Wow... grruuuuuumpy! Insomnia or just a grump?
 It's weeeeeird. I've been trying to extend the amounts of time I keep her in her pen so she will get some sleep (normally I leave her out a lot)... but she can't. I'm not sure what to make of it. It's like she is restless and can't calm down - no matter how tired she is.
It's having a really crummy effect on her personality - as when she is normally grumpy she is tired and sleeps... now she is tired and doesn't sleep - so she is in this perpetual grumpy mood that almost makes petting her impossible. I'm not sure if it's the sleep or if she is just going through one of those stages when she is gonna be a real twirp.  |
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| Buy a rope and play tug of war for a while, get a ball let her chase it etc.. Hug her allot, while you are playing, don't allow her to bit you for any reason even play. It will scare people later on. |
| Can you take her for a real long run/walk? Might tire her out enough to get a good nap in. And remember if you play tug of war with her NEVER let her win. I have read different opinions on it, some say you shouldn't do it at all but Tasker always liked to play tug of war especially with his knot toy. Just when it was time to end I just made sure that I won. If you reach under their jaw while they have the toy and GENTLY press on either side their jaw will open and you win!
Sounds like she needs to really tire herself out to get back on track. |
| In addition to the suggestions above,
you can take her on leash and put her in a "calming circle" before you start the walk. Just walk her in a large circle for about 4- 5 minutes, then take your walk. Our trainer suggested this for when a dog is hyper, or to work off some energy before training or walks. We've had good success with this ! |
| Oh cool - I was wondering about rope toys - she has one but I only let her chew on it because I was worried it would cause aggression. I think we'll play with it today.
I tried to get her to sleep a bit longer today - it helped a little - but she is still so squirmy at night. Sometimes she acts so tired (laying down constantly, slowling her pace) when we come home from a walk that it's hard to tell if I am walking her enough or too much. Sometimes she acts really tired then squirms around in her crate. Maybe I can let her run around the lake a couple times before bed. Worth a try. |
| Or take her for a little ride, it always makes our
guy knock out cold ! |
 Err.... just got finished playing with her and the rope toy... is it natural for her to be growling at me afterwords? I didn't let her win though - so I'm not sure if she was just excited about playing with me with the rope toy or not.
She also went kinda nuts and ran all over the place.  |
| It is natural if she is saying come on lets play some more, although unusual. It is not OK for her to growl at you in an aggressive move. But for her to grrrr and jump back etc is saying I'm still ready to play. The aggression thing... I have played tug of war with every dog I have ever owned probably 10 or so. Most folks comment how well behaved etc my dogs are. I also let them win during the game I win, they win a few times, I will let them be stronger than me and pull me, then I get stronger than them and pull them. I let them race to the ball first and get it before I can get there on purpose sometimes I beat them. This is a baby or an adolesent, they aren't delusional and think they are alpha. If they exibit an alpha move I trump it with an I'm the real alpha move. Pretend alpha play is OK in my book it helps build confidence in the dog and eliminates frustration. It gives them a balanced personality a nice combination of introvert and extrovert etc. Now.... who's the boss, you are and they know it. Taskers mom is right don't let them be the boss, but don't overthink this. Treat them like a child, your child. They will treat you like the alpha, but will constantly apply for the job. When they mature you will then be the best friend, but still the boss. By the way if you haven't though of this yet Momo sounds like an alpha dog. They require strict enforcement of your rules. Your gut is right, believe me. If the growling is not appropriate then don't allow her to do it, be very very consistant with how you enforce this. By the way I have always taught my dogs to bite my hand, I hold my fingers behinfd their eye teeth and play tug of war like that. It really teaches them how to be gentle mouthed. More about that later. Got to go I'm at work.
Have Fun |
| IH, how long has it been since the guests left, and how disruptive was the visit to Momo's schedule? The first time we had out of town guests it really threw Bailey off his sleep schedule. We are real creatures of habit here, and a weekend of house guests totally upset the pattern! We had people staying up late, others got up early, there were lots of presents for Bailey and lots of extra treats, and never a "quiet" time during the day to nap. It took us several days after their departure before Bailey got back to his regular sleep habits. |
| I agree with Roger's Dad. I've read alot lately about not playing tug of war but Tasker and I always did, I just never let him get the upper hand. And yes sometimes they are a bit excited afterward but you will be able to tell the difference between excited and "aggressive". |
| Remy is not aggressive at all, and knows I am alpha. So we too play tug of war, and I do let her win, then I win ... etc.
