Why won't Nikita just listen and be good

[Gloria]

Nikita will be 2 years old this January but I’m still having issues with her not listening, acts like a child with a temper tantrum when she’s told “no” and she’s stubborn. Because my Mom is retired and is home all the time, Nikita stays with her (Nikita is good company for my Mom, gets her out for walks and is good protection) but when I go over, Nikita takes things that aren’t hers such as newspapers that is going to the recycling bin or takes knickknacks and runs away with it; I used to tell her to get her Wubba when I would walk in the house and she still does this but after a little while, she goes for things that she shouldn’t; when you try to take it away from her, she runs away like a game of chase. We stopped chasing her hoping it would deter her from this “game” but “Ms Clepto” still takes what’s not her’s. She does “behave” better when it’s just Mom and Nikita alone in the house but she howls and whines and cries when Mom and I go out and she’s put in her crate (toys don’t help: she destroys them and tiring her out only helps a little).

She also still chases the two cats Mom has; we’ve blocked Nikita off from going upstairs (we put a barrier in front of the steps) but she still goes nuts: barking and jumping at the base of the stairs to get at them when the cats are at the top of the stairs looking down at her so the cats no longer come downstairs unless Nikita is outside or in her crate (even when she sees the cats while in her crate, she goes ballistic). The cats are used to dogs because the GSD x Border Collie we had (prior to Nikita) grew up with ferrets and knew how to act around small animals so he didn’t bother the cats but Nikita is the total opposite and, even though she might just want to play with them, I am honestly afraid she might hurt them.

Nikita gets plenty of exercise: Mom takes her for long walks every day and plays ball with her in the backyard; I take her through trails when I take her for walks; and she has a lot of Kong chew toys.

Nikita was also socialized when she was a pup and has a few dog friends that she gets along with and sometimes plays with but she doesn’t like little dogs and at times when she’s out on walks, she will bark at other dogs (she has been getting better with this but if the other dog barks at her first, she sometimes barks back); she also does this in the car (barks what I deem as aggressively at other dogs). Someone told me she has low confidence which is why she’s acting like the way she does but I and my husband disagree with this.

Can anyone give us suggestions to correct these issues? We’ve sent Nikita away for 6 weeks training and she’s been taking more obedience classes lately and even some agility training (I think she gets bored of it though) but when you call her to “come”, she looks at you: “I’ll do it when I feel like it”. Someone once told me the difference between the way males and females behave: males have the attitude of: “what can I do for you” while females have the attitude of “what’s in it for me if I do it”…the latter accurately describes Nikita.

Mom and I have tried so many things and spent quite a bit of money on training that I’m now considering an electric or vibrating collar as a last resort (please don’t judge this decision); I don’t want to have to resort to this and haven’t done all of my research which is why I’m asking for help from the forum first.

Thanks all for the help!

[kiya]

She's still a baby! Just like my girl Lakota, she will be 2 in January also. She is still very immature. Sometimes they don't fully mature until 3 years old. I try to correct myself when it seems I'm focusing too much on bad behavior. Keep up on her obedience and exercise, she's just being a brat. As far as chasing the cats...I hate to admit the only thing that stopped Lakota is a spray water bottle. She loves to play with the kitten and my older cat, but if they run she chases which causes my other dog to go balistic. Did she ever actually get to sniff the cats? Since they are dog savy maybe they would be tolerant of your dog being rude. Did you ever try tethering her to you? I have to do that with my older dog right now because she wants to eat the new kitty. Lakota has "selective" obedience. I do not call her to come to me unless I can enforce it or I know she will "come".
When you train do you use treats?
I have been doing a lot of reading on behavioral issues one of my favorite sites is Turid Rugaas - Calming Signals Community
Unfortunately theres no magic cure, sometimes it takes a lot of work but it should pay off.

