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.

[mlynn27634]

Update on Rocco. Our friends got their puppy. Rocco is in love. He comes home, eats dinner and goes up to bed.
We were doing pretty good with Rocco coming inside. Now he is back to as soon as we call he just sits there. Tonight he hid under the holly bush and wouldn't come in. Should I just leave him out there and turn off the light for the yard? We are going back to not letting him outside without the long leash .
He never was one who if I would make silly noise and run away from him he would follow me.
He acts totally different at our friends house. It is very quiet there and our house is not. I don't know if that has anything to do with it. He seems happy to see me when I pick him up.
Help!!!

[gagesbarb]

glad he and the puppy are getting along so well! I bet your friends are glad to have Rocco around to play with the puppy, wear him out and teach him things only dogs can teach each other.
As far as coming in from the yard--do you think there is something inside that is worrying him? I guess the air conditioner isn't on anymore...some other sound? Or, is it that he just doesn't want to come inside because he loves outside? or it is associated with your leaving or his going into the crate for the night and fun is over? Once he is inside, how does he act? We once had a family whose dog was afraid to go through the door itself...maybe had gotten hit by the door going through? slipped? Who knows? We just had to make going in and out the door a fun game...
I guess have to figure out what is going on before figuring out what to do...might go back to your trainer. I would be careful not to "call" him and bring him inside until you figure it out so as to not "poison" the "come" cue...though may have already happened...not to worry, though, you can always switch your cue...Let us know what happens...always learn from others' experiences

[mlynn27634]

I am not sure how to go about finding out what is bothering him. When we get him in, he seems fine. If it is later,, he runs up and goes to bed and snuggles up at my feet when I get in. If it is earlier he snuggles up against my husband on the sofa in the basement or in the corner of the sofa. I think my husband may be a little loud or too rough for him. We never had a sensitive dog. Rocco never touched a single thing in the house to chew up, nothing. He is an angel as far as that goes. the outside is a whole different matter. He digs up the yard everywhere. This is why we can't just let him stay outside for as long as he wants. he isn't interested in playing tug of war or catch very long. He likes to rip off small limbs from the holly bush, arborvitae, fire bush, etc. We put chicken wire around the arborvitae but now he has moved on to the holly bushes.
Any suggestions are welcome!!

[gagesbarb]

hmmm Not sure about ripping off branches...our JJ did that when we first got him...ate (not just chewed) leaves, sticks, all sorts of things...he was 5 years old...he's stopped that now...in retrospect, I think he was stressed and maybe his diet wasn't the best...he was grossly overweight...JJ also has a sensitive tummy and maybe his tummy was a bit upset? Barb (she has a wealth of knowledge about diet) might have a thought? Given Rocco's temperament, it would probably be good to try to interact in a calm way with him...I might do fun "training" outside...take yummy treats and certainly treat him every time he chooses to come over to you...run through exercises you have done in training classes...train a few minutes and then let him explore...I know it is hard to put chicken wire around everything, but for a while, may be best option...some people have made a "digging" place for their dogs, i.e. a place where it is OK to dig...also, here, the moles have been very active and are digging tunnels all over the yard; JJ is "helping" by trying to dig them up Don't know if that is going on...I might also put Rocco on a leash and "practice" going through the door...lots of treats for going through, back and forth between you and your husband...walk him through/treat. toss a treat, call him through (he's just on the other side and you're pretty sure he'll come, so the "call" is successful). Then let him back outside so he doesn't think going through the door is a bad thing. Also, lots of practice outside calling him (be close enough and with great treats so you are pretty sure he'll come), give him a treat and then tell him to "go play," again, so he doesn't associate coming to you with the end of outside...maybe games of calling him back and forth between you and your husband. some people "seed" their yard with treats so the dog can "hunt." Let us know how things go and Thank You for being patient with Rocco while you are figuring this out...and (I know I sound like a broken record), thank you for only using positive approaches!