I beat her little butt!
 

I need therapy! This 2/5 lb. dog has gotten the better of me, friends. I keep her in the laundry room when I'm not with her because my kitchen woodwork in our BRAND NEW house now looks as if we have termites or beavers in residence. Everyday when I comb her, I have to fight with her to get it done and a 5 minute procedure ends up a 20 minute one each day. There is pee and poop all over my kitchen daily, so if any of you need a good stock tip, buy whatever company makes Sparkle paper towels and Lysol spray.

So...a little while ago, I thought I'd go out and have a Diet Coke on the patio. I thought it would be nice for her to go with me and thought that maybe, just maybe, she'd stay there with Cinder and Layla and Daddy and me. Hell no! She took off across the street like a tiny. superfast, black and gold heat seeking missile, looking for her friend Lady. After making a spectacle of my fat self running through the neighbors yard with a fly swatter, she ran back across the street and my hsuband had to catch her. Yes, friends, I did it. I spanked her with the fly swatter and now she is in time out!

Before any of you call the ASPCA, I didn't hit her very hard at all, just enough to let her know I'VE HAD IT!!!!!

I will pay large bills to anyone who can train this little s**t! Its a good thing she is so cute!

Did I mention I'm in menopause????????

ohh, that naughty Lexi! Is she just trying to initiate your new house with Lexi smells? Did she do this in your old house? Puppy classes are working wonders at our house as far as not running away. (Pippa used to take off like a bullet, too) It took alot of time and effort to teach her to come when called, but I don't have to worry near as much if someone opens the door that she won't bolt. She is expressing her independence! Let her know who's boss, mom!

We didn't have her in the other house. Sigh.

LOL - I'm sorry but the HEAT Missle got me laughing so hard I could hardly finish your post - Ok...We all KNOW we can't catch them - lucky you had backup ! Poor sweetie - just visiting friends and caught the fly swatter ? I feel your pain ...they are FAST and can be really bad when they get it in their heads - lucky you were all out there to catch her...How long does she have to be in the bad girls time out ?

Ok ...this is the hardest I have laughed all day. I dont think you need therapy lol I think you did the right thing..You put her in her place. I sure hope it gets better for you, hang in there. And thanks so much for the good laugh, I needed it. :p

Yes they will test your patience :D and when you in the menopause mode look out ....but the next time you get to that point step back and look at that cute little face saying mommy I just want to play....... :( my baby loves people so much I can't let him off the leash for a minute or he will make a mad dash to go play with a total stranger.He wants to kiss all the time :animal36 . I decided that he is going to petsmart for training,By the way thanks for the stock tip ..lol lol .....try giving him a grennie when you are gromming him it might help...good luck.....this might be your first thearpy session...lol lol

Heat missle!!!!! hahahah!!!! Wexy---you silly girl!!!! No more eating the woodwork!!! yuck!!!! That tastes soo bad!!!!! Sooo funny!!!

Oh My! How old is Lexy now? Simon would run off too if I let him out without a leash so I don't even try! When I brush Simon (since he hates it so much) I wait until he is sleeping and then get him when he is groggy and doesn't really care what is going on!
Maybe training classes are a good option for her. Is she still in time out?

I feel your pain...but that was the funniest post I have read here yet!!!!! I signed Deb up for Puppy Kindergarted today at Petco.....I am hoping that helps in my house....good luck in yours ;)

Oh Myyyyyy.....my hubby and I are still laughing. We can relate!! And friends....the tip on Sparkle paper towels, well we've just about bought stock in em too! I hope things get better quick for you....or I'll have to send ya a new fly swatter. LOL

You painted a very eloquent picture and I think even the most restrained among us would've been tempted to use the fly swatter too! LOL...heat seeking missile...they are fast little buggers! I am a spectacle more often than not.

Oh my!
 

You had the kind of day that I had this morning! To keep her from chewing on things that you do not want her to, take clear stick antiperspirant and apply to your woodwork, this will keep her from chewing your cabinets, baseboards, etc. Try it, it has worked for just about everyone that I have told it to. You will not need to reapply, I applied once on my armoire and woodwork, and new (well it was) coffee table and have not had to reapply, one taste was enough for both my boys. Good luck! Thanks for the stock tip LOL

I have a few suggestions...But first I'd like to know a little more about your training...

Do you yell at her a lot, and say things like "bad dog", or get exited (visually angry or agitated) when she ignores your or defies you?

