New behavior //being a pain in the xxx

[AthenaClimbs]

Hi all,
My girl is almost 8 months now and while we worked through her old bad behaviors, new ones just keep coming up!oy oy oy. First behavior is that she still nips when she gets excited. When she sees me or when she's playing with me on the couch, she's nip at my hand. Sometimes I even get nervous with her near my face!!

Also- her recall used to be better. Now is NON EXISTENT. She won't even come when called in the house and we can't hardly catch her. We use treats but then she stops caring.

Any thoughts? And I'm scared to ask this but at this age, can she still get better? She's 8 months, they're annoying adolescents but is there hope??

[Gracie's My Girl]

I understand where you are coming from completely. Only a couple of weeks ago, I was in the middle of dealing with some horrific behavior from my nine month old. It was at its worst when we were unloading from the truck in the Petco parking lot. She growled, whined and latched onto my wrist. I think everyone in the parking lot vowed they would never, ever have anything to do with a GSD. I had to go to class with some nasty looking bite marks on me. Of course, she did it out of excitement but I wanted to rip my hair out.

From what I hear, it sounds like we both have very normal dogs. I am focusing on ignoring the bad behavior and shaping it into something more positive.

I am not much help at all...but I wanted to let you know that you are not alone.

[Lady Lulu]

She's still a puppy and it sounds like she might be challenging you a little, seeing what she can get away with. Kind of reminds me of a child once they get old enough to realize they can tell you no. lol

As far as the nipping goes, my pup will on occasion nip when we're playing and she gets excited. I immediately close her mouth and tell her no, and then I take her directly to her crate. I don't hold her mouth closed or anything, I just make the contact so she realizes I'm telling her that opening her mouth and nipping is not acceptable. I then immediately end play time, (play time is a privilege for good puppies)and I put her in her crate for 15-30 minutes to make her calm down and give her a bit to think about what she's done. Play time is fun. If her play time keeps ending every time she nips, eventually she'll stop. You just have to be consistent and firm. As far as her being around your face... don't let her around your face until you've made some more progress with her nipping.

As far as her not coming when called... My Lulu has learned that ignoring Mama is not an option. If she doesn't come when I call, I call again (in case she didn't hear me). If she doesn't come at the second call, I go directly to her and make her follow me to wherever I was standing. I don't know if there's anything better you can do to help this but letting the dog ignore you and do whatever she wants is only going to let her think she doesn't have to listen to you.

I think the most important thing you can do for your girl is to just buckle down and work with her more. She's become a little bullheaded but I would look at it kind of like a rebellious teenager phase. Maybe take her to an obedience class, or at the very least set up a training schedule and work with her some every day. So long as you're willing to keep working with her there is hope for her.