The long arm of the LAW

[Zeus11/99]

Hello all, Been a long time since I have posted and shame on me for also being a long itme since I have read the board. I enjoy the posts and all the articles are very informative. Zeus is now about 2 and a half years old and has a good level of training. Zeus is a great dog but has a strong wanting for attention. He also knows when a correction can be enforced or when he can get away with it. This is what i need help with. Ie..Lets say I'm watching the television and Zeus is sitting in the living room with me working on one of his many chew toys. All of a sudden he is done and now wants to play with the area rug (a nono). If I stand to correct him (verbal) he either continues to play with it or goes into what i like to call "hissy fits" which involves him running around the house growling and scratching at the floor. I then wait untill the fit is over put him in a sit position in front of me and its all over. Occasionally He'll mouth as he's passing by running and I know that this is way of challenging the correction. *Whew* here comes the question. How can I either A. Correct him long distance or B. Teach him once and for all the the rugs are a nono. ????

Any help would be greatly appreciateda and I await your responses..

[Bruce Lanthier]

When he starts to do the wrong thing call him to you and make him sit then. If he has responded well to the good level of training he has had then he will come over and sit. If he ignores your recall then you will need to work on his training a little more.

[LavenderRott]

This one is gonna get me in lots of trouble but here goes.

I had a friend in Germany that had GSD's that she bred on occasion. She used this very simple method when there were puppies in the house.

Take several empty pop cans and fill them about 1/4 full with popcorn kernels. Tape the opening shut. Place the cans stategically around the house, places where you sit when the pup manages to do those things that he knows he can get away with.

The next time he grabs a hold of that rug, lob a can in his direction. The trick is to not hit the dog, but get the can close, and not let him know where the can came from. The popcorn rattling inside startles him and makes him stop. Then you can go in and make a correction.

Oliver got it good a couple of times with a spray bottle of water. That might be an option also.

Good Luck.

[BIGWRIGHT]

Ok here's my own thing about correction one I don't allow the hissy fits because they are to me signs of challenge or unwanted pent up aggression. Most o fthe time it's nothing serious and you can just call it adolescent blues but when destroying property come along that an be more of a problem than you may want. My personal way of handling things is swift and to the point. First thing is put hi sprong collar on if you have one and a two foot leash when he does something that you don't like i.e. chewing furniture I get up say "OUT" strongly and then give him a pull on the two foot lead. Their is nothing cruel about this I use this method on all my dogs and after that I never have to get up and all I have to say is a loud OUT and that's it no matter what is going on they drop it. I start doing this when they are young about 6 - 9 months old and it usually works for the rest of their life. It's a helpful method because you can use this with almost anything believe me it works the drop everything like they never even cared in the first place. Try it and let me know how it works.

[Mattweiser]

I throw anything that I can get my hands on quckly, not anything heavy obviously. but something like the cans would be a great idea...

the other idea is a squirt bottle with 50/50 vinegar and water...

yet another choice... brace yourselves... is an e-collar....

the key here is suprise, not pain..... the suprise works 50 times better than any level of correction... if you can properly startle the dog, along with a nice verbal correction.. the lesson sticks better