It's fun, and a quick game to unwind..sort of |
| The thought of her being an alpha has crossed my mind - as she acts like our old doxie alpha female did. It was a little easier to control her though - since she was much smaller. Momo is huge.
Momo tries to get other bigger dogs to submit to her... I think she might be trying to get people to submit to her as well. She loves doing these random tests on me to see if I mean what I say - and I have to answer back each and every time pretty sternly so she knows I'm not just "kidding" when I told her not to do this or that. She is definitly not a roll over kind of dog.
I wasn't quite sure what kind of growling is mean growling yet (she rarely does it to me) - but she didn't bare her teeth to me that I could see... then again... she was looking down and her mouth is fluffy so I'm not too sure. They left on Sunday - and honestly - I think it was messing with both of us. Neither of us got much sleep - so I guess I can see why she would be so upset. NOW - we have people fixing our dry wall - they have been here since Monday (no breaks)   Only two days - but still...
She seems to be in a better mood today - since they didn't come until later. We both slept in until around 8:30 this morning (and she was still out like a light). When I came home this afternoon she was so groggy when I opened the cage - she just stood there while I attached the collar and actually WALKED through the house today. No pulling on the lead until she hung herself the whole way or anything. I'm thinking once they leave... we can get back to a pattern. It's been really tough though. |
| Sounds to me like she is suffering from lack of attention, since your company left. And is trying to figure out how to get more now. (missing all the extra treats, etc.) So in her confused state of mind she is trying whatever it takes to get your attention. Have you thought about ignoring her to some extent. Just like you would a child throwing a fit. And then if that fails, tan the fanny. lol I had a male years ago that couldn't stand for me to turn my back to him or raise a paper up in front of my face when he was misbehaving. He would then come to me for love and attention rather than what he was doing to cause me to turn away from him. Worked great for us. Tried it on my son once when he was a 2 - 3 year old and that was the last time he threw himself down on the floor and threw a fit. It wasn't as much fun when no one was in the room watching. And as far as tug of war goes. I had a female that I would tell her to "pull, Keshia, pull". She'd pull and then I'd tell her to drop it when I wanted her to stop. Sometimes I'd put the rope down and ghe'd get ready to get it and I'd tell her to wait, she'd leave it there and then when I got the other end I'd tell her ok, pull. Made play time fun for both of us, but by including the use of commands she knew who was the alpha was. If she ignored the rules, I'd drop the rope and sit there. She'd try placing it in my hand with begging gestures to play, so I'd have her lay down or sit, once she obeyed the play continued. Good luck. |
| Chelsea has a very similar response when my parents come to visit and then leave, she's just sort of 'whacked'. She is getting better as she gets older, but she is absolutely crazed when they are here, my mom sounds like me and gives her lots of verbal and my dad gets her out and out wild, he runs with her in the back yard and 'rassles' with her. She has a blast and although she's completely worn out she can't get settled for a while afterward. I think they grow out of that as they get older.
I agree that expending some energy and playing a little extra may be the way to go. I support the tug-o-war suggestion. It's a great way to really stimulate their minds as well as excercise their bodies. They are soo intense. I let Chelsea win a little at first, but I am always the overall winner and I decide when the game is over. I have a practice when we play tug of war where I tug Chelsea to me and then I lean forward and kiss her nose while she is clenching the rope in her jaw and sometimes growling. At first it's a little iffy 'cause they are growling and pulling, but I find that she softens when I do this, as if to submit to me, she knows I get to plant the kiss and that contact makes her stop taking the whole thing so seriously. Of course this is not appropriate for all dogs, it's alittle like playing 'chicken', but I think it shows her that I'm in charge of the game. Chelsea didn't like her crate after the first time we had o-night guests, she wouldn't settle, I think she thought they may still be somewhere in the house hiding and that she was going to miss out. They are sooo weird- hopefully your girl won't get as mixed -up the next time someone comes for a visit. Good Luck! Up. |
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