Barney is annoying me...what can I do to stop it?
Barney has been annoying me lately and I don't know what to do to stop it (on my end!). He won't leave the baby's highchair area while she's eating and pushes me out of the way, so I can't get to her (he's trying to scavenge). So I end up getting annoyed and yell at him. He keeps running in to me with his cone (not on purpose, of course--or is it?!  ) which annoys me.
He won't go outside for AM call. So I've left him in the last 2 days with a stern, You better not pee! lecture. This annoys me because I'm always in a rush in the morning and can't spend 10 minutes trying to reason with my dog that it's a good idea to go outside and pee. Whenever he's not wearing his cone he won't listen AT ALL when I tell him to stop biting/scratching/chewing himself. All these are behaviors he's always had, but usually not this bad or all at once. I just feel bad because it makes me not want to cuddle him as much.  |
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| I just want to say I understand. Before kids, our animals were our babies. The older our REAL kids get, the more annoying our "pets" get. We still love them so much and will do anything for them, but a lot of things that used to be okay are definitely more annoying now for both Mr. J and I. .....which like you, makes us feel bad esp. when Yuki may just be trying to love on us, but we're not wanting it at that moment. |
I remember when Ru stopped peeing so much & it really worried me at first. Now he only goes 3 times a day and his last one is as early as 8pm 
I think you need to put him in a seperate room while you are feeding the baby, if he's pushing you out the way and won't listen to you, he MAY at some point snap to defend his scraps, obviously you don't want him getting like that around the baby. I would remove the dog from this situation. What is the cause of the scratching? Is he on treatment? Is that why he is wearing a cone? |
| We're working on figuring out how to set up a Barney zone with gates. Our whole bottom floor is open, so he'd either need to be in the bathroom or outside, but not in this heat!
I make sure to keep her away from him when he's around food, and we're trying to keep him away from her too. He usually only pees twice a day, and now these past 2 days it'll be once! He's fine...he never has accidents. I would think the weather is cool enough still in the morning to not make heat the reason he won't go. I think he just is being stubborn and doesn't want to go. And I'm always thinking it's his hips, since he has to walk down a lot of stairs to get to the grass, but he has been fine on our evening walks, as far as I can tell.
We're still not 100% sure of the itching, but yes, that's why he's wearing a cone. Brand new one, too...snazzy blue. |
| The fact that Barney won't leave the high chair really gets me. What a walking advertisement for a reason to train your dog. I don't mean it in a mean way to you, just why should you live with the frustration of that behavior?? It would annoy me to no end if one of my dogs did that.
As posted, it very easily could lead to resource guarding and all sorts of really bad behaviors - NOT what you want happening. Teaching a down/stay, the leave it command, or staying out of the dining area (harder w/ an open floorplan - no visible boundary for Barney) are all good options. If that isn't possible for you, I would remove him physically - in another room, either gated or with a door. Make it as pleasant as possible - a kong stuffed with goodies or a special chew he only gets when he is there. Having my daughter's family living with us, I am again in that stage of having a highchair in our dining area. All 7 dogs (my 5, their Martha and the foster basset who is 1 and has had no structure or training in his short life) know to leave Will alone. We use "leave it" at our house. Martha gets to lick out the seat after Will is done - it's her baby after all! 
You mentioned Barney is licking more - is he more flared up, or is it a stress type reaction to life changes?? maybe a case of the chicken or the egg - which came 1st?  |
| I second the down/stay!! Try putting a bed in the kitchen and having him lay down there the entire time the baby is eating, when he goes there give him a treat, and then give him another treat when the babe is done eating. Down/stay takes time and patience to teach, but to me it is one of the most valuable tools a dog owner can have.
As far as the peeing goes, is Barney on any new medication? Sometimes various meds can make them pee more or less frequently. Also, try to make sure he is drinking enough water and staying hydrated in the heat. Good luck! |
| It is not fair to Barney to expect him to understand that you don't want him around the high chair when he has never had that sort of boundary before. But Dawn is absolutely right about the training.
Nothing worthwhile is ever easy. But you love Barney and the best thing for him is to teach him a down/stay when your daughter is in the high chair. It is very hard to consistently train a dog when you are busy raising (and training ) children. I know because I have been there - my dog now is much better trained than the dog the kids grew up with mainly because nobody wanted to take the time to deal with it.
Retraining is a pain but definitely possible. I am working on obedience skills with Harry to help him master his agility and it really is working. It is just a case of making it clear that "when I say Down, I mean Down". You are so smart to question this now and do what is in your whole family's best interest. Remember the better behaved your dog is the happier everyone in the house will be. Good luck. |
| Take a deep breath and realize you haven't set boudaries with Barney and the baby. So of course B considers the little one just part of the pack. You need to calmly instruct Barney what to do now.
He has to learn the baby is his boss, not another puppy. In other words, don't yell or scold, calmy teach him. Down/stay or move to another room or kennel with a treat until the small upright is finished. Walks (OK, when it's cooler) with baby in stroller and Barney behind the stroller, not in front or to the side. Baby gets attention, then Barney gets attention......don't forget Barney, he has to be loved too, but just after baby. B is confused too. Time for education. |
| One of our most useful commands is "Place". We have several "Places" in the house; the dogs' bed, their crate and 2 sofa's are all "Place". When I want Tonks and Luna out from underfoot; I tell them to go to their "Place". If I want them to go to a specific place, I either point and say "Place" or they know the command "kitchen" and then I tell them to go to "Place" (that's where the dog bed and crate are).
