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Old 07-12-2005, 12:40 PM   #1
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Default HELP!!!Brruce is a problem child!!!

Bruce is really really becoming a problem and I am at a loss for what to do, it seems I have tried everything...Here is the list of behavioral problems he is having...
(1) Potty training regression. He had been consistently using his pads, now he does about 1/2 the time. I know Yorkies can be difficult so I am not blamining him too much, but I am consistent with rewarding him for using the pad, and I have been using all those sprays that are supposed to attract him. I am at a loss!
(2) Excessive Barking, randomly and for no reason...We can be playing and he will stop and for no apparant reason begin running around the house barking at the top of his lungs. He never responds to any attempt I make to have him stop.
(3) Selective Hearing: Bruce hears what he wants to hear and comes when he wants to come. I am really concerned about this because what if I need him to come to avoid danger and he refuses. The other thing is he will absolutely never ever come to anyone other than me, and will literally give other people a look that says "who the hell do you think you are to tell me what to do."
(4) Refussal to learn any commands: Bruce just will get off task when we are working together, treats do not seem to be helping (he will occassionally spit them out), praise does not help, nothing seems to work. He again does what I tell him to do when he feels like it...I am consistent too, we work on his commands for at least 10-15 minutes a day (that is usually all he will do before becoming testy). At least he has stopped pulling on the leash...
(5) He is very very demanding of my time: Bruce is my shadow, he wants to be held a lot, he is affectionate, and loves to be with me all the time. THIS I LOVE! However, he is protective of me when other people try to touch me in any way he will squeeze in between us and bark/growl at them. He has bit people quite hard when the sit next to me and do not make way for him. If he is separated from me at all while we are doing anything and I am remotely in sight he just cries until I pick him up (I mean even while I am in the bathroom, the other day he even managed to jump right into the shower while I was in it), and if I even pet another dog it is all over, Bruce who is normally playful with other little guys and sweet becomes aggressive and loud. When I describe this to you it cannot capture how bad it is, it is at the point where some people just cannot come around me, because he bothers them so much or they are afraid he will get mad and snap/bite...

Now I want to say...I love this little baby very much, and no matter how bad he got I would never (a) give him up, (b) use physical punishment, (c) do anything that would make him feel unloved, or (d) give up on him! Bruce is my life, I just want to be able to share that life with others...Please give me advice on positive nonmean training methods...The professional trainer thinks the problem is that Bruce is overly indulged by me and overly coddled. She thinks I "comfort" him to much, but hey if he is scared or feeling upset that is my job. Her suggestion was literally to try ignoring him completely (obviously with the exception to that being to feed and water him) for like 2 days and see how he reacts to me, but that is cruel in my opionion....HELP!!!
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Old 07-12-2005, 12:44 PM   #2
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http://k9deb.com/nilif.htm


try this site. I learned alot from it.
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Old 07-12-2005, 12:53 PM   #3
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you gotta be patient with them.he will learn more as he gets older.just be consistent with your tarining and use the reward system.
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Old 07-13-2005, 10:25 AM   #4
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Congratulations! Bruce has stepped up to the plate and accepted responsibility of being the Alpha dog, since no one else would do it!

The professional trainer is absolutely correct in her/his assessment of how to correct the behavior. This website will explain it better to you and why you need to get control. http://k9deb.com/socialis.htm The other site listed above is on the same site but the one I listed should be read 1st and put into practice 1st.

