Temper tantrums on walks... I'm going nuts! (long)
Golem is now an adolescent - which means teenage rebellion and other fun growing up things that puppies do. Having a large breed, stubborn, persistent male dog - we were prepared for this, and we keep our cool, correct him when he's bad, and he's back to his normally good behavior. Well, his new phase of temper tantrums is really pushing us to the end of our rope and I just need to vent before I go nuts! Golem LOVES everyone, all he ever wants to do is say hi to new people/animals and give them kisses... However, on the walks, it's not the time for that - when we do stop and talk to other people and we let him say hi, get petted, etc., he is sooo good.... It's when we leave, he throws a fit!! He wants to stay and he's protesting, we know this - but it's getting to be so annoying and frustrating when nothing seems to get through to him that his behavior is completly unacceptable! Here's what happens:
- Approaching people/other dogs - we will make him sit and wait until they pass.
- He is excited about saying hi, and when he realizes that we aren't allowing it - protests by jumping up and trying to bite the leash, growling.
- We do leash corrections and tell him NO!, or try to do the LOOK command with treats, to get his focus back on us, not the distraction. Repeat until he snaps out of it.
- Continue on the walk like nothing happened.
Craig just called me and said that Golem threw a temper tantrum right in front of the house on their walk today because a little girl walked by with her grandma, and Golem decided that he wanted to go over to her and say hi, and Daddy said it wasn't the time for it. So what happens? He throws a temper tantrum, growling, biting leash, jumping up. Craig had to do the alpha submission to calm him down until he stopped, then he went in the crate as punishemnt for the bad behavior.
We know what he's doing, he's protesting to try and see if we give in and we are not allowing it, but he's still trying to see if maybe this time it will work.... I know it's most likely something that other people with large breed dogs went through when they were puppies too -but at the same time - the rest of our neighbors see this occasional behavior and our corrections and I don't want them thinking he's a bad dog - especially since we have a Rottie, and the stereotypes are so quick to point fingers when the dog does something bad. He is a stubborn and persistent male Rottie, and he did the same thing when he was teething during his biting stage. It took us months to get him out of that! I guess I'd just like to hear from others who have been in this situation, just to know that we're not doing the wrong thing and thiat this too is an annoying phase that he will eventually get tired of. He is sucha good dog the rest of the time, it's just when we're holding him back from approaching people on the walks that he throws these fits... I'm going to call our trainer today also to see what she has to say about it, but any advice or feedback would be wonderful - especially from my fellow Rottie moms out there!!![]()
thanks so much!!
- Approaching people/other dogs - we will make him sit and wait until they pass.
- He is excited about saying hi, and when he realizes that we aren't allowing it - protests by jumping up and trying to bite the leash, growling.
- We do leash corrections and tell him NO!, or try to do the LOOK command with treats, to get his focus back on us, not the distraction. Repeat until he snaps out of it.
- Continue on the walk like nothing happened.
Craig just called me and said that Golem threw a temper tantrum right in front of the house on their walk today because a little girl walked by with her grandma, and Golem decided that he wanted to go over to her and say hi, and Daddy said it wasn't the time for it. So what happens? He throws a temper tantrum, growling, biting leash, jumping up. Craig had to do the alpha submission to calm him down until he stopped, then he went in the crate as punishemnt for the bad behavior.
We know what he's doing, he's protesting to try and see if we give in and we are not allowing it, but he's still trying to see if maybe this time it will work.... I know it's most likely something that other people with large breed dogs went through when they were puppies too -but at the same time - the rest of our neighbors see this occasional behavior and our corrections and I don't want them thinking he's a bad dog - especially since we have a Rottie, and the stereotypes are so quick to point fingers when the dog does something bad. He is a stubborn and persistent male Rottie, and he did the same thing when he was teething during his biting stage. It took us months to get him out of that! I guess I'd just like to hear from others who have been in this situation, just to know that we're not doing the wrong thing and thiat this too is an annoying phase that he will eventually get tired of. He is sucha good dog the rest of the time, it's just when we're holding him back from approaching people on the walks that he throws these fits... I'm going to call our trainer today also to see what she has to say about it, but any advice or feedback would be wonderful - especially from my fellow Rottie moms out there!!
