Disappointed with Vida (long!)

[JakodaCD OA]

I agree with the last 3 posts...UP the exercise, if my dogs any of them, got only 90- 120 mins,,that's 1 1/2 - 2 hours a day of exercise, they would be bouncing off the walls and bouncing off anyone that walked thru the door looking for attention.

I also agree, you need CLEAR CUT rules,,it's either ON the furniture or OFF, not here and there..

You also need professional help because what your doing or not doing is obviously not working..

I do not believe it's "dominance" as one posts, that word is way over rated, I still stand behind my first statement, she is BORED, she is NOT tired, she is attention seeking. And she's YOUNG, untrained and could have some stubbornness thrown in there..

Again , you need a class / trainer/ pro help in person, UP the exercise outside in the big wide world, meet people in public, work on manners.

[Kaity]

Great guys, thank you all for the links and posts. I'll make a list of some things I took out of this thread and stick it on the fridge as a reminder and we will be upping the exercise progressively until she is tired but not overly tired.

I am aware we need more professional help. if you read my posts, you'd see where it says we are starting after the holidays again when the trainer is available.

[Marnie]

Your dog's behavior is absolutely common for a high energy GSD. Exercise will help but not stop the things that annoy you. Her mind is active and she wants to be going/doing something with you every minute she is awake. You aren't gonna change that. She will settle some by the time she is 4 or 5.

You are defeating your self when you hide and wait for her to whine then come back to correct her. She thinks it's a game. You hide, she cries for you to come back, you jump out yelling. Not the best game but better than nothing. She stresses you, you stress her, it is a situation where no one wins and no one is happy. Hate to even mention it, but sometimes people choose the wrong dogs at the wrong times in their lives.

[Kaity]

I figured it would take longer for her to settle down but I don't think shes a high energy pup, well see by how her behaviour changes with exercise though.

I'm not hiding and waiting for her to whine. I leave, if I hear her make a noise I can't have her yelping about here so I tell her to hush. I don't come back in. I say hush, and I go on with whatever I was going to do. I don't yell because it adds to the excitement. It works, that's the bottom line for me. She used to whine half the time I left, now I say hush before I leave and she doesn't whine so I don't have to stand and wait. Are you implying that I've chosen the wrong dog at the wrong time in my life and if you are, why?

[debbiebrown]

the physical exercise is not all thats important here, 2 hours of hard exercise a day should be enough for these dogs. But, what else they need is mental stimulation. a dog that has done a good obedience session, and you can mix play with that, such as a tug reward, etc. that would be a mental/physical session. A tracking dog doing a good long track is more exhausted than if he ran a ball all that time, because they are mentally challenged the whole time. there are so many ways to challenge them, but it sounds like you need some direction and help from a trainer. Obedience can do wonders.......the only way your dog is going to stop the behaviors is for you to work on it and it takes time and knowledge, its not a quick fix.........

[JakodaCD OA]

what debbie said

[rblanshan]

I apologize if I used the word dominance in my previous post. Stubborn is a much better word. The one thing I have learned with dogs is that they are very similar to my kids. What works for 1 dog may not work for another. Some are very easy going and glad to do whatever you ask them to do. Others will challenge every word you say. At the end of the day, you have to be consistant and change it up if it's not working.