How much playtime does she get per day?

Does she sleep in your bed and sit on your sofa?

A little talk....from Sully:
 

Aww, Wexy, yoos beein a bad girl....wat yoo thinkin beein crazy like dat and makin yor momma chase yoo wid a fwy-swatting fingy? I kno waywa is a cool wab but her runnin off wadn't cool and neider is yoo runnin away. Yoo stay at home and wisten to yor momma, k? Den I's will be pwoud of yoo and evwyone on heer on YT will sends you notes sayin' good dog, Wexy! (Dat's a good fing to heer, it will make yoor tail wag and yoor mommy mite even giv yoo tweats. If you're good dat is.) But don't wowwy, no matters wat, we all wuvs you :hug:

Wuv,

Suwwy :animal-pa

PS. Yoor momma maaks my momma waff! She say shes funny, da way she tell stowwies about yoo and what her had ta do. Heehee.

OK. I read once that if your dog makes a mess on your floor that you should roll up a newspaper and hit yourself in the head for not watching her. So, I suppose the same philosophy would apply to being angry with your dog for running free when they aren't wearing a leash! :D

For the beaver trait in Lexy, put clear deoderant on your woodwork. Works wonders.

LOL! :p

poor wittle wexy!

I always have her on a leash, but today I thought she might just stay with me since the other two dogs were right there. We'll not be without the leash again!

i have had fears of toby taking off and not coming back....... but after our camping trip (he was off leash teh whole time and never left or took off..... he often waited impatiently for me to climb over logs while hiking :rolleyes: ) i have no fears at all...... he is not allowed in our apartment complex without a leash, but their is a "creek" near our home that i take him to and he is able to run to his hearts content. . . i honestly didnt think he was that well trained until i just bit the bullet and let my mom (yes....... the grandma is the one that unhooked him....... i couldnt bring myself to do it at first) unclipp his leash when we were camping. . .
I have a new apprecieation for my obediance teaching now (i didnt take any of those classes).... i admit i doubted him, but what can i say....

I let my dog once out without a leash and he dashed across the street everywhere else..I mean when do get to the point where they don't have to wear a leash and no its bad to run off? I hope someday he can be free without a leash but I guess since their so small its hard

I like the hitting your head w/the newspaper comment!! I liked the "making a fool of your fat self" as that would be me! I think mommy needs more training! :D

My thought also...

I've got Chewy to be pretty reliable off-leash (there's still incidents). But for the most part, he respects my command "come".

This has taken a lot of work. The first rule is to make sure that you never use your dogs name, or the "come" command to lure them into punishment. Come should always be rewarded with praise and treats and goodness. There's no way to appropriately punish a dog for running away.

To chase is a game.

To punish them once you catch them is confusing. They have no idea why they are in trouble. They might think that it's for getting caught (and losing the game), and they will work harder next time to not be caught.

Beating a dog for failing to come on command (especially on the first off-leash experiment) is counter-productive. Try going to a large park once you have mastered "sit" and "stay". Thereafter, place your dog in a firm stay and slowly pace away. Once you think you are at your dog's limit, wait three seconds and command "{name}, COME!". Your dog will then HAPPILY run to you and recieve their treat. Praise "good come, good boy / girl / name".

Repeat this as often as you can for weeks. Do it in the house (at dinner time, for example). Never use the word in such a way that you will have to repeat yourself, or in such a way that it's optional. For example, if my dog's playing with something, I would not say "come" untill he notices I have a treat and is already coming toward me. Of course, I forget this all the time, but we have to do our best for our little friends, right?

Once your dog reliably comes, you can take it into the real world. Go on a long flexi lead and let your pup have the run of its length. When they are busilly sniffing some neighbor's door step and you are ready to move on, call their name and hold up a treat...As they begin to come to check out your treat say "name, COME!" in a happy voice. Eventually they will learn to drop what they are doing when the command is issued.

I also do "come" drills when we go to the dog park. It only takes five minutes a day for me to reinforce the msot important command in his vocabulary. If it takes a million times, it is still worth it. This command litterally saves the dogs life.

One example being that My door one night had not properly closed. I was shocked to hear screatching tires and my dog's barking outside. I ran to the door, discovered it was open, and chewy was nowhere in sight.

"Chewy COME!" I yelled twice. I could hear him coming from blocks away. When he finally appeared, in a full run as happy as could be, I gave him lots of treats and praise.