[Daisy&Lucky's Mom]

Sounds like she has strong prey drive. No expert here. Lucky is ok around cats if he is on leash.ok at the groomers where they roam. in an open field or yard it is bad. He is crazy for anything that moves balls,small animals he gives chase.Im wondering if NILF is something that could help you? Lots of people seem to use it w/ their adolescent dogs or reactive ones. Not an expert and will follow this thread to see what everybody suggests. The car reactivityIve seen dealt w/ on TV by blocking the windows but I think the Nothing in life is free training would address this as well. I would call the trainer who did train her for 6 weeks and ask what they suggest.There are threads on here regarding NILF.

[Ucdcrush]

The dog needs some limits, other than the physical barriers that have been set up in the house. Definitely do NILIF as has been suggested.

Also, sending a dog for training I am not a huge fan of because it does not build the relationship between the person and the dog. If a trainer spends weeks with a dog in a structured environment, with limits, being made to obey (not talking about heavy handedness, just assertiveness), and the dog can perform obedience commands very well. Put the dog back into a home where the authority figure needs training of her own, and a strong willed dog will take over and behave exactly as you are describing.

What to do? NILIF. Enforce every command. If it comes to it, have the dog wear a prong collar and a short (6-10") lead, if you say sit and she blows you off, prong correction then make the dog sit. It will not take long for the dog to take commands seriously. Do extended down stays; put the dog in a certain place (wearing a collar and lead), make her stay. She gets up of her own choice, you correct her and put her back.

You get up to go somewhere, she decides to get up and follow into the rooms you're going, you give a signal and block the dog from entering, send the dog back the other way. She may protest but stay firm. Watch some Cesar Millan episodes where he claims space. You must get into the habit of establishing those rules and enforcing them. They may seem small, but they a big deal in the animal world. The overall point is that the dog does not get to do whatever she wants, as your dog is doing now. This has to extend even to "little things" (from the human perspective) like deciding to get up and go to the window, or grab a ball off the ground, etc. It all matters.

Here is a link to a book that has a "doggie boot camp" section, a bunch of things to do to (re)establish a dog "minding":

Amazon

Amazon

True, some dogs are very laid back, low energy and this extent of limits will not be needed. However this is not that type of dog, at least, not at this time. I do not think it's a male/female thing.

As for chasing the cat, that is a boundary that the dog will be more likely to respect given the leadership that needs to be practiced. Leadership does not remove a dog's prey drive, but it will at least put the situation in your favor. The cat will be your property, off limits to the dog. Right now the dog does not respect boundaries set by the human.

[chelle]

Originally Posted by Ucdcrush

The dog needs some limits, other than the physical barriers that have been set up in the house. Definitely do NILIF as has been suggested.

Also, sending a dog for training I am not a huge fan of because it does not build the relationship between the person and the dog. If a trainer spends weeks with a dog in a structured environment, with limits, being made to obey (not talking about heavy handedness, just assertiveness), and the dog can perform obedience commands very well. Put the dog back into a home where the authority figure needs training of her own, and a strong willed dog will take over and behave exactly as you are describing.

What to do? NILIF. Enforce every command. If it comes to it, have the dog wear a prong collar and a short (6-10") lead, if you say sit and she blows you off, prong correction then make the dog sit. It will not take long for the dog to take commands seriously. Do extended down stays; put the dog in a certain place (wearing a collar and lead), make her stay. She gets up of her own choice, you correct her and put her back.

You get up to go somewhere, she decides to get up and follow into the rooms you're going, you give a signal and block the dog from entering, send the dog back the other way. She may protest but stay firm. Watch some Cesar Millan episodes where he claims space. You must get into the habit of establishing those rules and enforcing them. They may seem small, but they a big deal in the animal world. The overall point is that the dog does not get to do whatever she wants, as your dog is doing now. This has to extend even to "little things" (from the human perspective) like deciding to get up and go to the window, or grab a ball off the ground, etc. It all matters.

Here is a link to a book that has a "doggie boot camp" section, a bunch of things to do to (re)establish a dog "minding":

http://www.amazon.com/Good-Owners-Great-Brian-Kilcommons/dp/0446675385

True, some dogs are very laid back, low energy and this extent of limits will not be needed. However this is not that type of dog, at least, not at this time. I do not think it's a male/female thing.