If you train Barney to go to a "Place" while feeding the baby; I would start by having the place be within view, and give him a treat while in his place. That way he doesn't feel ostracized in favor of the baby, AND he still gets to have something yummy. If he's not likely to stay on his place (that can be combo command of "Place" and "Down/Stay"; but if you train him to, "Place" can mean "Stay there until I release you") then you may want to try first training him to a place outside of the area where you feed the baby, so the visual temptation is gone. This can help in two ways; first you are training Barney to get out from under-foot by giving him direction in where to go. Second, if Barney is feeling a bit left out with the new baby in the picture, training is a great way to say "hey, lets spend one on one time working together". If there are treats and lots of praise involved, it could really help Barney feel good. A side note? I LOVE the "Place" command; its has so many uses! After it, one of my faves is "Leave it" which is sort of an all encompassing "stop whatever it is you are doing" command. Tonks has a tendency to chew on herself, and I accidentally found myself telling her to "leave it"; when "it" was her own paws! And it worked!!! |
| The advice you have gotten about training is gospel, but it sounds like you are pressed right now and this might not be the best time to attempt to try to retrain bad habits.
Were it me, I would remove the dog before you feed the baby. I don't know if Barney is crate trained or you have a space where you can leave him where he is safe. I use the bathroom for time outs and other reasons a single dog needs to be isolated. Clearly this hasn't traumatized my dog as I watched her go in there last night on her own to lay against the cool tub. As for the cone, oh dear, no wonder you are so annoyed! I hate them too, my dogs hate them but there are some alternatives. I had a dog with chronic skin issues and the dermatologist taught me to cover the itchy area with clothing. A kid's shirt/pants/socks cover the area and apparently prevent the air from reminding the dog how itchy it is. So then the dog stops licking. I have found that if the itchy area is in a place where the clothes don't fit exactly right, a couple of wraps of tape keeps it snug all day. Failing that, they do make those thick collars that prevent the dog from being able to turn his/her neck enough to chew on their body. At least that would keep you from being gored by the cone. I think it is unrealistic to try to get your dog to stop scratching/chewing by verbal command. Without knowing what the issue is, it is hard to make a recommendation. A nice soothing oatmeal bath with extensive rinsing might help - of course, benadryl might too or it may be more serious requiring cortisone shots. Depends what is wrong. I have found with sheepies that you really need to hang out with them for at least 20 minutes if potty is an issue. It is a pain, but if you can build that into your schedule before you get dressed in the morning (maybe while you are drinking your coffee, you could do it outside...) it will make you both less stressed and the function more productive. Good luck. It sounds like you have your hands full. Just try to figure out what is going to make everyone feel more calm. And it sounds like your pup is pretty miserable if he is itchy, potty reluctant and getting yelled at for things he doesn't understand. I find that time outs are beneficial to the dog. They chill out and come out of their nap time far better behaved! And it gives you a chance to regroup too!
Best of luck, ~n |
Quote: The fact that Barney won't leave the high chair really gets me. What a walking advertisement for a reason to train your dog. I don't mean it in a mean way to you, just why should you live with the frustration of that behavior?? Yeah  Laughing only because it can be insanity if you have 7 dogs around a tiny 2'x3 1/2' dinner table. NOT that mine are well behaved or well trained but when it's our dinner time here, the word is "out" and everyone quickly heads out of the kitchen. http://oesusa.com/DinnerTime.jpg I have to close the gate to the shop where Kaytee goes because she won't stay out without close supervision but the others all do. My dogs are always looking for "what's in in for me" so we trained them that they stay away from the dinner table until we've finished and cleared the table. I say "babies come" and they quickly return to the kitchen for their reward. You have to be more persistent than the dog. When first teaching it, I slap the door jamb and say "back"... if they pass it, they're returned to the area and I again do it. If there's a true threshold, I slap that instead. Quote: Whenever he's not wearing his cone he won't listen AT ALL when I tell him to stop biting/scratching/chewing himself.
It sounds like he's had long term itching. Are you applying a topical to relieve the itch when he no longer listens to the you to stop licking/chewing? It's not realistic to expect him to obey this command if the itching is intense and not relieved. The cone only acts as a barrier to prevent the action. |
| Jaci--
Yeah, I know that the cone only prevents him from licking (and even then he's gotten good about finding ways to get to the areas he wants to scratch). Nothing seems to work. Lotions or shampoos or spray or benedryl or anything. The only thing thay works are steroids. (That we've found anyway). And I totally know that he can't help himself when he's that itchy and I understand why he won't/can't listen to me then. It was just on the list of annoyances! Thanks for the advice and suggestions. We finally got the Barney zone set up this weekend. Taylor had fun waving at him from behind bars (was she behind bars or was he?). So the highchair situation is pretty much fixed. Bruises on leg are healing, so that is off the list too. He listens to DH so I've just been making him take him out in the AM (although I know this doesn't solve the issue!). Last week was just a bad week and everything was happening at once. I'm continuing to work on all these things. I know I need to get him better trained. |
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