas, Terriers, Norwegian
>: Elkhounds, Greyhounds.
>
>: Non AD(HD) Dogs:
>
>: Basset Hounds, Rottweilers, Labs, Huskys, St. Bernard.
>
>
be classified as ADHD but the puppies certainly can be!
mark...@dpc.net
though he is doing better he drives me crazy. He is so active. The kids have to run
from him he wants to play and jump and goes nuts. But he is so loving.
--
WallyCycle
(Susan Mudgett aka little gator) writes:
>comparing
>notes with other hound owners we decided that all scent hounds(which
>includes Beagles, Bassets, Coonhounds, Bloodhounds, and other similar
>breeds) have ADD. They love their humans but aren't very interested in
>obeying them. They are so stubborn when they don't want to do a thing
>that it's mistaken for stupidity. They will bump into table legs and
>forget to notice because they're thinking about something else
As a beagle owner, I totally agree. My current beagle is the light of my
life, but she only has room in her head for one thought at a time (we say
that's because 95% of her brain is wired to her nose). Once she decides
she wants something, no power of man nor the angels can stand before her!
"If there are no dogs in Heaven, then when I die
I want to go where they went."
Warren and Carolyn Puckett
Wally...@aol.com
JHand23832
ADD being successfully treated with ritalin. Like people, any breed can
have ADD, though I suspect it's rarer in dogs than people. IMO, most
people think their dogs are untrainable, when in fact it's the owners who
don't know what they're doing. We have a retriever mix who's an absolute
nut, and very ADD-like; but he can sit, stay, heel, etc.
From reading the article, I am quite certain I never want to have an ADD
dog (an ADD husband is plenty, thank you :) )
Paula
Chris Walker
[snip..]
>
> AD(H)D Dogs are:
>
> Springer Spaniels, Australian Shepherds, Border Collies, Mini Poodles,
> Irish Setters, Shit-Sues (I know), Chihuahuas, Terriers, Norwegian
> Elkhounds, Greyhounds.
[snip..]
Well, I have to disagree with you about Springer Spaniels being AD(H)D..
I have two dogs.. One is an English Springer Spaniel, and the other is a Golden
Retriever.. If one of my dogs has AD(H)D, it HAS to be the Retriever.. If dogs
can have AD(H)D, then I think that ANY dog can have it.. Just as AD(H)D has no
rules/boundaries/etc.. in humans, I think the same thing is true in dogs.. Any
dog can have it.. Just like any dog can have epilepsy, any dog can have AD(H)D..
It depends on their family history..
-Just my 2 cents worth, Chris
~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-
Scully: Label that.
Policeman: As what?
Scully: Partial rat body part.
"Teso Dos Bichos"
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Member of FORB, LGMCB, ONLFC, and DPMA...
JaelleS
(Susan Mudgett aka little gator) writes:
>. In obedience class,(attended by
>non-ADD me, my ADD spouse, and our ADD hounds) the trainer will ask us
>to repeat an exercise 10 times. We tell her we'll do it only 2 or 3
>times. The dogs will learn it that fast but further repetitions bore
>them, and when they get bored they start doing it wrong. We insist
>that our dogs can't handle a 1-hour class and take them out for a
>break in the middle of the session, which no one else in class does.
>They do really well our way and we all enjoy the class. When we did it
>the teacher's way all four of us were bored and frustrated.
Your trainer was also going against accepted practice--10 times IS way too
many times for almost any dog. Heck, I'D be bored if someone asked me to
walk around a ring and sit 10 times.
My mother showed Doberman Pinschers back in the 60's and 70's. She had a
very nice, calm bitch who absolutely wilted in the show ring. Her son,
however, was a ditz who came alive in the show ring--he had his
Championship by 14 months of age. He just loved the stage--is it any
wonder the "show" system tends to produce hyper, neurotic (adhd) showoffs?
JaelleS
(Cheryl Shipman) writes:
(re: hyper cat)
>Can't tell how he does in school; we can't find one that'll take him.
>
>
Hee hee...been kicked out of kittergarten *five times!*
Barry Kashar
writes:
*****************************************************************
The dog I grew up with was to smart to do all those dumb
tricks. She did, however, master two phrases on her own: "Rum Rungry"
and "Ri wranna gro out" (we learned to listen to the second one).
