My dog is demanding my attention all the time...Help!
I just joined these forums today and I'm just blown away by the fact that there is such a large OES community online. I have a 11 month old male sheepdog and he has truely been a joy to have. He is a great addition to the family and I can't remember what life was like without him. Over the last few months however, hes been..... well..... a kind of pain in the butt  . Hes been getting into this habit of releasing all of his energy at night and he "hits" us with his paws when he wants attention. He also cries when he wants someone to pet him and he scratches things with his paws.
He acts like hes being neglected, when he is far from it. I take him and my Bichon Frise for a 40 min. walk every day, play with him throughout the day, and he gets all sorts of love and attention. We did do obedience training when he was a puppy, but unfortunatly we didn't really have the time to properly train him at home along with his weekly lessons. Can anyone here offer me suggestions of what to do? I know there are so many people online who give the usual " I have problem X please provide a solutiion", but I have exhausted all my other options. Thanks to all in advance!!! ~Joe |
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| Hello, Joe!!! Welcome from St. Louis!!!!
LOL....  No suggestions except maybe get him into obiediance class so you can train the bad habits out of him..
actually, he sounds like a typical 11 months old, full of energy and spunk!!!! Don't forget to post some pictures of your boy...we all love pictures here. |
sheepieshake wrote: Hello, Joe!!! Welcome from St. Louis!!!!
LOL.... No suggestions except maybe get him into obiediance class so you can train the bad habits out of him..actually, he sounds like a typical 11 months old, full of energy and spunk!!!! Don't forget to post some pictures of your boy...we all love pictures here. Yeah. We were considering starting obedience training again but this time we'll just do it at home. Iv'e been trying to get a picture as my avatar but I can't  . |
| Welcome to the community!
A lot of members will surely chime in on this issue, as being extremely people oriented and needy for attention is a common trait with sheepdogs. My wife still likes to occasionally wear pants that our first dog wore out pawing her just above the knee, in a diagonal line. It's very funny, sort of, that he wore out several pairs in exactly the same way. Our current dog also demands attention constantly. The behavious does calm down with consistency in telling him to "go away" or "leave mommy alone" and ignoring the behavior. If it is driving you nuts, in MY OPINION you can NEVER respond to it by giving him what he wants. I would only give him contact after he sits and leaves you alone. So perhaps the first command he needs to learn is.... sit! 
Others might suggest that just giving him attention and telling him to sit at that point would be harmful, and that he should be completely ignored while exhibiting that behavior, but I wouldn't know how to make that work myself. Maybe someone can clue me in on how to do it that way! It might work better! |
| Hi, Most of mine were like that when they were young, I found that if I shifted one of the walks to the evening at the time they started acting up, it helped a lot. Make that the longer walk and take a ball or something to help tire him out. He will grow out of it but at the moment he is going through his teenage pest years. |
| WELCOME!!!!!!!!!!!
EXERCISE EXERCISE EXERCISE!! Many people underestimate the amount of exercise these guys need. But they are very "attached dogs" and you will never change that. |
| Attached! We'e always said that they were 'velcro' dogs. Bella wants to be attached to both Rosemary and me at the same time. This becomes a problem for her when one of us is upstairs and the other is downstairs. It does give her a lot of excercise though. |
| My dog used to BARK BARK BARK everynight. Right in my husbands face. We tried ignoring, playing and walking I was at my wits end!! Then she hit 3yrs old. I have to say I now have a big difference. Now she barks only when the kids are horsing around or my hubby is tickeling them. THANK GOD. That evey night barking was crazy. |
So, who is training who?  I agree with Ginny, exercise is VERY important. "A tired puppy is a good puppy!"
When he paws you, you can tell him "No" with a firm voice and the second he stops and looks at you, praise him and give him attention. He has to associate that pawing is not going to give him your attention but sitting nicely and quietly will. This also means you have to pay attention to him and when he is lying or sitting down, you need to praise him! Have you considered crate training him? It's never too late and you could have him in his crate at night so he can't "hit" you. Obedience training will not change him if you don't practice it at home every single day! So, it's really you who could change his behavior. Make sure to be consistent! He will be as consistent as you are! If you say "No" to him, make sure everybody else in the family says "no" too. Good luck! |
| We too have the pawing and the velcro girls. I don't see my girls all day so I don't mind the attention at night and on weekends. Enjoy your puppy!!!! |
Samson24 wrote: Can anyone here offer me suggestions of what to do?
Okay, you asked (silly Joe!)
First, pick up a copy of The Dog Listener (Jan Fennell, HarperCollins, 2004) and read it. Twice, if you have to. Follow her suggestions ... they work! Second, be the Alpha. Your dogs will be much happier that way  |
| Hi Joe, and welcome (from Chicago!) An 11 month old sheepie, is like an adolencent boy. He will push, push and then push some more. He is testing the waters. Whos the boss? You really need to get him into a structured class. And (agreeing with the others) work his tush til his dog tired! Lots of ball, lots of walking/running. On nights you don't have class, practice. You need to establish yourself now as kingpin. But all of that aside, this is great fun time to be a dog. So don't forget to be silly and play with him!!! Welcome, again. |
| I agree with a lot of what has been said. Even more exercise is probably a good thing! Mental stiumalation is an excellent thing - do you use Kongs?
AND - is he neutered? |
| hello please help with sugestions i have a 10yr old golden retriever and he demands my attention all the time when my grandson comes to visit or i play with my cats he get really jelious and jumps crys and gets in the middle of my grandson and i playimg you cant even talk to any other animal or kids |
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