What should I do about my dogs naughty behavior?

Question

My dog is being very naughty. When she was a puppy she chewed up things such as a brand new couch, shoes, etc and she also messed our new carpet many times. She used to run out the door and around the neighborhood as well. She even jumped on our neighbors little cousin/brother and they called animal control so we got a warning. She grew out of it and hasn't done such behaviors in a very long time. I fear its coming back. A couple days ago I found a little figurine made out of that air dry clay stuff for kids I made for credit in my art class last year. Today I found it in her doggie bed all chewed up, like the hair and ears were chewed off and large bite marks and chunks missing spread in her bed. The first time I smacked her lightly on her head/nose and once or twice on her bum, then told her she "bad girl! bad dog! That was very naughty! No chewing", then today I yelled at her, same things as before, but I only patted her bum. She knew she was in trouble, she knows it because she'll either slink away with her tail behind her legs and hide in a corner, or she'll give you sympathetic looks and snuggle up with you (as if trying to smooze you over)... How should I discipline her to stop her from chewing? Shes a 4 year old Cockerspanial poodle mix and shes about 20-25 pounds.

Answer 1

Cocker Spaniels are devil dogs. They are really cute but they are the devil... no doubt.

You have to put the fear in them or they won't listen. Snap her nose or pop her face with something (not your hand) a newspaper will work or a wooden spoon, etc.

Don't feel bad about getting after her either - they DO know they've done wrong but that is not going to stop them next time. They are like men or small children - they are only upset about getting caught. If you don't make sure that you're the boss then you'll continue to have the same problems

Answer 2

hit it

not hard or anything

just so shell get the point

oo and yell

thay hate that

Answer 3

First off, when your dog screws around and you don't like it, turn your back to the dog and don't make any eye contact. Don't hurt it or whack it, it will only confuse the dog. As for the barking, do the same thing. Once again, do the same thing for jumping. For the chewing, distract your dog with a chew toy when she chews something she shouldn't ;) But don't act like you're rewarding her.

Answer 4

My puppy is the same way! But now shes slightly better!

1. We would lock her up in her cage for about an hour a day for her to get used to it.

2. To stop her from biting as much we would spray furniture with a type of sour spray that they don't like!

3. Whenever she does something good, as if peeing on her pee-pee pad, we reward her with treats alto. Now she knows what to do to get treats!

4. To keep her from biting specific things, a dog trainer once told us to let her only play with ONE toy, meaning many toys she will get confused and therefore go after anything to play with. That ONE toy allowed her to only play with it, and let her know That's HER TOY!

5. As far as the yelling go, just a loud NO! will do. and a pat!

Hope that helps! :}

Answer 5

first you should never ever hit,smack, spank a dog its abuse i dont care if you lightly do it or not its abuse. you need to exercise her more and play more she is board if you catch her chewing tell her no in a firm voice dont yell and take what ever shes chewing on away and give her a toy.dogs do not understand yelling or hitting if you cant discipline your dog without hitting and yelling then you should not have animals of any kind

Answer 6

Puppies, by nature, need to chew! Problem is, they don't know what kinds of things are acceptable or not.

You have to show your dog what kinds of things she can destroy (safe dog toys) and what are not hers. You should establish an "alpha dog" position in your "pack" (family) so that your dog is at the very bottom. This means that you are the leader, the strength of the pack, and everything is yours by default. The dog's items, like food dish, should be considered as a loan. If your dog has something in its mouth it must readily give it up to you when you give it a drop-it command.

Oh and, there's no need to hit your dog. It usually doesn't work. Dogs live in the present. Let's say yours peed on your carpet a few minutes ago, by now she's already forgotten the misdeed. So when she is greeting you and you find the pee on the floor, and swat her, your dog will think she is being punished for greeting you! So in that situation you just have to let it slide.

You have to catch your dog in mid-pee, then say "No!" in a loud voice. Then take the dog outside and teach her that the yard is the right place to go. Your dog knows when you are unhappy, so any hitting/slapping could just make the situation worse.

And about the jumping... does that mean jumping on someone's lap or trying to mount/hump? Mounting, if it's caused by hormones, can be fixed by spaying. However, mounting is often a dominance-related behavior also. I recommend spaying your dog either way if the jumping comes back. If you see it coming back then she needs to know it's wrong - but only at that exact moment, you know?

Hope I helped, many dogs are mischievous, your dog sounds like a wonderful friend inside. (: Good luck fixing her behavior!

Answer 7

sounds like your dog is bored.What kind of chew toys does she have to chew on? If none maybe you should give her a couple of nyla bones in different flavored so she has some thing to occupy her urge to chew.Also increase her exercise a back yard is not enough a dog needs to be walked at least 30 minutes 2 or 3 times a week or at the very least running time at a dog park.Try these things and it should improve.Tilks Mom

Answer 8

Definitely scold her and show her how upset you are with her. I personally don't see anything wrong with a swat to get their attention. I pop my dog under his chin, it startles him but I don't do it hard enough to hurt him. Since she is a chewer, I would buy a KONG. They are the best chew toys ever. I have a lab that goes crazy for them. You may want to put her in a crate when you can't watch her. Since she is not a puppy anymore, you will have to work very hard to correct her problems.