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Originally Posted by Hamoth 4 months sounds pretty young, but this sounds like classic dominance issues. . |
Well, if it is dominance issues, shouldn't she use the anti-dominance techniques (you can search this site for some really great suggestions on anti-dominance). The ones that I remember are holding the pup on his back for several minutes and not letting him go through a door first or not letting him walk in front of you while on the leash - these types of things show him that you are alpha. I would think that if you could establish dominance, then it seems that you would have an easier time showing him where to go potty and he might be more amenable to following your lead.
I had the "barking at me" issue at about 4 months (but not the potty issue). He would "back talk" me anytime I told him what to do or just when he wanted me to "play", if I did not respond to his attempts to get me to play. I didn't really know what to do and I didn't have access to this forum at that time, so I decided to think like his dog mom. I had his harness on him and when he would bark at me, I would pick him up by the harness and gently shake him (like his mom would shake him by the nape of the neck). While doing this I would say, "no" firmly. This really startled him. It only took 2 or 3 times of this correction and the barking at me stopped completely and has not returned. He started listening to me better and I have had no dominance issues at all since then. I have no clue if my actions were correct, but they worked for me in terms of dominance. He WILL NOT go through a doorway before me and sometimes I wish he would - for convenience reasons - but I always go first.