You are really doing a disservice to your dog, by making him the alpha. He has too much responsibility (big task) for such a small dog. He is buckling from the strain of it and confused on top of it all. Once you take the burden from him, he will be relieved and start to relax and no longer have these aggression issues.
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Old 07-13-2005, 11:05 AM   #5
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I'm also in agreement with the trainer. You are not comforting him,by comforting him. He needs to know that you are in charge to feel safe and loved. It's not mean to discipline him, it's cruel not to.
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Old 07-13-2005, 11:08 AM   #6
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Thank you guys so much for reinforcing this advice! I have been trying to ignore him, but I get too upset myself. My bid mistake I guess is in treating him like a human child really...How long do you guys think I should ignore him for? Is it really necessary to leave him alone all day?
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Old 07-13-2005, 11:31 AM   #7
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I don’t think I’d go as far as your trainer has suggested (ignoring him completely) nor in such a short period of time. To make real and lasting change, you need to make a permanent change in your and your dog’s life style. Someone recently posted a wonderful link explaining the “nothing in life is for free” method of dog training. This was discussed in great detail in the “Culture Clash” by Jean Donaldson. You can get a copy of this book from either your library or at http://www.dogwise.com. This is the best rule to live by from now with your dog. If he wants to sit on the coach, he has to do a sit on the floor on your first command. If he wants a cookie, he has to do a down on command. If he wants to go outside, he has to do a “come” to your hand fist. You are not to let him have any toys, food or privileges of any kind without first working for that reward. All rewards will come from you, not his environment, and by his “working” for that reward. I also strongly recommend your read Susan Garrett’s “Ruff Love” which also can be purchased through dogwise. It’s a complete re-training program using this nothing in life is for free approach.

I always say this – but it remains true. It is really hard to tell EXACTLY what the problem is from this vantage point – on a computer terminal perhaps hundreds of miles away from where you are. But I will say this: 90% of the time the problem starts with the handler/owner. In agility we learn to always look to ourselves first before we blame the dog. If we are inconsistent or if we ask the dog to do something that he hasn’t fully learned, we have only ourselves to blame when he doesn’t behave the way we want him to. Is your dog REALLY being bad or is he simply confused? For example, I’ve posted many times on this board that I don’t like wee-wee pad and paper training for little dogs EXACTLY because so much of the time the dog gets confused and then is never truly housebroken. (please review some of my old posts on this topic).

Now, as for the clinginess. Yes, you probably do cuddle your dog too much but I am probably one of the worst offenders here – esp. with Bun my little rescue who, like your dog, thinks his duty is to guard me from the boogieman when I sleep and follow me into the bathroom to make sure there’s no black hole on the other side of the door ready to suck me up into oblivion. Here my suggestion to you is this – a matter of management not extinguishment. Your dog may have a “clingy” personality which you have indulged into a problem. I have three dogs right now but only one of them follows me into the bathroom. See my point? I know that if Bun is on my lap or lying on my bed while I’m asleep, no one, man or beast, is going to be able to come near me. So here, I manage the situation into a non- problem. Bun does not sleep on my bed. He sleeps in a crate or in his own dog bed. He’s gotten so good that he actually goes up to my room at night while I’m in the shower and TUCKS himself into his little bed. It’s the cutest thing. When he’s on my lap, I simply tell people not to approach until he’s on the ground, I then ask him to sit and when he’s sitting he gets a treat from the person who wanted to approach him. This way the interaction is always positive and he never gets into a situation where he’s going to get into trouble. And yes, your dog is demanding of your time. Well, so are many men and children! How demanding he should be is a question you have to answer for yourself. As I said, I don’t agree with your trainer that you should suddenly, for no apparent reason, totally igore him for the next three days or week. He’ll probably think he’s being punished but he’ll have no idea why he’s being punished. Then, just like a failed diet, you’ll go back to the treatment he’s used to and there will be much of the same problem you started with. Just like true weight loss, you need to rethink your relationship with your dog. Set boundaries and decide what behaviors you can live with and what you can’t (now I’m sounding like a marriage counselor but heck, its really relationship counseling – so how different is it really?).
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Old 07-14-2005, 05:42 AM   #8
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How about a puppy training class at PetSmart or Petco? It worked WONDERS with Gracie. When I read your description of Bruce, I thought you were talking about Gracie, at least before the classes...
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Old 08-25-2005, 03:19 PM   #9
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I just read your Dogster Page and all I can say is if your law career does not work
out, you surely could write children's books. You have a wonderful sense of humor but of course we could use a bit of that in the court room also. Hope the training
is working out a little better by now!!
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Old 08-25-2005, 03:29 PM   #10
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how is bruce doing? dianne and prudence
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Old 08-25-2005, 03:33 PM   #11
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Quote:
Originally Posted by yorkipower
I don’t think I’d go as far as your trainer has suggested (ignoring him completely) nor in such a short period of time. To make real and lasting change, you need to make a permanent change in your and your dog’s life style. Someone recently posted a wonderful link explaining the “nothing in life is for free” method of dog training. This was discussed in great detail in the “Culture Clash” by Jean Donaldson. You can get a copy of this book from either your library or at http://www.dogwise.com. This is the best rule to live by from now with your dog. If he wants to sit on the coach, he has to do a sit on the floor on your first command. If he wants a cookie, he has to do a down on command. If he wants to go outside, he has to do a “come” to your hand fist. You are not to let him have any toys, food or privileges of any kind without first working for that reward. All rewards will come from you, not his environment, and by his “working” for that reward. I also strongly recommend your read Susan Garrett’s “Ruff Love” which also can be purchased through dogwise. It’s a complete re-training program using this nothing in life is for free approach.

