[Highwaydog]

So my Akbash/Pyre, Montana, is 10 weeks now and for all my concerns I keep telling myself that he is only a puppy, and his behaviors are normal. I correct all his misbehaviors by either shouting NO loudly, simply refusing to play with him, or in more severe cases holding his chops closed shut or pinning him to the ground. Lately however he has gotten more aggressive in play and otherwise. Twice he has growled/barked and nipped as I blocked his path from dirty pond water. My concern is that since we spend a lot of time driving; that he is building up anxiety. Please note that we typically never go two hours without stretching our legs/play time and that durring travel he is very well behaved and spends the whole time in his bed. Anyone have experience with puppies/dogs and consistent traveling?

 

[Amaryllis]

It's not the driving that's the problem. Your methods of correction- shouting, pinning, holding- cause fear and aggression. You need to find some other ways of dealing with normal puppy behavior. We have a lot of stickies here and many knowledgeable members. Please read more.

 

[Hambonez]

I think if someone was shouting at me, ignoring me, or pinning me to the ground, I'd be pretty anxious. You're being really harsh in correcting a baby. "No" doesn't mean anything to the puppy, and if "no" meant one thing, the dog wouldn't be able to generalize it to other situations - so there's no way that 'no' could work for all misbehavior. I suggest finding a dog trainer who uses positive methods and taking some classes with him/her.

 

[Highwaydog]

Perhaps I came off as overly harsh. I don't shout at my dog whenever I think he does something bad, I sternly say no and suspend playing with him. My regret is that I got him just a little too young but the good thing is that he will be recieving his next round of shots in a few days after which he will be taking puppy classes. Appreciate y'all posting to my thread though