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Originally Posted by Lila "I know she was mad that I did that to her. Now she is getting back to her old self and going outside most of the time."
Actually, dogs do not think like that at all. It is more likely that her whole routine and how her body was feeling caused the peeing on your bed; it is quite traumatic for a dog to be removed from its comfortable home, taken somewhere and given shots, then to awaken a few hours later with pain and perhaps bandages or and Elizabethan collar. When she gets home, it takes a little while before she feels 'back to normal', much as you would, after complete anaesthetic and surgery.
"she was so mad she was shaking...i had to pick her up and whisper to her mommy's all right, mommy's all right and then she clicked back into being a little snuggle dog"
By picking her up and cuddling her, you are reinforcing the growling and other aggressive behaviours. Instead, distract her-perhaps by calling her, or clapping your hands, and when she turns, reward her for stopping the behaviour. A treat could work as well as a cuddle. If she is doing this with various people and never did before, consider the fact she may be entering a fear period. There are two major ones in a puppy's life; the first around 8-16 weeks, and another between 6-11 months. These are rough guides, as it varies with each dog. So instead of reinforcing her fears, it is necessary to use these times to socialize her, and introduce her to new things-but treat her as she gets used to them-so she does not learn to fear them permanently. This can be difficult with a small pup that is so easy to pick up and carry, but the dog must learn about life like other dogs, or will remain fearful-perhaps with aggressive tendencies-its whole life. Kia will happily go anywhere on lead with me-the few things she is concerned about, ie storm sewers, we take our time getting adjusted to them, so she never worries about them again. |