# Temper Tantrum? Spoiled? A Brat?



## Ontariodogsitter (Feb 23, 2020)

You haven't mentioned how much obedience training you are doing with a trainer ?
Definitely time to re-establish who is actually in charge.


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## Hildae (Aug 15, 2012)

You've taught your dog that he can growl and get his way. Not on purpose, obviously, but it certainly seems that that is what has happened. How many hours a day are you exercising him, and how much time per day is spent in 1 on 1 training?


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## gdgli (Aug 24, 2011)

I recommend that you bone up on dog behavior, body language, and appropriate responses. Check out TOOLBOX FOR REMODELING YOUR PROBLEM DOG by Terry Ryan.


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## SRW (Dec 21, 2018)

Mandy1 said:


> Neither he nor I spank Chase - ever.


I know you don't want to hear it but this is the problem.
Good bahavior must be taught and bad behavior must be corrected. Someone will surely chime in with all the virtues of "positive only" training along with the horrors of "negative" training. None of that will matter when your dog bites someone and he will unless you change his attitude and behavior with proper training.


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## Pytheis (Mar 17, 2016)

I don’t understand why you feel the need to physically manipulate this dog at all. He should be taught an ‘off’ or ‘move’ command instead of your husband physically trying to move him. In this situation he should have been told to move without being touched at all. Until he’s properly trained, I would keep a leash on him at all times so that you can use the leash to guide him instead. Less conflict/confrontation is better.


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## Mandy1 (Jan 31, 2021)

Ontariodogsitter said:


> You haven't mentioned how much obedience training you are doing with a trainer ?
> Definitely time to re-establish who is actually in charge.





Ontariodogsitter said:


> You haven't mentioned how much obedience training you are doing with a trainer ?
> Definitely time to re-establish who is actually in charge.


Good point, I edited post with that information. I have been taking him to obedience training weekly for a month so far. We felt that best since he, until now, obeyed my husband without much issue.


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## Mandy1 (Jan 31, 2021)

SRW said:


> I know you don't want to hear it but this is the problem.
> Good bahavior must be taught and bad behavior must be corrected. Someone will surely chime in with all the virtues of "positive only" training along with the horrors of "negative" training. None of that will matter when your dog bites someone and he will unless you change his attitude and behavior with proper training.


It’s actually refreshing to hear, we obviously don’t want to resort to doing that unless absolutely necessary but in this case it certainly seems like the appropriate response for the behavior. In all other cases, we utilize positive reinforcement.


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## Mandy1 (Jan 31, 2021)

Pytheis said:


> I don’t understand why you feel the need to physically manipulate this dog at all. He should be taught an ‘off’ or ‘move’ command instead of your husband physically trying to move him. In this situation he should have been told to move without being touched at all. Until he’s properly trained, I would keep a leash on him at all times so that you can use the leash to guide him instead. Less conflict/confrontation is better.


We will continue to work with him. We don’t physically manipulate him in any way other than to help lift him to our bed at night. We’ve done that routine for the last 2-3 months. Last night was the first time something like the growling/snapping has happened.


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## Mandy1 (Jan 31, 2021)

gdgli said:


> I recommend that you bone up on dog behavior, body language, and appropriate responses. Check out TOOLBOX FOR REMODELING YOUR PROBLEM DOG by Terry Ryan.


Thank you, I definitely will. I suppose at 5 months old it is already time to “remodel”? It seems like we are just starting to “build” him but maybe I’m mistaken.


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## Mandy1 (Jan 31, 2021)

Hildae said:


> You've taught your dog that he can growl and get his way. Not on purpose, obviously, but it certainly seems that that is what has happened. How many hours a day are you exercising him, and how much time per day is spent in 1 on 1 training?


I agree to some extent. We are outside on average an hour a day where he runs and plays with us, my kids and our other puppy. We don’t spend a lot of 1:1 training time outside of doing the commands taught at obedience training and offering the positive rewards. What sort of training would address the situation above?


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## Ontariodogsitter (Feb 23, 2020)

I would start by loss of bed privileges, he is obviously under impression it's his bed and willing to defend it against all comers.


