Rebellious Puppy ?? Experience Requested...?

Question

Hi Dog People...

I posted this question last night and got a couple very helpful answers, but thought I would also give the day crowd a try and see what suggestions you may have...

My 17 week old Collie puppy has become quite sassy the past couple of days. Barking and even snapping her jaw at me in a rebellious, not vicious way, when being corrected.

I have read in my Dog Bible that pups her age through about 6 months can be like this...but, it did not really give me any hands on experience in dealing properly with it.

We are in puppy school and will probably be addressing this this week in class...but, I thought I would ask here as well and see what kind of suggestions you all have.

Thanks for your input.

Answer 1

She needs to know that you are the boss. Do some dominance exercises. Put her on her back for several minutes and only let her up when you want to. Put her in a down stay and work your way up to thirty minutes she has to stay in the down. But she only gets up to go when you tell her to. Be firm but not rough. Have her hind legs on the floor and pick her up by her arm pits and keep her in that position for a few minutes until she's calm then you put her down to play or whatever. The obedience class is a great idea, keep that up.

Answer 2

A simple way to fix this problem is to simply not correct.

If I were you, I would look into positive reinforcement training. It may not be easy at first, but I've found it to be so much more reliable and quick than correction training. "Correction" (scolding or punishment) can result in losing a dog's trust, and also let him know that it's okay to behave badly when you're not around. For example, if puppy is chewing on a table leg, and you correct her, she'll think "Oh, when I chew this when you're around, I get yelled at," so she'll simply wait until you leave the room. Many trainers have started teaching correction-free training. If you're interested, there are several easy steps to take.

1. Prevention. Make sure your house is puppy-proofed. You want to give her the least possible amount of chance for her to get into trouble. Keep her in the room with you, or at least where you can keep an eye on her. When you're not home or unable to watch her, put her in her crate.

2. Ignore it. If your puppy makes a mistake, ignore it. If she pees on the floor in front of you, ignore her and quietly clean it up. You don't want to make her nervous about peeing in front of you! If she bites or nips, turn around and ignore her, or leave the room.

3. Distraction. If your puppy is making an inexcusable mistake, distract her. If she's chewing on something she shouldn't be, get out a toy and distract her. Make a big fuss over it, and when she starts showing interest in the toy, praise her. If she's pulling on the leash, get out a yummy treat, put it in front of her nose, get her into a better position, and give her a treat when she's in a heeling position. Keep another treat in your hand while you walk so she'll stay close.

4. Reward good behavior. If your dog is doing something you like, reward her. Chewing on acceptable toys, eliminating in a proper place, calmly greeting a person or a dog, heeling beside you, settling down inside.

5. Lure and reward. Instead of pulling or pushing a dog into a proper position, whether on a walk or teaching a trick, use a treat to lure her into that position instead. She'll understand this much better and help her and you get less frusterated.

With these five steps, you can turn almost any dog into a well-behaved, well-trained dog.  

Answer 3

You are the boss but your dog does not recognise this. She is a pack animal and will respond to you with respect when you treat her as a pack leader does.  

Do not treat her as an equal. Be firm and in command. A sharp "no" is all you should need to "correct" her and lots of praise and "good dog" when she does the right thing.

When she barks or snaps say "no" and repeat the command you were trying to get her to learn. A quick jerk on the lead helps too. Don't pull her head off, but a quick tug will bring her attention back to you.

Good luck with the lessons.

Answer 4

Sounds like she's hit the rebellious teenager stage of puppyhood! She's testing you, to see if you'll give her alpha dog status.  Stand your ground!  When she snaps at you, yelp like a puppy, and immediately turn your back to her; ignore her for several minutes.  Remember, dogs are like toddlers-they'll take negative attention over no attention at all!  So praise behaviour you wish to encourage, and give those behaviours you don't appreciate the least amount of attention you can.

Puppy class should help immensely, too.  Time to start giving her some 'work' to do! Collies are working dogs; giving them a job to do helps to keep them occupied, and happy!  They're also very intelligent, as I'm sure you've gathered by now!

I recommend Cesar Milan ('the Dog Whisperer', National Geographic channel) and Victoria Stillwell ('It's Me or the Dog', Animal Planet).  Excellent and informative!

Just remember, YOU'RE the top dog! Believe that, and let your actions reflect it, and you'll get through this bumpy patch in no time!

Best luck!

Answer 5

Enjoy!  LOL my puppy has been in her sassy stage for a few months now...character development.  Its like she is being a rebellious teenager acting out against parents sometimes.  My puppy is very spirited and stubborn but she knows when she has crossed the line but man she can try me.  I've learned to become a lot more consistent and disciplined, like keeping her crated even if i have to go to the gas station for 5 minutes.  I give her structure.  I think its great that you are taking her to obedience class.  Also consider taking her to a dog park, obviously keep her under careful supervision, but sometimes other dogs can teach your pup better than you can on certain actions they might do.  

Answer 6

It depends on what you mean by "corrected." What are you doing when you are correcting her? Are you correcting her in a physical way? Or when you pick her up or try to distract her does she get a little snippy?