As for chasing the cat, that is a boundary that the dog will be more likely to respect given the leadership that needs to be practiced. Leadership does not remove a dog's prey drive, but it will at least put the situation in your favor. The cat will be your property, off limits to the dog. Right now the dog does not respect boundaries set by the human.

Absolutely, positively no expert here, but couldn't agree more with this post.

[Gloria]

I've tried training her using treats and now using toys as a reward; at her private agility class she was getting to the point where she was just acting goofy and looked to be having more fun running around the course and smelling the turf than actually learning something new; she liked the tunnel and once she knew how it worked we couldn't get her to stop...it was hilarious actually but the following week, she didn't want to go in the tunnel.
She likes water so squirting her with water is out...I tried that once before and got no where with it; tried putting her down by the scruff when she was small and she just fought so that was pointless (someone told me to use that on my previous dog when he was just 6 months old and trying to dominate and it worked on him so I tried on her); I have fairly dark tinted windows in my car and personally I think it would be dangerous to drive if I covered the windows...I could put her in a travel crate but I have a 2010 Corolla and she already takes the back seat so I think this would be too big for my car (BTW she is belted in when she's in the car just in case something happens or if I have to stop suddenly...I don't want her flying in the front or out the window); she has sniffed the cats several times and the one female cat will tolerate it if my Mom is holding the cat (I think she's just too fat to run) but Nikita does not like the male black cat...maybe she doesn't like that he has black fur....???? The male doesn't like anyone really and used to hit Dakota and Dakota would take it but if he did that to Nikita, she wouldn't stand for it.
The trainer we left her with for 6 weeks has trained dogs for TV and used to be a K-9 cop in Europe and has trained police dogs so he's fairly experienced and he also is very firm...Ucdcrush: this trainer was someone I turned to for help because she was worse than she is now...used to mouth too much: so much so that I went to work with bruises on my arms, wouldn't heel, etc. I'd trained dogs before but Nikita is stubborn and I couldn't "work" with her and training everyday for hours because of my schedule.
Tonight (while I'm at my Mom's for the evening), Nikita was in the laundry room because I let her in from outside and I stood in the doorway to the hall blocking her from going by me; once she sat and made eye contact with me, then I let her go by. I tried this a few more times and it didn't take her long to learn to sit and make eye contact before she could leave; then I moved to the side so she could go by but she didn't until I said "OK", then she got up and went into the hall.
While she was in the kitchen, I took her new Wubba that she got for Christmas, had her sit, put Wubba on the floor and told her "Leave it". I made her wait before I told her to take it. I tried for a longer time but she tried to take it before I let her so I took her by the collar and got the Wubba back and had her sit to wait for it...she waited this time before she could take it...and then she wouldn't stop squeaking it which is fine and didn't bother me. Then she tried taking paper off the floor...**sigh** so she got "time out". The first time I was able to walk up and take the paper, the second time she took off so I went back to helping Mom with the dishes (she came in the kitchen sans paper so I found it in the living room), third time she got "time out": I got her just as she grabbed the paper and was about to run.
I will keep looking into NILIF and print some info on it because Mom needs to learn this too; I will also look into that book (Good Owners, Great Dogs)...my boss gave me a gift certificate for Indigo books here in Canada for Christmas so now I know what I can use it for.
Here's something I found odd with her: if I use English commands ("give", "heel") she obeys most times but if I use German commands ("Aus", "Fuss") she seems to listen better.

[Ucdcrush]

Sounds like a good start!

But don't ignore the dog when she runs away with something. In fact, don't just "let" her run away. She is old enough to know she's getting away with something by running from you, you do not want to reinforce that by ignoring it which basically allows her to run the show as long as she can run away and not have to deal with you. Walk after her (not running which she might interpret as play), get the piece of paper back, bring her back to where she was and make her stay there. Expect her to protest as she learns the ropes, but stay calm and hold firm. Avoid becoming emotional, just view yourself as her leader, be firm and fair.

Remember you need to have a fairly strict relationship now at least until the dog gets in the habit of checking with you before doing things. Including getting up and leaving the room, grabbing a ball etc. Once she is doing that you might allow the dog a bit more personal freedom, but for certain things, she will always have to check with you.