Not the Right Seat?
 - without actually nipping/biting me. I have been trying to figure out what he's trying to tell me. Does he need to go outside? Is he hungry? Does he want to play? Is he just too tired and doesn't want to lay down?  Once he starts, it takes several minutes to get him to stop. The best thing I found so far is to stand up and ask for a 'sit', "Good boy", now 'down', another "Good boy", then, once he's his sweet self again (which is usually right after he lays down), he gets a belly rub or toy (or both).  Today I noticed something really weird. I had run some errands in the morning, and was waiting until after lunch to put the stuff away. When I finished lunch, I went to the couch to sit down for a minute. Within a few seconds, Sam came over to me and started to bark. I decided I might as well put the stuff up, so I ignored him, got up and put all the stuff away. The barking ceased the second I got up, even though he got no attention from me. By the time I finished, he was laying in the living room in his favorite nap spot. I sat down again. He got up, came over and barked again. So, I decided to be productive again. I got up and gathered everyone's laundry and sorted it. He watched for a bit and then laid down in the kitchen (his second favorite spot). When I sat down this time, you guessed it, here he came again. Yep, now he had a really annoyed Mommy.  Here's the funny thing. My DH is working from home today upstairs. I mentioned it to him. He remembered that, during the first couple of weeks we had Sam, I sat on the love seat so that I could see him when he was in the kitchen. Granted, I have since moved back to my previous 'usual' seat on the far side of the couch and have been sitting there for several weeks without any issues. So, in the spirit of scientific method, I gathered my things (laptop, phone, drink) and moved to the love seat. And, guess what? Yep, Sam is now peacefully napping in his favorite spot without caring that I sat down. Talk about a creature of habit! |
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| dreamer does it all the time he just wants me to love on him ..what silly boys they are |
| What's weird is when he does it, he doesn't want me to love on him (or let me for that matter). And lots of times, he starts when I'm already petting him. We'll see if the change of seating makes a difference. I'll keep you posted. |
| Funny how they do not like things to change! Indeed it would be annoying not to be able to sit down for a few minutes. And then to have him telling you you are in the wrong chair. Serious discussion time with the little man. Kensie reverts to puppyhood when I get her wound up, dang that nipping! We are working on it. |
Dogs are creatures of habit. My girls love going on trips and adventures, but they are also very very happy to come back home and get back to the routine. The only change they would like to see in the routine is not having us go off to work and stay home. I agree!  I am very interested to hear how the seating study goes. If he is barking because mommy is in the wrong seat, congratulations, you trained him to keep mommy where she's supposed to be! This would be part of the herding instinct for sure. |
Baba wrote: If he is barking because mommy is in the wrong seat, congratulations, you trained him to keep mommy where she's supposed to be! This would be part of the herding instinct for sure. Well, good news is the issue isn't that I was in the wrong seat. Bad news is I now have to figure out what he is trying to tell me and how to deal with it. I know one of the things I read said this age is the "bratty phase". So is this like when my kids used to whine or throw a fit to get their way? Any thoughts/ideas would be appreciated. |
| Lily barks at my husband all the time. She loves to herd him. Usually when she barks at him she wants him to play. The only other time I've ever seen her other than to get him to play is when he is eating blueberries and she wants some. It is a bratty, controlling behavior. She only does it with him though. lol. My hubby is a sucker when it comes to the ladies of the house. We get what we want. |
| Seems a little early for bratty.......but you may be blessed with an opinioned pup who wants to control. Guess who had better gain the upper hand quickly.......actually both of you. Time for more exercise, physical and mental as Sam is testing you and you need to remind the little one who is boss. Tired pup is a good pup and for the next year+ you'll be getting plenty of exercise. New games, new toys, new exercise routines. How about classes, maybe time for something new or repeat of old? Remember as you hit the 7-12 month area, it's about the last big trouble zone.......except for the 16 months........  |
I definitely try to keep him busy. I am looking forward to the weather cooling down so we can be more active outside during the day.  We are supposed to start our next class next month. I'm really looking forward to working with this trainer. She has been recommended to us by several people, and she is already looking forward to working with Sam - and us, but mostly Sam. So, I guess the big question is, aside from trying to avoid this by keeping him busy/tired out, how do I handle the behavior in the moment? Sam is our first dog, so I am happy to hear from all you seasoned pros.  Thankfully, he is a sweetie 99% of the time. Now to work on that 1%. |
Oscar is a creature of habit as well. Actually, he's quite OCD . I call him Rainman.  It's quite possible that that Sam wants you to sit in THAT particular chair.I think your idea of redirecting Sam's behavior to something appropriate is a good one. When I am dealing with Oscar, I reward good behavior, and redirect when he is bad, either by doing a command (sit, down, stay, go lay down ), or by ignoring the behavior.I try to pay attention to when I am inadvertently rewarding bad behavior as well, like giving any attention when Oscar is off on a tear. When he is being a pain in the patoot, I make him go lay down. No nonsense. I just insist. Then when he does it, I can reward him with attention. Laurie and Rainman |
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