Advice needed again..please

[JaniceH]

Sorry for keep on asking for your advice, but I just want to do the right thing.

Teazle is 6 1/2 months now and she has developed a trait which I don't like.

As I work all day (I do go to her at lunch time and take her for a walk), my evenings are for her, another walk, playing, training (10 - 15 minutes max), grooming, and relaxing with her as she chews a bone or chew stick.

However, nearly every evening, towards 9.00pm, she gets that devilish look in her eye and starts to bark at me, and then jumps up and nips me. She will not be distracted by another toy. I appreciate this is her way of initiating play, but I will not tolerate this type of demanding behaviour. I either ignore her and go out of the room or shut her out of the room. During this display, however, I can get her to sit or go into a down, but she only calms down if I remove her or myself from the room. Is this the best way to handle this ?

Similarly, when we are out walking, if there is a safe area to let her off the lead, sometimes she gets excited and goes a bit cracker dog (I think you call them zoomies). She has now started to again, leap at me and nip me. In this instance, all I can do is turn my back on her and stand still until she calms down. That way she learns that we don't continue with the walk if she does this. Alternatively, I can just make her sit and put her back on the lead. Which, if any of them are correct to do, would be the best to teach her that this behaviour is a no no ? Is there anything different I should be doing ?

I am feeling a bit negative at the moment because I seem to be having to be enforcing rules quite a lot. I am a little afraid that she will view me as a school mistress rather than someone to love, which I know sounds a bit sad. I love her very much and she is a good puppy, but doesn't seem to return it which I think is my fault because I am firm with her, although I do pet and play with her a lot.

I must add that the leaping up and nipping me DOES NOT happen when she greets me. Her greeting are always quiet, 4 feet on the ground and gentle (unlike her very enthusiastic greeting of visitors).

Oh she does go to dog classes too and after puppy classes finished the trainer actually said he wanted us to move into the next class as she has potential.

I am also working on her mouthy ways, thanks to previous advice given on the forum. Is this a "brattish" stage she is going through ?

On a more positive note, Teazle had started to jump up at people in the street who stopped to talk to us. This weekend I have actually stopped people in the village (strangers) and after explaining I was teaching my pup to have better manners, I made Teazle sit calmly whilst we chatted about nothing for a minute or two. Hard work at first, but she was doing very well by the end of the weekend.

I am sorry this is a bit long, but I really wanted to try and get a few things off my chest since I am feeling a bit low after the weekend.

Your advice would be really appreciated.

[Judi W]

It doesn't matter if she sees you as the school mistress. Seeing you as one to respect will build a proper bonding. Someone is going to lead the dance in this relationship and it had best be you.

I'd be inclined to snap on the leash and do some brisk heeling and sits and downs when she gets bratty. Even in the late evenings, this can be done in the house. If you are still working on a flat buckle collar, you might consider that she is getting old enough for a training collar that allows you to pop on a few corrections as needed.

[JaniceH]

Thank you Judi,

I have no intention of letting Teazle "lead the dance" as you say, but I want to make sure I lead correctly.

Next time she does this I will do as you suggest. When you mention training collar, the only other collar I have which I have not used in years, is a choke chain which I would not have thought suitable for a puppy. I do have a leather slip collar though which might fit her. Do you think this would suffice ?

What did you think of my current methods to manage the behaviour ? Will it be best now to simply take her through the heel work, sits and downs each time she is a brat ?

[Judi W]

Well, ignoring her does not inform her that you disapprove of what she is doing. Not all behavior goes away just because it is ignored as it is self rewarding. I am a believer of being honest with the dog and letting it know when something is not acceptable to me as well as when something pleases me.

She is not longer a baby pup, but a youngster. I usually have a training/slip collar on my youngsters by this age. I use chain collars for training.

[JaniceH]

I never thought about the "self rewarding" angle.

Thanks Judi, again I have learnt something from you.

Actually Teazle does now wear a fabric slip collar on when she is at home. She has been wearing it for the last week. That way I can control her more if I suddenly have to.

Thank you also for your very quick replies Judy.

[vshund]

Hi Janice, it appears that Teazle is quite an energetic and charming puppy. I'd be very pleased with her personality if I were you, I enjoy the spunky aspect of this breed.

My girl Anyanka still barks at me at times and will tuck her feet underself, in a crouch and wiggle her tail furiously, ears all up front in an attempt to get me to play with her or take her for her the hike. Bruno won't get into it that heavily but he does have a cute habit of reminding me of the time each day. At promptly 8:30 a.m. I get the nose nudge into my armpit. Then he steps back, butt all wiggling with happiness and I say, "Where's your collar, where's your leash?!" and then it's off to races.

What you're seeing and experiencing is pure energy and a desire to get outside with you. I'd say she can be off lead in a safe place in public if you know she'll not run off. Mine were capable of this as puppies. I never leashed them on walks, it was all off lead with happy happy voice commands. I leash them now merely as a courtesy to fellow park goers who might be fearful of Rottweilers.

If you let her burn off that energy in running or hiking with you on weekends in open spaces like woods or forests or parks she'll be much happier during the week. That's my routine at least. I do twice daily hikes in local forests and then longer hikes lasting 2-3 hours on weekends if weather permits.

Can you let her swim this spring and summer? If you can let her do so this will produce outstanding benefits. Calmness, happiness and fun for you too. The dog will have fantastic muscle tone too. It's a great way to spend a weekend day if you can.

Hope this helps a bit.

Val P.

[JaniceH]

Hi Val,

Thank you for your reply.

I appreciate this is Teazle saying "come and play", but it is the nipping that I don't like.

There are quite a few areas where I can safely let her off the lead and she really enjoys herself. I do put her back on whenever I see other people though because she is still learning that not everyone wants to play with her.
I take her out 3 - 4 times a day, and in total she usually gets 1 1/2 hours exercise a day. However, at weekends she gets a little more, but I still have to be careful because she is only 6 1/2 months. I am lucky to have access to woods, forests and hills. As she gets older I will lengthen the walks and make them more adventurous (when she is mature she has long distance walking holidays to look forward to). You sound as though you love walking too..it's wonderful when your companion is your dog isn't it.

When the weather gets warmer I will encourage her to go into the lake which is only a few minutes from where I live. There are lots of secluded tarns (mountain lakes) here too, so I hope she will enjoy swimming.

I understand what you are saying Val, and believe me, I do want to help her spend that energy, which will be easier when she grows up and I can exercise her more. I just wasn't sure how to handle the jumping up and nipping.