Acting Up
But now he has taken it to another level. He still plays the stubborn card with me but goes in, but when my girlfriend now tries to put him in the crate when I am not there, he growls, and even snaps ( I have not witnessed the snapping though). Not acceptable. I am of the mindset that he believes he is the alpha of the two and just staking his claim on that title. My thought is to have her put him in the crate when I am there so he can associate us both as "the boss" or alpha. But outside that I have no other ideas. Anyone have any thoughts on my trainig method or have any other thoughts to offer. Thanks. |
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| Yes, good idea to have you both there when it's crate time. Then when he acts up, let her scold. The pup will look to you, but keep quiet, just be right there. If it escalates, you may have to assist........once only. This is typical dog adolescent behavior........most go thru it. I associate it with the brain disappearing for awhile, but it does come back.
Also let your girl friend train the pup, giving rewards. He needs to learn he is truly #3. |
| Great advice! Thank you!
I think I still have lost my brain too, though adolesence was a long time ago. |
| Hi El Gato, We had a crate problem during the day and we did not give in and we got Oreo in his crate. At night he would run to his crate and get his good night cookie and some good wishes from me. They are teen agers. I have CRS can't remember stuff!!!! Good luck stay firm and things will work out. |
| I agree with sheepieboss - your girfriend needs to get involved in his training!
Also -you should try and persuade him into the crate with treats and/or a Kong or something - rather than force him in. The crate should never be used as a punishment either - or he will always associate it that way. |
| When we have long term visitors (Kids!) we always reinforce the rules os it's clear that they are above our doggies. Positive training, teaching commands and treats are the way to go to let the dogs know that they must obey.
Involving your girlfriend in the training sessions and bonding with your sheepie will eventually help the acting up to dissapear. |
| Thanks everyone. He is a stubborn boy these days.
He has always been given a treat when he goes in his crate. But always been disinterested while I am still there. Now, he even just spits the treat out when I give it tyo him. Obviously he is not like me because I would never spit out a cookie! With me I never have had to "force" him into the crate. But he def. needs a nudge or a little support these days to get going. I just think he doesn't want to go in because he knows I am going out and he likes the arraingemenmt of being out most of the time. Will work with him and my girlfriend, stay strong, hunker down and hopefully and come out successful. Maybe I will add something special for him when he goes in that he doesn't get normally. |
Sydney does the same thing when she's annoyed that she's not coming with me! She doesn't ever get "aggressive" or growly - but she can certainly get an attitude and the cookie is spit right out of her mouth! Now that she's not in her crate anymore - she sometimes flings herself at the front door and sadly looks out the window as I pull out of the driveway! 
SPOILED ROTTEN!!!!! 
Kristen |
| Is he ever going to be a full time house dog ( not in crate) ?? If he is being good , why not let him out for short periods of time and see how he does. He might make a good couch potato. |
Big Ben actually was aggressive with going in the crate at about 2 years old. It was a surprise, he always had liked going in and nothing different had changed, or so we thought. One night before bed we put him in the crate and got a little growl. We went into the bedroom only to hear him whining and scratching to get out. We snuck out to see what the commotion was without Ben seeing us. Turned out the cat had decided to lie down right in front of the crate and was horribly antagonizing him. I guess Ben was getting fed up with being crated during the work day and at night and having his 'brother' gloat in freedom.  We made some changes and slowly weened him from the crate to the garage and from the garage to our master bathroom. Just this week at 5.5 years old he has gotten free run of the house while we are at work. He's probably saying to our cat Fletch, "Who's gloating now? I'm free!" |
| Ooops, that was me! |
| 11 months old.
Hummmm! Not quite a teenager yet, but perhaps ahead for his age! Think how kids and teens will test you, your dog will too. When ever you are seeing a change, think how old in people years and you may have your answer. Just a thought! |
TylersMom wrote: 11 months old.
Hummmm! Not quite a teenager yet, but perhaps ahead for his age! Think how kids and teens will test you, your dog will too. When ever you are seeing a change, think how old in people years and you may have your answer. Just a thought! I totally agree with this. He is def. pushing his boundaries these days on every front. Not too much of a big deal since he has been a handful since he was a little puppy. I guess we have to be a little more mindful of consistent correction again. Thanks again for everyone's help. He's been good for me this week going in his crate (not happy, but no outward push towards me). We'll see what happens this weekend. |
| Hi,
Although I've never crate trained Merlin I too noticed a change in his behavior at aprox 11 months old...Testing ...Testing ...Testing. It's like everything he learned previously on good manners went out the window in a matter of days. I had taken him to the dog park since 11 wks of age daily, when suddenly he became rather bossy with the other dogs. I remember reading that dogs will definately try to dominate and test during the ages of 9 months to 12...so hang in there and hopefully he'll know who's boss in your household. Marianne |
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