| First off.... your dog is not doing things because she knows it bothers you... she is digging things out of the trash because she is a dog.... stop taking these "transgressions" personally!!
Secondly, if you are spending more than 3 seconds "scolding" your dog... you are not disciplining it.... you are enagaged in a battle, and Alpha dogs don't have battles, because they don't have to...
The only exception to that is if the dog is actually trying to displace you position, and therby elevate her own postion... but from what you have posted, I would doubt that this is the case..
If she is barking back at you, she probably thinks that you are playing with her.. in fact, if she seems to be purposly digging in the trash, she may very well be doing that, simply to initiate "play" with you....
another thing to consider, is that if (big if) she is trying to displace you.. you might want to reconsider your current method of rank assurance... this yelling/barking, and staring could lead to a more physical confrontation, if that is in fact her desire
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-Matt |