Puppy Forum and Dog Forums banner

Dog needs to learn to chill

853 Views 11 Replies 6 Participants Last post by  xxxxdogdragoness
we have a 3 year old staff terrier "alli" and a 4 year old chihuahua "chevy". Alli is a very energetic dog which i understand is part of her breed. The issue is that we are having is that she is stubborn, (again another characteristic of her breed) Even to get her to lay on her bed is a huge issue when the family is trying to relax and watch TV. We have to constantly return her to her bed and repeat the stay command. In one ear and out the other. It gets to the point that she gets bannished from the room and has to sit upstairs alone. Chevy listens and stays when we give him the command. If alli is laying on her bed, you move, breathe, look at her, or pay attention to chevy its game over and she is in your face. I dont believe in yelling at pets. But its getting frusterating to the point that i find my self raising my voice and getting angry at her. Does anyone have a bully breed thats as stubborn as ours? What did you do to overcome or focus their energy in another way? (alli cant have treats or bones due to severe allergies)
1 - 2 of 12 Posts
How long are her walks and how many times a day? What other exercise does she get? Do you spend time training her daily?

Other things to try would be a food dispensing toy that you can put her dinner in, a game of hide and seek where you hide her food around the house or in various containers to get her mind working, non edible chew toys such as antlers or nylabones. Get her involved in a dog sport like agility or flyball.
You might find this helpful:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vk4PPcE1CqY
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tVGaslyGaGE&feature=plcp

Stay can be hard for dogs to master because of the self rewarding nature of returning to their owner. Being near their owner is often more rewarding for dogs than any potential treat or praise reward from staying.
1 - 2 of 12 Posts
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top