A dog trained to come where only punishment is used, would not have done this. Come should be a happy word that is drilled in through firm training.

Good luck and have fun!

Very good advice from Hamoth!

The first thing I taught my puppy is "come" and I must say he is extremely reliable with it. {I'm aware, though, that it may go out the window when puberty hits!}. "Come" always, always, always means "Mom has a wonderful treat for you". I started it from 2 feet away when he could see the treat, gradually extending the distance. When he was reliable with that, I started adding in distractions.

One tip I read somewhere about the "come" command that I found helpful was that he doesn't get the treat until he has stood still in front of me long enough for me to hold onto his collar. You don't want to teach
them that they get rewarded for come and can then run off again.

I'm going to try the antiperspirant as a chewing deterrent! The commercial sprays work well but require frequent reapplication.

Now if we could just get housebreaking down... <sigh>

I have had this problem with Bell, I think one of the first posts I made here was about Bell running away.. And there I was with shoes off running like an idiot around my neighborhood, in and out of neighbors yards. Running in front of on coming cars because I didn't want her to be hit and I figured they would see me long before they would see her. And the chewing part, gosh my list is long on what Bell has destroyed in my house.

But that was a long time ago (at least it seems like a long time) and Bell doesn't destroy anything any more. She loves to run and play, so we finally fenced in the yard. She is better at he running away and not listening thing. I have tried everything except training school. I have put her on a long leash and called her and so on, She comes right away when on a leash but the minute she is off on her own shes her own dog... I'm hoping with the new found freedom of the fenced in backyard she will in time learn to come when called.
Good luck with Lexi, I'm sure all will get better! :p

hehe! those little terds know how to work our nerves! Sorry, but I had to laugh at the missle comment. Rebel is the same way if he gets the chance! :D

Now that's the best I have heard yet!!!!!

When Belle ran from me once my husband got on his 4-wheeler and chased her down. He rode behind her all the way back to the house. I was laughing so hard at the site of her running in front of him. She looked like a Bunny gone wild. She was scolded and out in her bed for time out. She knows what time-out is and she hates to be there.
Lets not kid our selves dogs are smarter than we think. They know when they are doing something they should not. That is why they crawl to you when they have done bad. My Belle will try to get away with anything she can. She is also put in time-out when she is bad; like running from me or going potty in the house. Belle is let out frequently and being the age of 2 she knows how to ask to go out, so accidents are usually not accidents, exspecially if I just had her out and then she pees on the floor.
Can you confuse them? of course exspecially if you are not consistant with your praise and your reprimands. "Spare the rod, spoil the child" applies to dogs too. I am not saying beat your dogs but a firm understanding between what is right and what is wrong wont hurt them.
Simple commmands as well as simple discipline is the key.

Another method for getting a puppy who's running away to cme to you, is to stomp at them playfully and then run AWAY from them. With Chewy, if I hide behind a tree and peer at him (like I'm stalking him), call his name and hide back behind the treee, and otherwise make a game of it, he'll happily chase me or out me from my hiding place.

It can be hit or miss with this one, but it's saved my butt a few times.

Awwww - Heah, fly swatter, toilet paper roll, whatever....All of us who know you well will realize you would never ever hurt Lexi. However, us woman too of that "special" age so much understand Menopause, LOL!!

Now, Lexi, you be a good girl!!!!!!! :p

Such Good Advise
 

[QUOTE=Hamoth]My thought also...

I've got Chewy to be pretty reliable off-leash (there's still incidents). But for the most part, he respects my command "come".

This has taken a lot of work. The first rule is to make sure that you never use your dogs name, or the "come" command to lure them into punishment. Come should always be rewarded with praise and treats and goodness. There's no way to appropriately punish a dog for running away.

To chase is a game.

To punish them once you catch them is confusing. They have no idea why they are in trouble.

This is such good advise and so true. I don't believe in hitting adults,
children or dogs. All it takes is a little obedience training. You don't
have to go into major obedience but every dog should know "Stay"
( which I feel is the most important ) and "Come" it will save their
lives. If they trust their owner the job is alot easier. If people don't
have obedience classes in their area there are many excellent books
you can get from the library. I know you feel, that a little bit of news
paper doesn't hurt them but it's your aggressive movement towards
them that they remember and they are not quite sure what it's all
about. Your post was so funny though and I know it can be a pain
until you have things under control. :aimeeyork