When hyped up and wild, Nellie needs help. She has a need. Putting a lid on it merely makes it erupt somewhere else. They want something acceptable for her to vent her wildness.
Why does a young dog start jumping, grabbing clothes and causing chaos around the house?
German Shepherd Kerry is bored.
Kerry
Although it’s natural for adult dogs to sleep for up to eighteen hours a day, this is only so if the rest of the time is filled with stuff natural to the dog – and its breed. Sleep probably won’t be in long blocks of enforced inaction during the day, but dozing between doing other things.
Young dogs in particular need action and fulfilment (just like young humans) or they get bored.
Kerry is a beautiful eighteen-month-old German Shepherd living with another GSD, Lemmy, aged four. They are both gorgeous dogs with lovely, friendly basic temperaments.
Young Kerry, unfortunately, probably isn’t getting enough action in her life and she’s very easily aroused. I saw this by how the smallest thing results in her leaping at someone, me in this case – grabbing my clothes and even hair with her teeth. (more…)
The lady has bruises all up her arms and admits she’s now getting a bit scared of her adolescent dog. It’s really all to do with lack of self-control. He has no idea how to inhibit the use of his teeth – or anything else for that matter. This is little surprise considering what little the lady knows of his start in life
When people call me about their dog, they nearly always, feeling disloyal, first list their dog’s good points. They tell me that their dog is ‘perfect dog in the house’, or a ‘very loving dog’…..BUT…..and then they tell me about the difficulties they are having and the distress it is Read more
Here is fifteen-week-old Miniature Schnauzer Herbie, in his bed, surrounded by toys! What a little character! Bad advice His lady is a first-time dog owner and over some things she is being very sensible and over other things she has picked up mis-information and is following bad advice. For instance, Read more
The big problem is that the two dogs don’t understand one another. Jet will be giving all the right signals and body language that he wants to be left alone, but of course blind Max can’t read them. Jet can’t know this.
Pebbles is six months old. Her mother is her father’s daughter – which isn’t a good thing! This means her father, a Springer Spaniel, is her grandfather – but fortunately her grandmother was a Border Collie so there are some new genes in the mix.
Using a psychological behavioural approach throughout the evening I showed him that jumping and grabbing me was not rewarding in any way.
Bit by bit we could see him actually choosing the desired behaviour for himself. At the end of a tiring evening, instead of being shut away in his crate to bark and cry as usual, or jumping at me whenever I moved, he was lying spark out in the middle of the floor. He even ignored us walking around him.
Unfortunately too many people give up too soon – or are persuaded by well meaning ‘experts’ and ‘dog-loving friends’ that they should be taking their dogs for long walks to to tire them out.
Would you put a disturbed or hyperactive child on a treadmill to tire him into compliance? No! I rest my case.
Yesterday it was a Miniature Schnauzer and today a Giant Schnauzer. Benson is very Big and very regal. He is magnificent – a really lovely boy, and a teenager. He runs the show. After being let outside in the morning he runs upstairs and leaps all over people in bed, Read more