Help...Dood with attitude...it does get better, RIGHT????

[Julie Mison]

I posted this on the main board but thought I might get some good responses here too.

We have written about our Chewie (now 19 weeks) and his "bratty" and assertive type behavior. There has been some improvement with his growling yet he still tries to talk back a lot. For instance, if he doesn't get his way or is getting wild playing and we try to correct him...he will bark at us like he is talking back. He sometimes does it while he is snapping at the air...he really seems like he has attitude because he is mad that he wants to play or something. I actually made the mistake of barking back at him (thought that might help and show him who was boss) but it seemed to cause him to escalate.

Also, when he was wild last night and quite nippy (playing....trying to use mouth), I took him and held him (kinda on his back) and he licked me in the face. My 8yr old leaned in to get a "lick" and he kinda snapped at her instead. I have to say...he seemed excitable but is this "normal". He didn't break any skin but she said it hurt her face and it upset her.

For the most part, he has really improved and we are working with him. He starts "formal" training in 2 weeks. I guess I am looking for your thoughts, feedback, insight, and suceess stories.

Thanks...we LOVE our Dood ...just not his "tude!

[Julie Mison]

Thanks everyone...we are REALLY working with him but still struggling with his growling/snapping behavior. It seems like he is starting to resource guard most everything he gets lately. Growling, trying to snap, not giving it up. What do we do when we are afraid he will bite? Do we always "trade" ahead of time?

[Carla, Lucca and Izzy]

We did do an hour private training session with Lucca at around 5 months (for resource guarding) and it was extremely helpful. He was really bad with the resource guarding. As my husband says, It was more for me than him but she (our trainer) taught me exactly how to deal with it and gave me the confidence to do it. It IS scary when you think they'll bite. But I learned how to be firm and how to handle Lucca. As I said above, consistency is sooooo important. Talk to your trainer, you don't want it to get worse and these little guys seem to have a stubborn streak a mile long. Love'em but they do have "tude". Ever since the training session he has learned his limits as to what I will allow. He has REALLY turned into a super great dood.

[Julie Mison]

Thanks...nice to hear it got better. Do you mind sharing what technique worked for you? How old is Lucca now and do you feel this has gone away? There are so many different opinions out there..it is confusing!

[Kyoko]

They also say not give such a valuable items such as pig ears, bully sticks, etc... if the dog is going to act like that....If there are no such item, there will be nothing to guard, I guess....

[Jenna B. & Chianti]

Our Chianti just had her first 'tude day. She was a total brat all day long and when I got home from work she freaked out barking and running and jumping and biting like crazy. Thanks to this discussion which I read a few days ago, I leashed her up to our table for a few minutes. Worked like a charm. I can only hope we don't have to deal with this too often.

Thanks for all the ideas everyone! !

[Karen P]

I just wanted to say that I think that my Chewie (15 weeks old) is a clone of your Chewie !! It is nice to know that I am not alone. He can be soooo sweet and then all of the sudden he turns into a "crazy monster".