Stubborn

[mlynn27634]

Rocco has a new trick. When he decides he doesn't want to do something he lays down on his side and becomes dead weight. He is too heavy for me to try and lift up. We have put a harness on him and have him on a long lead but this doesn't seem to help. Most of the time it is when he is outside and does not want to come in

He also has gotten in the habit that if the grass gets wet he has a habit of grabbing a chunk of it and running around crazy and we cannot catch him. If we put the long lead on him he runs around us and ends up tangling Us in the lead.
Any suggestions are greatly appreciated.

[Cindy]

Sorry - I don't have any suggestions (except to ignore the behavior) but I am still laughing about him becoming dead weight! These dogs are just too smart sometimes.

[gagesbarb]

I agree with Cindy...wouldn't call Rocco stubborn, would call him smart He's learned that if he "comes," he loses--has to go inside and on top of that, maybe it means you are leaving. We call that a "poisoned cue." I would practice "come," having lots of yummy treats and calling him from a short distance. I'd probably change my cue from "come" (if that's what you are using), to something like "here." Call him, give him several great treats (one at a time) and then say "go play." When he does come inside, I'd treat and then play a while, so coming inside doesn't mean he loses too much. I might also have him come inside, give him a treat, and then let him back outside. I know this is not convenient, but...same idea with other things...we remind people to never call a dog to "come" to do something they don't like, i.e. clip nails, bath, etc.
no magic for the grass, but again, agree with Cindy...don't pay attention. In general, the way we teach to deal with a negative behavior is to focus on teaching an opposite, more productive behavior. Sounds like Rocco wants to play with you (a compliment ) and likes to play chase...so maybe throw a ball? Running the other direction often entices them...sometimes I kind of crouch down and clap (sort of a play bow) and JJ will run toward me, full speed and veer off at the last minute as I reach for him, pretending to try to catch him. Sometimes, I "find" something in the grass and examine it closely; being very interested in it catches the dog's attention and he comes over to see what you have...you might then play tug or throw a ball or stick or whatever...I would not grab for the grass or he'll have taught you a game he enjoys but you may not
My dogs clearly want to be a part of everything we're doing and want to actively interact...one of the things I love about these dogs, but there are times when it is tiring...as they get older, they do learn to settle themselves...ours like watching "TV" (the bird feeder, the yard), chewing their bones, or just following me from room to room to observe
and they will finally take a nap

[gagesbarb]

how's Rocco doing?

[mlynn27634]

Rocco is getting better I hope. I do like the idea of changing the word `here` instead of `come`. He comes when he wants to so I'm thinking it is a poisoned cue. He comes during the day it's just in the evening when he won't come in the house.

One thing Rocco does which makes us laugh is drag himself across the yard on his stomach. We call it his GI Joe. His back legs are stretched straight out and he uses his front legs to just drag himself across the yard. Unfortunately, he usually is doing this when we are trying to get him to come. It makes us laugh which is probably not helping the matter when we are trying to make him come. We have chicken wired our whole yard basically. Now I can leave him outside and he can't get into too much trouble. This seems to have made him happier because he doesn't have to come inside as often.

As far as playing catch or fetch he doesn't do it very long outside. He gets easily distracted. You throw one thing and he'll come back with a stick or something else. Sometimes I'll throw the ball and he just looks at it and lays there. I try playing tug-of-war with him and that works for a little bit but then he stops. Sometimes I worry that he is too calm for a Brittany. There are other times when I definitely feel he is a true Brittany. I love these dogs.

As far as the air conditioners, he is getting much better with them. If we leave them on low speed he's okay with it, so coming inside has gotten much less stressful for him. I am so glad because we have gone through a heat wave and I don't know how we would have done it without air conditioning.

Friends of ours who watch Rocco during the day when I work are getting a new puppy at the end of August or the beginning of September. He will now have a playmate. I am worried about him having his nose out of joint because he has been the only puppy for four people and now there will be a new puppy. Any suggestions on how to handle this so it is less stressful for Rocco. Our friends are not too worried about it. She said she will just keep the puppy in a separate room until they can get along.

Has anybody used an e-collar? I was wondering about using it for when he rips up the grass. I would like some advice on this.
Rocko likes playing with stuffed toys but is very destructive with them. Does anybody have any suggestions for toys for dogs that are destructive chores. He doesn't like just the rubber toys he likes the stuffed animals. He does not like the flat ones that don't have any stuffing. I want him to have some toys to play with but he keeps destroying them.

[gagesbarb]

sounds like you are making good progress As far as the puppy goes, I bet it will be fine...I'd certainly supervise when they play and plan to "interrupt" often.,. i.e. have yummy treats and when the start to get really wound up (before they go over the top, hold a treat to each dog's nose, lead them apart (treat is like a magnet), let them calm down and then say "go play." Rocco will probably give the puppy some license to be "rude" for a while, and then may correct him...puppies need to learn appropriate dog interaction behavior from other dogs, so Rocco can be quite helpful...
As far as stuffed toys, one of my dogs loved ripping up the toys and pulling out the stuffing...I just stuffed it back in and let him do it...I never found a toy he couldn't tear apart, even those that claimed to be indestructible...just took a few minutes longer...another of our dogs also enjoys ripping up toys, but he eats the stuffing, so...no unsupervised stuffed toys...he also doesn't like rubber toys, but does chew on sterilized bones, some antlers, some other hard toys...I had to teach him to fetch...he liked squeaky toys so, starting inside, I did a lot of "trade" with the toy, then tossed it on the floor right in front of us, he's pick it up, I traded for it and gradually tossed it further away...I would also persist with "tug;" if he only plays a little, that's OK...it is interesting because apparently some dogs need to learn to play with toys...
I would also be careful with the e collar...the concern for me is that with a sensitive dog, if he gets shocked, he might associate it with something unintended, and get more worried...In our classes, we have had dogs who were put on pinch collars, and got excited when they saw another dog, pulled, got "pinched" and apparently decided it was the other dog who caused the pain...became dog reactive and then we had a bigger problem...won't happen with all dogs, but...I think the grass problem needs to be analyzed to figure out what the purpose of the behavior is (attention, play) and then work to deal with it...if you are taking Rocco to a class, you might talk to the trainers who can ask questions and help you sort it out...it is hard because if he's just playing/exploring, it is self reinforcing and requires supervision to re-direct him...
I'd love to see a video of his GI Joe...my husband often says of ours, "If they weren't so cute, you could get really mad at them..."

[Cindy]

Layla does the GI Joe move too but we call it frogging as she looks like one with those long legs stretched out behind her. You really do have to laugh at them.