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## Hildae (Aug 15, 2012)

Mandy1 said:


> I agree to some extent. We are outside on average an hour a day where he runs and plays with us, my kids and our other puppy. We don’t spend a lot of 1:1 training time outside of doing the commands taught at obedience training and offering the positive rewards. What sort of training would address the situation above?


 There would definitely be no bed privileges anymore. When a dog starts telling a human NO you can't move me, that's a big fat oh heck no. So there would be no bed, no couch etc until he learns that you control those spaces and he's permitted or not at your discretion. 

Every day we spend 1 hour training, broken into 2 or 3 sessions. (Our latest is currently only 11 weeks) If I were you I'd be training him every day on everything you can think of. Teach him Sit, Stay, Down, Off, Leave it, Paw/Shake, Roll over, Watch me, Place (Maybe do this one immediately). Teach tricks like BANG, Spin Right/Left, Beg, Hand me that, Turn on/off the lights by a switch etc. Every day. These things are a huge bonding element for you, and your dog learns to cooperate and work with you because that gets him awesome things. (Treats and Praise and Love)


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## rosalyn (Apr 22, 2020)

Sounds like he was resource guarding the bed, in which case I agree with Hildae that bed privileges are now revoked and he should be put back into the crate for night time. 

Did you mention that you added another puppy? When Chase is only five months old?


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## ceegee (Mar 26, 2015)

Mandy1 said:


> (...)
> 
> Here is my question: is there such a thing as spoiled behavior or a temper tantrum, if you will? That’s what it feels like, he’s just displeased with something he’s being asked to do. Or, is the behavior likely more innate temperament? I really don’t want to miss something critical that can be fixed through behavior training. But I also feel like we need to do something different for him if our environment is not a good fit and these issues will just continue.
> 
> Edited to add: We began obedience training at a highly rated local training center when he turned 4 months. That’s the earliest they would allow. We are learning sit, touch, leave, etc. *nothing yet that would address this issue*. He spends most of the day with my husband and Chase responds immediately to him in almost all situations except “recall”. I am the one taking him to the training sessions in an effort to establish that I am also in charge.


The whole point of obedience training is to define the relationship between the dog and the human. Right now, your dog is in charge. He's taken charge and trained you to let him have what he wants if he growls. When you start obedience training, you are training the dog to do what you want - even if it's only to sit or to lie down - instead of doing what he wants. This defines your relationship with him and, if started early enough, ensures that the type of situation you are currently experiencing does not occur. The obedience training you are doing will change the nature of your relationship with the dog, from one where he calls the shots to one where you call the shots. So it is in fact directly addressing the issue you are experiencing, i.e. a dog that thinks he is in charge.

I would strongly question the fact that your training centre deserves its "highly rated" status if it does not encourage people to start training before the age of four months. The time to start training is the minute your dog enters your life. If you had started puppy obedience classes when your dog was younger, you would very probably not be in this situation now. The growling, the bossiness, the snapping - all these things are the result of lack of training. They are not tantrums, they are not the result of him being spoiled, they are not innate temperament issues - they are the result of him not being trained to respect his humans.

In the meantime, until you've sorted this out, I'd make a couple of suggestions. First, keep your children away from him. When he starts respecting you, you will then have to teach him to respect your children too. Second, you say you have another puppy now - please start training with it now, right away, to avoid having two bossy dogs in the house. If your current training school won't help you with this, find one that will. Third, as others have said, your dog shouldn't have couch privileges or bed privileges or anything else. For sleeping, put a crate in your room and have him sleep in it. For the living room, buy a cushion, find a place for it and have your dog lie on it, instead of getting on the furniture. Fourth, when you're with the dog in the house, have him wear a leash and use it to control him if he gets into a situation where you need to take control. If he growls, don't give him what he wants, use the leash to take him to the crate.

Best of luck. These are issues that can be dealt with through training, especially as your dog seems to have a nice basic temperament. He's just out of control and needs structure. However, the issues do need to be addressed proactively - they won't go away on their own. If you don't address them, they will get worse.


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