Barry
Oliver and Cathy Kneip
>paying attention to anything (other than eating dinner).
>
>
>Springer Spaniels, Australian Shepherds, Border Collies,
OK, now that we know what's been the problem with the dogs I've owned (as
per list above) over the last 5 years... Can you tell me the solution
(grin).
I gave up on the Springer, and the Border... I now have the ADD
Australian Shepherd, AKA Reno. He's a 'jail-house' dog from 'Kathy
Gibson(trainer)'.
I've come along way with Reno since he arrived HOME on Oct 9/95... But we
still have along way to go, and some days he tries my patience more than
my 5 year old.
His favorite sucky-sucky is when he knows he's been bad (real bad) is to
come into the bedroom when I'm laying down and crawl up to me asking and
begging for forgiveness. (This usually works too) He NEVER climbs on
the furniture or bed any other time. ONLY to suck up when he's been bad.
-cathy-
~another ADD dog addict~
Susan Mudgett aka little gator
WallyCycle (wally...@aol.com) wrote:
: In article <4i957c$m...@harvee.billerica.ma.us>, s...@harvee.billerica.ma.us
: (Susan Mudgett aka little gator) writes:
: >comparing
: >notes with other hound owners we decided that all scent hounds(which
: >includes Beagles, Bassets, Coonhounds, Bloodhounds, and other similar
: >breeds) have ADD. They love their humans but aren't very interested in
: >obeying them. They are so stubborn when they don't want to do a thing
: >that it's mistaken for stupidity. They will bump into table legs and
: >forget to notice because they're thinking about something else
: As a beagle owner, I totally agree. My current beagle is the light of my
: life, but she only has room in her head for one thought at a time (we say
: that's because 95% of her brain is wired to her nose). Once she decides
: she wants something, no power of man nor the angels can stand before her!
Most scent hound breeds are notoriously mislabelled as stupid, lazy,
uncooperative, and unteachable, even though few of them are any of
these things. Sounds like ADD humans, doesn't it?
btw, the famous list of dog breeds rated by intelligence was complied
by obedience judges. Despite the title, it did *not* rate
intelligence, but rather rated breeds by their ability to be trained
to score well in ritualised obedience performance tests.
chuck
daughters, I mentioned that I had to pick-up a picture that I kept
forgetting. My 6 yo asked why I didn't use one of those sticky notes
to remind myself to pick it up? I said I had to remember to write the
note. Pretty bad when your 6 yo non-ADD child has to help organize
you. She also helped to potty train my 4 yo!
Chuck
Amy Seaver
> daughters, I mentioned that I had to pick-up a picture that I kept
> forgetting. My 6 yo asked why I didn't use one of those sticky notes
> to remind myself to pick it up? I said I had to remember to write the
> note.
And then there are those of us who will forget or lose the sticky
note... (grin)
Amy
lib...@yale.edu
Mike
________________________________________________
I believe in the Garfield method of Organization. Why do it
tomorrow if you can put it off until the day after tomorrow?
________________________________________________
Alan
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> From: mark...@dpc.net
> Newsgroups: alt.support.attn-deficit,rec.pets.dogs.behavior
> Subject: Re: Dogs with ADD
> Date: Fri, 15 Mar 96 17:08:14 GMT
> Organization: Oak Hill Enterprises
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really- anyone got any good tips?
WebbWeave
Jane Webb
Heretic
>> I agree about the puppy labs. Ours surely is ADHD . He is only 11/2 old
>and
>> though he is doing better he drives me crazy. He is so active. The kids
>have to run
>> from him he wants to play and jump and goes nuts. But he is so loving.
>> --
>>
>>
>Mines a Rotweiller he's driving me crazy too-it's all the biting-love him
>really- anyone got any good tips?
I seem to recall a Saturday Night Live routine about "Puppy Uppers"
and "Doggy Downers." But if he's ADD, which would he use?
============================================================
"They said I could have breakfast anytime, so I ordered
French Toast during the Renaissance." --Steven Wright
"Be excellent to one another." --Bill
R. A. Garrard rgar...@xmission.com Salt Lake City, Utah
============================================================
Katharine E. Maus
for him to mature in six months to a year. In the
meantime, take a look at Carol Benjamin's book on dog
adolescence.
Katharine Maus