Hi! Maybe some of you remember me from my introduction. I have a working breed lab named Nero. He is now 7 months old. I think he on a general basis is a very good boy. He sleeps through the night (Atleast to 6AM when the wife wakes up), and he has not had any accidents inside since he was 12 weeks old or something. We train him every week at the local retriever club, and he knows how to sit, lay down, give paw, search and also starting to get a okay recall. However. While i feel i have good control of him at home, he seems to test the limits with the wife. For several months now he has been snapping at fingers and feets and does not seem to stop when told to. He actually gets more elevated by telling him to stop or push him away. He does not bite to harm, he is just toying with her. The only thing that helps is to hold him for a while and hope he calms down. We have tried several things. Both voice and a little physical punishment (Not very hard), holding him and so on. Nothing seems to help. Any tips here? Is this normal behaviour? If he gets over excited i have to stand up and look at him and sa no, then he backs of her. He knows i'm the "boss". Often he gets in this mood when he dosn't get what he wants. Like not be allowed to chew at something, meet another dog etc. Oh. And i will try to put out some more pictures of him here so you can se how he has grown
Re: Nero not listening to the wife Nice to hear from you again look forward to seeing some photos Your wife will need to go back to basics from when he was at his bites stage - stand up, no interaction until he stops. Worse case, put him in a time out to calm down. By pushing him away, using your hands he will think it's a game so will continue. Hope this helps a bit
Re: Nero not listening to the wife "The" wife! Who is she "the" wife of? Perhaps the dog is confused and doesn't know that she is a member of your pack.
Re: Nero not listening to the wife Do you have a small room like a laundry or bathroom that you can use for time outs? When he does his shark impersonation, calmly say 'time out' and gently lead him by the collar to the designated room. Shut the door and leave him in there for 30 seconds (or until quiet). Let him out without any fuss. That kind of approach is not exciting like pushing and yelling which just make him think that you have finally cottoned on and joined in the game! A calm approach is the way to go. It is normal behaviour for a young dog (and it's normal for it to happen when he's a bit frustrated from not getting what he wants). Make sure he has plenty of opportunity for legitimate fun and activity with the both of you. The weekly training is a great start. Also take him out as many places as possible to give him plenty to think about. I will add that I do not believe that he is 'testing limits' with your wife. Are you the one who stands up in a 'threatening' way and who delivers the punishment (however mild)? If so, Nero is probably targeting your wife for play as she is appears to be more friendly. I doubt he sees you as the boss, just the one that is slightly more scary and unpredictable. Please don't be offended by that but it is probably the way he sees it. He's just a puppy. They don't have concepts of boss or leaders or hierarchies. He is just a baby out to have a good time, that's all
Re: Nero not listening to the wife Thank you for your inputs. Yes, we can use the bathroom, and will try that aproach I'm not offended by that, but you'r probably right. I'm at least more strict with him when he tries something he's not allowed to, and the wife is maybe more kind and mildly pushes him away. I totally agree with you that her response may seem like play to him, so i've tried to tell her. Also the body language and energy i think is very important as you say. We will try this from now and see how it goes Yep. I dont belive in harsh punishment, but i have given him mild corrections some times. Thank you for good tips! Great to know that this is "normal" behaviour
Re: Nero not listening to the wife I'd also really encourage your wife to do some more exciting things with him on the training front, to increase their bond together. If he likes retrieving, encourage her to do some dummy (or other retrieving toy) training with him, or get her to try 'seek' games either in the house or out in the garden. I think that playing these kind of training games, which get him to use his brain, will mean that he naturally learns to listen to her commands more. Also, it sometimes seems to me that women talk in a more high-pitched and 'chirpy' type of voice with dogs than men, and that somehow young dogs in particular take this to be an encouragement to play. Just a couple of thoughts from my own experience, although I realize each dog, and each family dynamic, is different!
Re: Nero not listening to the wife That is definitely true about the voice difference. We all understand how trying young dogs can be at times Just when you want to relax they're nicking your running shoes and humping the sofa cushions The pushing away is something he'd see as play for sure. He probably loves it and sees it as a great mutual game that your wife is heartily enjoying as much as he is (except she understandably isn't!). You may find that he starts to try to evade capture when you go to give him a time out. If that happens, just leave him and move to another room yourselves and shut the door. The net result will be the same - he loses your attention when he is too rough.
Re: Nero not listening to the wife Just wanted to emphasise this. Dogs use pushing and pulling a lot in play, and do not recognise it as a signal to end the game. HOW TO END A GAME Dogs signal the end of the game by standing up tall, stiff front legs, and not responding in any way. They never push or pull if they don't want to play, and they never run. To end a game with a young dog, stand like a tree with stiff, straight legs. If he does not quickly back off, put him in time out, if he is a 'nipper' and tries to bite or nip when you take his collar, put him on a house line. Place any food rewards on the floor so that he does not jump up at your hands to get them.