I always say this – but it remains true. It is really hard to tell EXACTLY what the problem is from this vantage point – on a computer terminal perhaps hundreds of miles away from where you are. But I will say this: 90% of the time the problem starts with the handler/owner. In agility we learn to always look to ourselves first before we blame the dog. If we are inconsistent or if we ask the dog to do something that he hasn’t fully learned, we have only ourselves to blame when he doesn’t behave the way we want him to. Is your dog REALLY being bad or is he simply confused? For example, I’ve posted many times on this board that I don’t like wee-wee pad and paper training for little dogs EXACTLY because so much of the time the dog gets confused and then is never truly housebroken. (please review some of my old posts on this topic).

Now, as for the clinginess. Yes, you probably do cuddle your dog too much but I am probably one of the worst offenders here – esp. with Bun my little rescue who, like your dog, thinks his duty is to guard me from the boogieman when I sleep and follow me into the bathroom to make sure there’s no black hole on the other side of the door ready to suck me up into oblivion. Here my suggestion to you is this – a matter of management not extinguishment. Your dog may have a “clingy” personality which you have indulged into a problem. I have three dogs right now but only one of them follows me into the bathroom. See my point? I know that if Bun is on my lap or lying on my bed while I’m asleep, no one, man or beast, is going to be able to come near me. So here, I manage the situation into a non- problem. Bun does not sleep on my bed. He sleeps in a crate or in his own dog bed. He’s gotten so good that he actually goes up to my room at night while I’m in the shower and TUCKS himself into his little bed. It’s the cutest thing. When he’s on my lap, I simply tell people not to approach until he’s on the ground, I then ask him to sit and when he’s sitting he gets a treat from the person who wanted to approach him. This way the interaction is always positive and he never gets into a situation where he’s going to get into trouble. And yes, your dog is demanding of your time. Well, so are many men and children! How demanding he should be is a question you have to answer for yourself. As I said, I don’t agree with your trainer that you should suddenly, for no apparent reason, totally igore him for the next three days or week. He’ll probably think he’s being punished but he’ll have no idea why he’s being punished. Then, just like a failed diet, you’ll go back to the treatment he’s used to and there will be much of the same problem you started with. Just like true weight loss, you need to rethink your relationship with your dog. Set boundaries and decide what behaviors you can live with and what you can’t (now I’m sounding like a marriage counselor but heck, its really relationship counseling – so how different is it really?).
Such good advise. I was always told never to feed your dog first at meals. They
want you to be Alpha. My little one is 11 yrs old and such an angel that I just
couldn't (she thanks me for everything I do) even after grooming; she runs back
to lick my hand or give me a kiss. But we had a dog when my kids were young
that felt it was it's duty and job in life to make our life "hell on earth" . Just like
with kids, some you can give alittle and alot and other no way until you are sure
they know you mean what you say. Being consistant in your plan is so important
but your advise is the best I have heard.
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