Really need your help : (

[Daisysmom]

I am at my wits end!! Jake is driving me crazy. He is one year old now, and constantly barks at me for attention. I am trying to be very patient with him. I know that he need extra exercise (and attention) and it is mostly his age.... Daisy was the same way, and almost gave her up for more than one reason, but didn't. She is calm and just great now. I am so stressed between work, home and THREE dogs!!!!!!!!! I just can't do it all!!!! I try to work with him, knowing I am stressed, and "pretend" not to be upset, but my acting days are limited!!!!!!!!!!! I don't have the money for a trainer, Joe is finally leaving the pizza shop (I will believe it when I see it) and our income is not what it used to be :( So, I can't afford training. I love him so much, and intellectually know things will get better, but I need help now!!!!!!!! He is so demanding, the alpha and very pushy!! He won't leave poor Chelsea alone. Always grabing her by the neck (with his mouth) and chasing her or Daisy all over the house!!!

HELP!!!!!!!!!!

Did I mention he barks at me all the time? :oops:

[Guest Anonymous]

First, are you using the "NIFIL" policy?
It's always a good idea to have your dog perform a "proper" behavior before receiving attention, play, food etc. If your dog is barking for attention ignore him and then have him sit and then give attention. Dogs do actions which receive results...if barking gets what he wants, he will continue. Get your dog to do a good behavior for rewards..its positive training and it works.

[Carolk9s]

Perhaps this will help, a dog with his mouth full cannot bark! Does he like to play with stuffed toys? A ball, a frisbee? And, a tired dog is a good dog!
If he will chase a ball, can you throw one in the yard for him? If so, do you have a chuckit? They can really save your arm from getting fatigued. Petsmart carries them, also a chuckit jr., roughly about $7 I think.
When you have time, work on a shhhhh or quiet command.
Perhaps most important, buy some good earplugs! 8)
Good luck to you,

[kendalyn]

You say Jake is barking at your for attention. What do you do when he is barking? Do you pay attention to him? If so, you might want to stop and see if the behavior extinguishes itself. Or maybe wait until he has stopped barking and then give him what he wants. You could teach him a "quiet" command also.

[Guest Anonymous]

I've been there with a real yappy dog :lol:
I ignored the bad behavior and only rewarded good behavior. Then again there are some breeds which are just really well known for their vocal cords and are almost impossible to train to be quiet :lol:
My yappy dog did every thing bad to get attention...and attention she got :wink: she would topple my other dogs over when I was paying attention to them, play hard, yap alot, she got my attention by my negetive reactions....even bad attention is attention. Some times when you have more than one dog they have to learn about quality time and not quanity. I used the NIFIL policy, ignored her wild ways, and her yappy behavior was never rewarded by me...I stopped yelling at her (some dogs can mistake this for the owner barking along with them), when she was quiet I rewarded her for it...playing games with her would end when she started getting yappy...as soon as she sat and gave me some good behavior then the games resumed. With my yappy girl even with the most exercise I could give her which was ALOT...even for her..she would never get tired and the exercise would have her more pumped up than usual....I'd be exhausted listening to her yapping even more. With age she did calm down some what...but, I did not reward her barking...instead I rewarded quiet behavior.
Good luck to you...and some breeds are just plan barkers and may never calm down...sorry. I know alot of spitz breeds which are barkers by nature....they will never learn not to bark...its their nature.

[courtnek]

negative attentin is still attention. Some dogs (and children) thrive on it. In a sneaky obscure way, they get their way by annoying the hell outta you.

at first, it may seem that ignoring it gets you nowhere. but ignore it you must. A stern NO DOWN command can sometime work, because when they go down they will be rewarded. If they dont respond to the down, no reward. ignore it...5 minutes later say NO DOWN again, and go from there. eventually they will learn that annoying you gets them nowhere..but a good down gets treat/affection. I am using this tactic to get my foxhound to STOP waking me up at 4 a.m.....

[Daisysmom]

It goes in spurts :oops: I do ignore him, or try to most of the time, but someone else in the house (and myself from time to time) will yell at him to be quiet. He has come a very long way, and I wrote this at a desperate moment :-? . He really is such a good boy. He is border trained, listens to most of my commands, but just lovessssssss attention, and barks A LOT!!! He also won't leave the other two dogs alone!!! He want attention from anyone.

He gets the most exercise out of my three because I realize that HE NEEDS it!! So far this week, he has been on 3, two mile walks with me. Heck, I'm tired :lol:

I really like the idea of making him wait for what he wants. He is such a pushy boy!! What is the best way to handle that?

Thanks everybody!!! I really appreciate your help!!

[courtnek]

this is what I use with Laurel (and we have the wake-up time up to 5:00 now)...dogs starts wanting attention. I yell (loud) NO! DOWN! she usually doesnt lay down, but she leaves the room and comes back 10-15 minutes later for another shot. I still issue the command and ignore all of her attempts to get me up. I KNOW she doesnt have to pee....

then at 5:00 (the current "acceptable" time. I will keep increasing it)
I get up. let her out, and then feed her. She feels rewarded by the feeding and then comes and lays down. It takes time, but it does work...

[Guest Anonymous]

The chuck it jr is GREAT! i love that thing my dogs will play for hours with that. all i have to do is sit back and just toss it and they bring it back. We had a problem with Zoey constanly barking allt he time. the trainer told us to use Bitter apple when she barked and it was not nessissaray. it worked great. she now only barks when someone is at the door and when she hears something. it's great..!! ;) i really suggest the chuck it jr also that toy is just great. can't say enough good things about it.!

[Daisysmom]

All great advice! Thanks :wink:
I think, at times, and most of the time, that I just have too many dogs :roll: I will never give one up, but just realize that three are too many for me. Daisy is a lot calmer now that she is 4, and Chelsea has matured nicely (she is a little over a year) and Jake, well, you know about Jake :lol: .... The three together are a handful. The only time we can really do things "together" is at the dog/park. When I walk them, now, I usually just take turns, and it is a lot of work. When I am stressed at work (like now), and have all the usual problems at home (Joe and his job, my Mom [who lives with us], etc.) it is just a little overwhelming.... heavy sigh.... It seems I never have time to myself :( Now, I have a Saturday class starting tomorrow, and it is one of those all day-ers :-? Oh well, when I finally finish my degree and make "the big bucks" I'll buy a big dog ranch where they can run around all day :lol:

Sorry guys................. just a little ranting :oops:

[Guest Anonymous]

What kind of dog is Jake? I know it feels like a lot, but if Jake is a young, healthy sporting or working breed or mix, the chances are great that three two mile walks a week just won't cut it. He may need FAR more exericise than that, on a far more consistent basis. Ignoring him when he is barking because he is stressed because his exercise needs are not being met may not work any better than ignoring a dog who is stressed because he is thirsty and hoping he will stop being stressed.

Retrieving is great exercise, especially swimming retrieving. So is roadwork next to a bike or even a car (the Monks of New Skete book describes how to do it safely). So is a treadmill.

A tired dog is a relaxed dog. And a relaxed dog makes for a relaxed owner.

primrose

[Daisysmom]

Jake is a yellow lab, and is just a year old. He loves to swim by the way. We take all three to a dog park with a lake from time to time (but it's far) and he will be enjoying our backyard pool soon.

I would love to be able to get him on my treadmill...... how the heck could I do that? I have tried before, but not very seriously.

(P.S. my class doesn't start until 1:30!!! Yea! only half a day)