Dog Help

MeanParent

rising_from_the_ashes wrote: »

I have to say that was the 1st thing that jumped out at me too.....

Is there any reason she can't sleep downstairs? It is usually cooler than upstairs and as others have said it's much better for the joints for them to not be going up/down stairs a lot.

She can, she just doesn't like being alone downstairs when we are in the house and always follows us up.

rising_from_the_ashes

Difficult one then ..... I had huge problems trying to stop Ben coming up (unsuccessfully).

My fault (of course) - I lived in a bungalow when I got him & he went nuts if shut in a room so I just left the doors open and he sneaked in my room in the middle of the night.

By the time I moved (now have stairs) it was too late ..... [STRIKE]if[/STRIKE] when I get another, I won't let the habit develop (hopefully!).

Does she do any damage to anything / whine etc if you leave her downstairs? If the latter, it may be worth a few nights disturbed sleep but if damaging things (or herself) it's much harder.

Caroline_a

I would move the crate downstairs, buy some earplugs, warn the neighbours and pop her in when you go to bed, lights out, night night, job done. She'll probably winge a bit, but she'll soon get the hang of it!

krlyr

You could slowly move her out of the bedroom, move her crate closer to the door then out into the hallway. Alternatively if she'll settle outside of the crate, put a babygate up in your bedroom doorway so she can still see you (often reassures a dog) but not get into the bedroom - stick a cosy bed out on the hallway for her to curl up onto. I wouldn't move a dog downstairs suddenly if it's going to spend all night crying, it'll be upsetting for the dog and disturb you and your neighbours. Prevention is better than a solution, introduce change in routine to a dog slowly and you're much less likely to end up with a harder to fix problem like seperation anxiety or isolation distress.

rochja

Dogs can be a lot like babies. Ours has been a lot happier at night since we provided a night light. A previous dog liked background music when she was alone. It is a very bad idea to let their mess, smells and allergens upstairs

Person_one

MeanParent wrote: »

I think you are reading too much in to it!

I hope so, but if you know what sex your dog is then it just seems odd and a bit detached.

MeanParent

Person_one wrote: »

I hope so, but if you know what sex your dog is then it just seems odd and a bit detached.

I was a bit sore from the bite so probably a bit grrrrr, for want of another phrase.

At other times she is our princess!

CFC

My boy had this when he'd got his feet under the table. He also did a bit of general resource guarding if it was something he really really wanted.
Trained it out of him with as another poster has said, super desirable treats and being trained to swap the resource for the treat.
With the bed, we let him sleep on the bed with us but if he's in my spot when I go up he has to move down to the bottom - on one or two occasions there was 'a misunderstanding' when he showed his teeth and a bloodcurling aggressive growl; his lead went on, he was expelled out of room, slept on his own in the hall. People who don't know how to behave nicely can't share the bed
Dogs are fast learners, no more 'misunderstandings' or teeth showing, although on occasion there is a sleepy grumble like a teddy bear's tummy when I move him when he's tired.

I believe not only in positive training but in 'consequences' and dogs do learn from them providing they follow the offence in a matter of seconds. Rudeness, teeth, lack of manners, all dealt with immediately by removing priviliges such as being with humans overnight. Also a quick squirt from a water spray bottle gets the message across when teeth come out. If your dog quite likes it in the cage, you have removed her from the bed and put her in the cage which is neutral. It's just a question of how you want to play it, if you want her to sleep in the cage always or learn to sleep nicely in your room. There's no right or wrong.

Mine too is like yours, when he realises nothing else will work it's straight on the back for a tummy tickle...

purple.sarah

Being allowed on furniture like the bed can make the dog feel more dominant, when you moved her she might have thought you were challenging her dominance and snapped at you. Our dog is banned from our bed after growling at our housemate when she sat on the end of the bed. It's important that dogs know they are below you in the pecking order and it can help if they are physically below you, not up on the furniture and if there are places you are allowed to go that they aren't.

One other thing is that sometimes dogs pant when they are in pain so maybe get her checked to be sure she doesn't have any illness or injuries as she may have snapped because you accidentally touched a sore spot.

krlyr

purple.sarah wrote: »

Being allowed on furniture like the bed can make the dog feel more dominant, when you moved her she might have thought you were challenging her dominance and snapped at you. Our dog is banned from our bed after growling at our housemate when she sat on the end of the bed. It's important that dogs know they are below you in the pecking order and it can help if they are physically below you, not up on the furniture and if there are places you are allowed to go that they aren't.

Or they think "this bed is really warm and comfortable, it's a great resource and I don't want to be kicked out of it" so they use their natural method of communication, i.e. growls. I don't buy into this view of dog dominance at all. I'm sure it exists, but not in the sense that Cesar Milan etc. would have use believe. Dogs are intelligent enough to see us as people, not other dogs, so I don't see that the pecking order/dominance/leader stuff applies. Sure, they may realise who is the soft touch and lets them get away with bad habits, but that's about training, not dominance.
http://www.apbc.org.uk/articles/why-wont-dominance-die