behaviour problems?

[DeeDeeLivesay]

me and my husband adopted a dog from a shelter about 3 months ago. he's a 9 months old foxhound. he's been in the shelter for 4 months, nobody wanted him even if he was a sweet loving dog. we had problems with him from the start. he kept gagging and puking foam, trying to swallow things like full socks or the bed sheets. we took him to the vet multiple times, they done all the possible tests on him, checked his stomach, bloodwork, x rays, the dog's perfectly healthy and we have a big hole in the pocket from that. all we ever found wrong was a throat irritation and we treated it. we suspected stomach acid, he got some peptobismol, but it wasnt that. about a month ago we noticed that whenever we don't give him attention he starts gagging and licks the carpet constantly to make himself puke. it stops if i pet him or i let him jump in the bed. the dog gets plenty of attention and exercise, but whenever me and my husband want to spend a minute togheter he starts gagging right away. if i dont let him in the bed at night he gags all night and doesn't let us sleep. i tried ignoring this behaviour for few days hoping he'll see it doesn't work, but he did it constantly for about 3 days, we had no sleep and he wouldnt eat anything, until i gave up and let him in the bed and he stopped in a second. i love my dog, but i dont know how to stop this. he's driving me nuts. he jumps on us and bites and nibbles our hands constantly. i think thats the way he shows love, but my hands are always scratched or bruised. also whenever we take him out , if we don't constantly pay attention to him he grabs the bottom of our pants and pulls on them and growls. he never snapped at us or get angry or agressive. i just want him to act like a normal dog and stop gagging if i don't let him sleep in the bed cause he's 45 pounds and leaves hair all over the sheets.

[DeeDeeLivesay]

thank you for all the replies! :) right when we got him we bought him chewy treats, beef bones and hard raw hides that he gets when he becomes too playful. i'm trainning him everyday, for now just basic comands, like sit, up, roll over. i do that with little beaf trets and biscuits. he's a smart dog and learning very fast. also, he's not crate trained, he goes outside because we dont want an inside pooper. whenever he wants to go he jumps to get his leash, he leaned that very fast. also he goes outside at the same hours everyday, and he's fed at the same hours, so he has a pretty tidy schedule because i'm trying to get him in the family routine. we got some trainning dvd's we're working with, because we live in a veryyyyyyyy small area with about 100 people with no obedience classes available. even the petsmart shopping and everything else for him is ordered online. i dont have babies yet, so i hope until a little one comes he'll be more easy to handle.
i know he's at the age when everything seems like a puppy play, and i'm patiently waitting for him to grow it out. he's not a chewer normally, he only chews when we don't do it his way. the vet gave him some bendril to chill him out when he gets insanely hyper or left home alone, but thank god that doesn't happen too often. the NO and DONT BITE work on the spot, but unfortunatelly just for few minutes. so when he chews  and doesn't listen i have a mist bottle i use to chill him out and it works everytime.
i don't know anything about his past in the shelter, i just took him cause he was in there for a long time and it broke my heart to see him so upset in the kenel and i don't regret a moment i took him. also i would never consider giving him away. he's a pain but he's my pup and i love him to death

[TwoBitsMom]

Hi again...I'm glad to see that you have been given some good suggestions from the other members. Thanks, joeykttn and Margot49..!
I will say that your dog is at the stage where he will want to chew on anything.So, I agree with getting him a Kong, or some other type of chews. You will also have to be consistent and firm with your training.
I wish you luck.
Connie

[Margot49]

Wiw, you have your hands full.  Never heard of some of that behavior but you definitely need to start training and improvements won't happen overnight.  Is he crate trained?  I think every dog should be crate trained.  You don't know his history and he was in a Shelter?  I have a feeling a lot of this is stress and insecurity.  Some temporary meds might be useful.
Other than that,mand it would be too much to type here, a few suggestions.
Crate train
Get him a Kong, large, raw beef bones or large chews. When he is chewing on stuff, correct him and give him something he can chew on.
Check for a basic dog obedience class in your area.  Usually once a week but you "have" to do training at home daily even if for only 15 mins.
When he is nipping, either yelp loudly or correct him with a firm "no bite!"
Do a Google search for NILF (Nothing in life is free) for dog training techniques.
Do not let him on the bed!  You have to establish yourself as the pack leader.
Again, this won't improve overnight but you have to be patient and consistent.  If you find this too hard or too aggravating, maybe this is not the best fit for your household.
Good luck

[joeykttn]

Hey :) Good for you for rescuing a dog! I'd love to, someday when we get our puppy's medical stuff under control. Our original plan was one puppy, one rescue.
Anyway, about the behavior...the gagging, I'm really not sure. I don't have any advice on that one. Maybe try spraying bitter apple where ever he starts licking?
The biting at ankles when you're trying to walk..my TJ does this too. I've gotten little holes in a few of my yoga pants from his sharp baby teeth. I'm working really hard with him on this, and the hand nibbles when we're playing too. All I do is say "No Bite!" firmly. If we're playing, and he won't stop after the first warning, I stop playing for a few seconds and let him settle. I have gotten almost tripped before from him trying to mouth my ankles, lol, so I stop walking, make him sit & get right in his face and wagged my finger, sternly saying "No! No bite!"Then he pouts lol Sometimes he just gets too riled up. He's just trying to play, but I can't have him nipping at my little kids feet when they are running around with him outside.
Good luck!

[TwoBitsMom]

Wow....That behavior would drive me crazy also. I'm sorry, I don't have any suggestions at the moment. This is something that I am going to have to think about for a while. Hmmmm....I will get back to you.
Hopefully, in the meantime....someone else will read this, and offer some good advice.
I will get back to you.
Connie

[DeeDeeLivesay]

guess nobody heard anything about thins kind of behaviour. he's been doing it again and it drives me crazy