Two Great Pyrenees and a Jack Russell Terrier (who is also the chew toy/BFF of the 2yo GP). BTW, when they ‘play’ together, that just results in a JRT covered head to toe in slobber and doesn’t take care of the GP’s chewing needs.
I’m still trying to imagine how I can hang hand towels around the farm and teach them to wipe their face. With my luck, the hand towels would all get used as nesting materials by the local bird population.
Barking at everyone who comes near the house, including me. I know, dogs bark. But why? If I’m already alerted to the UPS truck, just be quiet.
Growling at dogs on the TV. It started when I was watching “Bolt” of all things. Now any dog on the TV causes growling, then he realizes he’s not supposed to do that and it turns into squeaky whining. Looking behind the TV for when the dog went, etc.
I just realized the towel thing won’t work. My dog eats towels too. Anything made of fabric must be shredded immediately.
You have a door bell on the inside? Was it installed just for the dog?
Our dog, such a good boy otherwise, likes to chew the crotches out of any underwear (female) he can find, then leave the shredded scraps as evidence. I can see his work when I am picking up after him outside - the fabric is in his stools. He also likes to eat toilet paper right off the roll (like the Coneheads). Both these issues are managed by controlling his access to these materials, but sometimes people forget.
That, and licking his empty ball-sacks in the middle of the night (sluurp, sluurp…) are the only things that bother me. He really is a nice boy.
I suppose then you have a few steps prior to the towel thing, since you’re going to have to train your dog to not be destructive. The key there is basically entrapment. Start by making him sit, then get something he likes to tear up, like a towel. Throw it like it’s a ball or something fun and as soon as he moves, stomp forward, clap loudly, and point back down to sitting. The whole point of this is to shock him back from OMG TOWEL!!! mode back into obedient dog mode. You don’t need to say anything. It might take a few tries, but he’ll get it.
After he gets that, you’ll need to be a little more tricky with your deceptions. One trick might be to leave a towel somewhere he can get to it. . .then wait. As soon as he moves toward it, jump out, stomp, clap, and make him sit. If you ever miss it and you find him with the towel in his mouth, do the stomp clap, take the towel away, and make him lay down. He needs to learn that he can only touch towels when you say it’s ok.
My dad’s puppies had this horrible habit of getting out under the back fence. I basically followed what I described above-- culminating with me hiding in the kitchen, waiting for them to move toward the fence, then me flying out at them. After a very short while, your dogs will think you are omniscient and stop being jerks. After all, they really do want to make you happy.
Thanks, Diosa! We will get right to work on that!
I’m assuming this same technique will work for all the crap she tries to destroy. Wait til she goes for it, startle her with a no, put her in sit-stay. I will have to change up my attention-getting noises as she gets onto me with a couple repetitions and stops responding.
Absolutely. And I should note: this is everything I learned from my magical dog trainer, so I’m just sharing because it has worked so darned well for me.
Another key thing is making sure she gets a good walk each day-- if she’s a bigger dog or just has a ton of energy, a back pack is a great way to give her a “job” and get her exhausted faster. You can even put water bottles in the backpack to weigh her down a little bit. I got my dog a backpack off of Amazon for like, $25 and she LOVES it. I mean, not at first, but she loves it now. Plus! I don’t have to carry the potty bags. Win win.
The trainer emphasized to me that the most important thing, above all else, is that your dog understands they need to be able to control themselves and ignore everything but you. That’s the ultimate thing you’re working toward. So, I’ll often line my dogs up out in the yard, then grab their favorite toys and throw them. At first, they try to chase, but they quickly learn that they have to sit still and look at you, ignoring everything else. It’s a great lil’ exercise.
For what it’s worth, my trainer said that the best time to do the obedience work is after the walk. She had me walk my dogs, let them come in and get drinks, then they have to lay on their bed for 20 minutes. They can’t get off the bed during that time and if they do, I gently grab their collars and put them back on the beds without saying a word. Quickly, they are realizing that they are gaining no ground and just relax. After the 20 minutes is up, then you can move into training mode (which never really stops, but I mean, that’s when you’re getting the most bang for your buck).
Also, the trainer emphasized that you should try to not use the dog’s name for sad things. For instance, if the dog is being corrected for something, don’t shout: “BOWSER, NO!” Instead, just say no. Their name should be something they associate with happy things, that way your life will be much easier when you try to call them to come to you later heh.
Bah, I’m rambling. I hope that helps though!
This. Anal gland “attention” (really, really close attention) while on the couch or the bed. Especially on my pillow. Assfish is exactly what that is.
Next would be the hornking (coughing or reverse sneezing) that the small one does. She sounds like a 200-lb man with severe post-nasal drip and no inhibitions.
And bringing up the rear, the relentless hunt and eventual apprehension and consumption of cat poop on our daily walks.
my room mates dog yodels, or does a damn good imitation of a really bad yodel anyway. evidently they were tired of her barking her brains out when they came home so they got her a shock collar that would go off whenever she barked…took her less than a week to figure out that she could make any noise in the world and not get shocked so long as that noise was not a bark.
its really strange.