schrevolution Posted March 29, 2014 Report Share Posted March 29, 2014 Hi all I've been working on my 11 month old BC mix Ziggy's roughhousing behavior, but to a point it seems that crating him after he refuses to listen to "No" is not enough to cement that he needs to stop what he's doing. He repeatedly tries to get my attention by mouthing on furniture or, more recently since I've been specifically trying to stop his nipping behavior, he pounces on me when I lay on the sofa and starts nipping me. Usually he progresses from when I'm telling him no and getting him off the furniture he's mouthing to turning and trying to nip at me. I have a couple of bones around that if I catch him I'll tell him no and give him one of those, but he'll quickly go back to whatever he was doing and once he turns the behavior to biting me, into the crate he goes. It just doesn't seem like these episodes are decreasing anymore after a few weeks of doing this and was wondering if there are other ways to really get through to him the No means No. I know his foster mom used a spray bottle but I'm not sure if I like the idea of spraying water in my dog's face. I'm probably going to invest in some bitter apple soon, but I don't think that really helps the underlying behavior. Any tips would be welcome. Schrev Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gideon's girl Posted March 29, 2014 Report Share Posted March 29, 2014 Sounds like he is a teenager!! Put him on a leash and when he starts this unwanted behavior put him in a down and put your foot on the leash and wait for him to settle. When he settles, give him some freedom again. Lather, rinse, repeat. What kinds of activities are you doing with him? Have you done an obedience class? Or 6? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sandysfarm Posted March 29, 2014 Report Share Posted March 29, 2014 Well, and no means interaction, which is very resourceful of your boy. Telling him no more than once is giving him attention, which is just what he's after. More exercise is the quick fix. Suitably tired dogs are relaxed, generally. You don't have to wear him out flat; it's more that he needs to have had his brain and his muscles warmed up and working in sync for long enough to drain him every day. Otherwise he's just a young kid stuck trying to get enough going to fix himself...think bored 8 year old boy (shudder poking his sister to see her react. For me, I don't like seeing dogs exercised in the park by going after a thrown ball over and over and over - it's sort of owner-lazy and makes the dog ball-nuts, which is trading one annoying behaviour for another. So you see where I'm going, I guess. You could develop a hiking hobby or a ravine trek hobby if your area has ravine trails, or sign up for any "progression" dog classes you can find that are run by good trainers and follow them beginner level till you've done the whole shot and practise daily - that's fun. Or low level agility classes. Volunteer dog-visiting if he assesses ok. Here's a pretty easy one but it's life-changing: take him with you all the time - stick him in the car and go. It'll give you all kinds of opportunity to practise your dog class learning, it'll eventually make him a great citizen, it nets him extra attention (and admiration), elevators, stairs, crowds, stores, all those things to negotiate are mental energy zappers for a dog but he winds up actually living with you as opposed to just seeing you when you come home. I know this is trickier than I'm admitting to BUT it's also more possible than you'd think. Collies are your best friend if you let them be. They are ice breakers and heart breakers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
schrevolution Posted March 29, 2014 Author Report Share Posted March 29, 2014 Lol, sandysfarm, have you been watching me? Yesterday was a dog park day and he did indeed go after his ball quite a bit : p I do try to take him with me when I can but feel a bit limited in my area, so when I go to petsmart he comes with, and I've taken him to a Starbucks to sit out on a patio, but hiking sounds like it would be a good thing for him if I can find a group to go with. I've been thinking about how to give what he needs and changing up some of my current practices to be more lax , ie allowing him in my room which I haven't done because I was worried if he could follow me every where that it would lead to anxiety later on when I needed him to not be in the room. But I've decided that I could possibly use being in and out of my room a learning activity. Gideon's girl-He just started an obedience with activity class so there's lots of movement while he thinks and after his first one he was completely exhausted but he did really well. It also makes use of some agility equipment which I liked because I do want him in agility eventually, I just can only do one thing at a time right now. Besides that he goes to the dog park 3 days a week and I try to do a couple training/play sessions throughout the day. I've been trying to teach him to pick things up so that I can eventually have him help around the house. I like the leash idea, I'm going to have to give it a try for awhile and see if he gets it, I'm a bit tired of getting scratches all over because of him jumping all over me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rushdoggie Posted March 29, 2014 Report Share Posted March 29, 2014 Hi all I've been working on my 11 month old BC mix Ziggy's roughhousing behavior, but to a point it seems that crating him after he refuses to listen to "No" is not enough to cement that he needs to stop what he's doing. He repeatedly tries to get my attention by mouthing on furniture or, more recently since I've been specifically trying to stop his nipping behavior, he pounces on me when I lay on the sofa and starts nipping me. Usually he progresses from when I'm telling him no and getting him off the furniture he's mouthing to turning and trying to nip at me. I have a couple of bones around that if I catch him I'll tell him no and give him one of those, but he'll quickly go back to whatever he was doing and once he turns the behavior to biting me, into the crate he goes. It just doesn't seem like these episodes are decreasing anymore after a few weeks of doing this and was wondering if there are other ways to really get through to him the No means No. I know his foster mom used a spray bottle but I'm not sure if I like the idea of spraying water in my dog's face. I'm probably going to invest in some bitter apple soon, but I don't think that really helps the underlying behavior. Any tips would be welcome. Schrev What does he do when you put him in his crate? Are you in the same room? Is the "turd-like" behavior always atthe same time of day or when you are doing a certain activity? FWIW, puppies are sometimes dumb. I say that with a great deal of affection, but with all the growth, development, hormones, etc sometimes it takes them longer to put cause to effect. Its not a bad idea to determine of he is getting enough exercise/stimulation, but sometimes its just tough s**t and maybe he needs you to put him in his Box for a time out day after day. He will live. If its at the same time every day, try structuring your day a little differently. My last puppy went into OMGObnoxious mode 30 minutes after dinner every day. It went on for an hour. He would terrorize the other dogs, zoom around, jump on the coffee table, etc. When I saw the pattern, at T minus 15 minutes I started giving him outside time where zooms were OK and then bringing him in and playing with him and a toy. After 20 minutes I'd pop him in a crate with a chewie. It helped tone him down, and eventually he grew out of that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Root Beer Posted March 29, 2014 Report Share Posted March 29, 2014 It also makes use of some agility equipment which I liked because I do want him in agility eventually, I just can only do one thing at a time right now. This being the case, I have a recommendation for you. Based on what you describe, and the fact that you might want to do Agility someday - it sounds like some impulse control training would be of great benefit!! I recommend that you get hold of Leslie McDevitt's "Control Unleashed Puppy" and go through the exercises in the book. It does not matter if your dog is not a young puppy - the program is beneficial for all dogs. This will give you tools that you will be able to translate into self-control at home, as well as prepare you and your dog to be in an Agility environment. Best wishes!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
schrevolution Posted March 29, 2014 Author Report Share Posted March 29, 2014 Thanks for the replies, I've got a lot to work with here rushdoggie, Usually when it's a time out he will lay down like normal but watch me. Sometimes he gets snarky and will pull on his mat but when I leave the room and come back the behavior has ceased. While he is in the crate I usually go back to what I was trying to do or if I'm a little frustrated I'll leave the room for a bit. I think around 1 and 7 pm are times I've identified where he will get annoying but this recent pouncing to play has been a bit sporadic and unpredictable. root beer-I got Control Unleashed a week or so ago and I love it! I'll start delving into more of the activities to get him a bit of control. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Root Beer Posted March 29, 2014 Report Share Posted March 29, 2014 If you get into the CU and you get stuck, feel free to send me a PM at any time and I can help you troubleshoot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.