Guerin in public

[MontanaRott]

We took Guerin to the vet and petsmart this weekend and he did a super job. Happy and cooperative. Our vet commented on how nice and mellow he is and easy to deal with. After the vet trip we ventured into petsmart, once again he was on his best behavior. A woman and her little girl 3 or so came up and asked if they could pet him, we said yes and he went to them and SAT! The little girl stroked him as kids will do, bam bam more then pat pat and he just sat and had no reaction. The mom said she could not believe how calm he was for such a young dog.
Then last night in puppy class he did all the exercises just fine, really keyed in on the hubby, did as he was asked no fighting or complaining(unlike last week) trainer was really happy with his performance.
Now the kicker, we go to leave and hubby puts him in the truck I was lagging behind as usual, gawking, and I opened my door to get in went to move him and he had a temper tantrum! So I grabbed him said loudly and firmly KNOCK IT OFF, which he did, he looked sheepish after. Now this is what we get good in public but when he is tired and cranky hissy fits at home. Sigh. He really is a good guy I must admit. If he argues with us a firm knock it off stops it and he is so contrite after.
There is a woman with a GSD that is 15 weeks in our class and that is such a train wreck to watch, no control at all and she grins when the dog does something and says "oh my he NEVER is like this at home" he barks pulls argues etc all through the class. That is not going to end well I am afraid.

[legalbeagle]

I'm convinced dogs have mood changes like people and will exhibit them on a daily basis. Well tempered dogs included can have 'bad days' or moments. It just happens and could be due to a lot of reasons, included sleepiness after a day of visiting, playing or training.

As for the owner laughing at her dogs misbehavior, that to me signals the dog owner is approving of the hijinx. I've seen many many parents do that with their human children - the kid acts like a total brat, the parent grins or smiles in approval while pooh-poohing the brattiness. Drives me nuts because it reinforces the bad behavior in children and dogs. I'll tell you who'd I'd like to leash sometimes. The dog owners and the parents. :D

[MontanaRott]

Amen to that. Hubby and I both wanted to go over and snatch the lead out of her hand and work with this dog. He is a nice boy for now, BIG, but he was doing things in class that she was not getting hold of that really are concerning. He really was doing alot of stuff that is puppy stuff but need a firm hand to control and stop. Otherwise I can see a bite or worse down the road and this dip going "well gosh i dont know what happened he NEVER acted like that before"
She says he is "perfect" at home and only blows her off in class, some how I doubt that. She was sitting in a chair and he BOLTED and there she flew behind him.....no training collar, just a flat because she says he doesn't like the training collar. I feel so bad for this dog. She is so concerned that people think she is cute, she really is in denial about the potential harm this dog could do to her or God forbid someone else down the road.

Yup I agree dogs have moods just like us. Guerin is SO predictable on how he will react if he is tired. He is like a sleepy 2 year old kid. GRUMPY.

[TrinityRun]

Originally posted by montanarott
Now the kicker, we go to leave and hubby puts him in the truck I was lagging behind as usual, gawking, and I opened my door to get in went to move him and he had a temper tantrum! So I grabbed him said loudly and firmly KNOCK IT OFF, which he did, he looked sheepish after. Now this is what we get good in public but when he is tired and cranky hissy fits at home. Sigh. He really is a good guy I must admit.

Doesn't sound like a good guy to me. And being contrite afterwards is more than likely because he's still young yet - just biding his time.

Misbehaving like that is BS. Look past today and look at how he'll be in the future. The fact you've mentioned he's done this before and a "knock it off" fixes it - doens't fix anything or he wouldn't do it again.

[MontanaRott]

He actually is a very nice puppy. We are WELL aware of the consequences of not staying on top of bad behavior and correcting it. He is a young dog, and he gets crabby at the end of the day, he knows bad behavior is not allowed and actually gets better everyday, due to the fact we STOP him and correct him when he is a snot. He has a very nice temperment and responds well when corrected. We do not think bad behavior is cute nor do we tolerate it. I think my post may have made it sound like we do. And frankly he is just a puppy and he is learning. I do not think his seeing what he can get away with means he is not a good guy. He is and he is learning and he, with our help, when he grows up, will be a great dog. He is quite mellow and very nice to be around.

[MontanaRott]

And I failed to clairify he is only 13 weeks old and the arguing he was doing in class last week was fighting the leash. A few days of more leash work and now he walks like a dream on it.

[MontanaRott]

And I should state that the behaviors we have corrected him for have lessoned in frequency if not stopped all together. And by hissy fits and temper tantrums I mean grumbling and complaining. NO biting or snapping. I know of no correction that works the first time so that the puppy NEVER does whatever again. But if it lessens or stops it, with no escalation of the behavior, does'nt that mean we are on the right path?