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what to do?

1K views 5 replies 5 participants last post by  DTS 
#1 ·
titan is 5 months old
he can be very defiant, especially for our pet sitter.
with her, he is a totally different dog. he jumps on her back when she sits, he bites and pulls on the leash, and he has recently jumped up and nipped her. he gets on the counter and is just a little hellion.
he doesn't do any of this with us.
when he doesn't get his way, ie were going somewhere and he pulls, I stop so he knows pulling isn't going to get him anywhere, he screams, cries, bucks at the leash, throws a total hissy fit. he screams like hes being beaten.
he can be testy at times with my SO. he will act up and show his puppy self sometimes with me, but he mainly just throws these fits with me.
im wondering if his attitude is "normal puppy behavior", trying to see what he can get away with.
he stayed at the vet for a day, and even they said he was a "handful"
he has been taught no jump, off, but seems not to want to listen to new people and sometimes us.
when we are in the training zone, he has great focus and wants to do and please.
sometimes I feel like he might require a little more correction than others.
we just finished a beginner puppy class (he received his AKC STAR puppy) and I signed us up for the advanced puppy.
we also train with a sch trainer and have 2 more private sessions before we have the option of joining the club which I plan on doing and we will train on weekends there.
we train during the week, go on walks, play fetch, we play with his flirt pole, and he has elk antlers to chew.
is this normal behavior? when do i/ can i start correcting this behavior. sometimes i feel verbal corrections are not enough. can one tell that about a puppy at this stage.
hes a good puppy, hes just a bit of a sour patch kid at times.
i feel like i am missing something here with him.
he is extremely stubborn at times. how does one go about dealing with a stubborn pup, without breaking confidence?
how do i stop the tantrums? i pay him no attention until he stops and then praise when he does, but my neighbors have come out of their houses thinking im beating him when im not. i plan no speaking with my sch trainer about this, but i want to know what others do.
hes my first working line, drivy pup and i DONT want to do him wrong. but i want a well behaved dog as well
 
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#2 ·
I would be correcting him, but then again,with his mega e, not sure if a collar corrrection is the way to go?

As for his antics with others and not so much with YOU, they are probably just to darn easy on him and he KNOWS who can get away with stuff and who he can't..

I'd say at this age, he is going to be a bratty boy, and is pushing buttons but thats just my opinion
 
#3 ·
Do you have a choice in which pet sitter to use? I'd want to look for someone that my pup didn't see as such a push-over, so he doesn't keep repeating this kind of behavior. He shouldn't be doing it at all, not just not doing it for you. I think that would help quite a bit, even with eliminating some of the immature hissy fits.
 
#4 ·
Does he know what a firm "NO" means? We've heard about setting up a pup to fail, I agree that isn't right. On the other hand I bet you tip toe some because you know under what conditions he will act up. Just saying, when you do expect him to act up, be ready to take some action. A few FIRM corrections go a long way to avoiding an out of control dog.

That is the case even if it's you correcting the dog while he acts up with the sitter. Some times just stuffing his favorite chew toy in a dog's mouth isn't enough.
 
#5 ·
I'm glad you're going to be joining the club. What this sounds like to me is a PIA drivey puppy. They can be a handful but they are great dogs to work. (and will be a great dog overall with time and maturity - it's the getting there that taxes one's patience).
At 5 mos you can probably discontinue the pet sitter which, it sounds like, comes mid day. I think this is probably counterproductive for your training and your pup. For other management, have your reward handy. My current young PIA is incredibly food motivated. Compliance comes enthusiastically with the reward in hand. I'll admit it doesn't last forever but it does work for her. If other people in your household will not handle the dog the same way you do, they will not get the same results...
Anyway, I have recently been reminded (by current PIA) that once you feel like you cannot go on much longer, the pup will suddenly "get it." I'm hoping that, as in the past, I get a week or two to celebrate before being presented with another "training opportunity."
Good luck. What a great puppy! (still glad it's at your house - one is enough for this one.)
 
#6 ·
Depends on the situation for the firm no. Sometimes it works, when he's really focused on something, like wanting to go for a ride when we go to the parking lot and he pulls and I stop or go the other way and he screams and cries, a firm NO isn't on his radar.
We trained today for about 10 mins and it was raining which he threw a fit in Sunday at sch training, wouldn't listen, would only sitz, platz, and heir. He refused to fuss and tried to get away, and cries, screamed etc. I even had cooked steak as treats.
Today he did the same, but after a bit, got used to it and we did a short run through of commands. He tried to throw a fit on the way to the parking lot but not as bad as usual. I told him no pull and when he stopped he was treated and I threw a "puppy party" this seemed to help.
I'm going to continue randomly taking him out to the parking lot, and training him there and treating and throwing puppy parties for him. Once he gets something, he's golden.
As for the pet sitter, I had planned on keeping her until April because he's normally crated 10-11 hours and I don't want him having an accident. She also feeds him. I pre blend his food and she just puts it in a bowl and gets him
In his chair. She claims he's been doing better since Monday but she's said that before.
 
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