Barbara L
Traveling Welcome Wagon
I know what you mean. If Cubbie was a small dog I might have let some things go, but knowing that he would be big and strong, I have never let him do certain things, like jump up, and bite playfully. Things that are cute with a puppy or small dog can be harmful in a large adult dog!What I have found is the toughest thing about raising a well adjusted dog is finding that fine line between letting them be a puppy and teaching them manners.
I hate it when Cubbie will start to jump up and people say, "That's ok." I have to tell them that it's not ok. Not that many people come by, but I don't want him knocking people over and tearing their clothes with his nails. He is getting better about it.pacanis said:The main thing was I never let her get away with a behavior I didn't like. You need to be consistent and train your friends and other contacts to be consistent. If you don't want your dog to jump up on people, they can NEVER jump up on people.
I'm a little torn on this one. What you say definitely makes sense, but our situation is a little different than most. For his first month with us (we got him at 4 months old) James was with him during the morning and both of us the rest of the day. The next month and a half we were both here with him. Since July 8th I am here with him every day and James is only here from Friday evening to Sunday evening. I took Cubbie to his classes and have done 99% of his training. Maybe a weird analogy, but sometimes it is kind of like the divorced dad taking his kid to Disneyland and the beach on the weekends while mom takes the kid to school, the doctor, etc. during the week. James is tall and, in his words, built like a tank. He will sometimes (not often, and getting better) let Cubbie play a little rough because, "he knows I can over-power him." I am 5'2" and I know that I have to teach Cubbie to behave through consistent training (which I admit hasn't been as consistent as I meant it to be because of kidney stones, but I will work on it). So I think what you said is most likely true, but I think it is partly that I am the everyday mom and James is the fun daddy! Don't get the wrong idea, I do play and get silly with Cubbie, and James does work with Cubbie--Cubbie knows we both love him. And even though it sometimes seems like Cubbie will never learn, as I look back he has made tremendous gains in maturity.pacanis said:"I'm not sure if he is protecting me during the week and knows that "Daddy" can protect me on the weekends, or if he is a big chicken and thinks I'm not doing as good a job protecting him during the week as Daddy does on the weekend!"
The latter part of your statement. You hit the nail right on the head. Your dog feels more secure when "daddy" is there and trusts him to sound the alert. Especially an unwarranted alert like a simple noise at night that's there every night, like a creaky house. He does not see you as a pack leader and is barking at an unseen/unknown threat trying to tell whatever is out there that he's boss. But really it's like the fat kid playing the part of the bully. Deep inside your dog is insecure and daddy isn't there to ease his mind and tell him it's nothing to get excited about by his inaction. Dogs pick up on cues and if he sees daddy not moving or bothered by a noise, then he will relax and let it pass much more quickly. GSDs seem to go through more fear periods than other dogs, but I like to think it's because their minds are so complex and they are so intelligent.
Very well said! Thanks again!pacanis said:Bottom line is, even though you don't have time to formally train a dog doesn't mean you don't have time to teach it manners. You do that just by living together.
And, one good correction is worth a thousand nagging ones. Be fair, firm and don't act out of anger.
Barbara
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