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Originally Posted by Lucky Me  Thanks for your replies. Believe me, I step up and try to show him I am the boss, but he is having none of it. He's constantly trying to hump my 7 year old daughter's leg, arm, back, you name it. He won't obey any commands unless he gets something out of it (I make him sit before I give him a toy or food). If I try to correct him, he jumps up at my face and barks at me, or rams the back of my legs with his nose. I look him straight in the eye when I'm correcting him and he still won't back down. If I turn my back or walk away from him when he's being naughty, he just keeps barking and jumping until something else catches his interest. I was using a spray bottle to give a little squirt in the face when he's misbehaving but now he's taken a liking to it, so that doesn't work anymore.
Don't get me wrong, he's also very loving, but even when he's being cuddly he still wants to be the top dog (he tries to sit on my head or shoulder if I'm sitting on the couch and he obsessively tries to groom me, especially my ears... ewww gross). It's gotten to the point where I don't let him on the couch anymore but it's a battle of him jumping up, me telling him "down", back and forth, back and forth. When I give him a hand signal for any command, he jumps up at me and nips my hand (not a bite, but more like a warning, it seems).
I don't understand how a 3.5 lb furball can be such a little terror! (sometimes, anyway) |
We hear ya!
Re: the humping. Is he neutered? This should go a long way towards correcting this behavior and probably calming him down in general.
Licking is actually usually a sign of submission, or at least affection, not dominance. Don't expect him to do anything for you "just because" at first. It sounds like you are doing "Nothing in Life is Free", or something similar to that. Just stick with that, and enforce it in any situation you can think of. For instance, Thor has to Sit and Stay before we exit/enter a building or my car.
Also, is he getting enough exercise?
Generally, you should try not to get into a battle of wills with a dog, because it shouldn't be a question, and in fact, it isn't. You are bigger, stronger, smarter. If he keeps getting on the couch, give him a time out. If he barks, ignore him. Etc.