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Question
01 Sep 2011
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Boerboel x alsatian puppy
Hi There,
I have a 5 month old boerboel x alsatian female puppy.
She is the molst beautiful dog.
Apart from her chewing ( which i heard will get better with age)
and her attitude with my 6year old miniauture pinchser.
She wil throw herself and her body at this little dog ( who doiesnt growl she just freezes when the big dog comes at her. Sometimes she will run and hide under a table.
SOmetimes she will step on her (purposely) and i think she mite just snap her back one day.
Why is she doing this and how can i teach her to not do this to the little one!!
She also has a tendency to jump at one when she is excited. How can i teach her to not jump up at us?
Andf how can I teach her to be more calm? Ort is that also something that will come with age? she get over excited and then just goes on a warpath .
Please help!!!!
I have a 5 month old boerboel x alsatian female puppy.
She is the molst beautiful dog.
Apart from her chewing ( which i heard will get better with age)
and her attitude with my 6year old miniauture pinchser.
She wil throw herself and her body at this little dog ( who doiesnt growl she just freezes when the big dog comes at her. Sometimes she will run and hide under a table.
SOmetimes she will step on her (purposely) and i think she mite just snap her back one day.
Why is she doing this and how can i teach her to not do this to the little one!!
She also has a tendency to jump at one when she is excited. How can i teach her to not jump up at us?
Andf how can I teach her to be more calm? Ort is that also something that will come with age? she get over excited and then just goes on a warpath .
Please help!!!!
Dog Behaviour Expert
Hi Lilly, you sure do have your hands full!
With regard to the chewing, supply her daily with varied chew toys which you have made even more enticing by putting a little peanut butter in cracks etc. There is an article on Toys on my wwwlfriendsofthedog.co.za site which will give you lots of inexpensive ideas. It is under the puppy section.
With regard to the rest of the behaviour, you need to bring in House Rules urgently. Have a look on the site for these too and if you are not coming right, do get in a professional to help. It is not that she is aggressive in any way, but there is always the possibilty of this happening if your lettle one retaliates, and this could be dangerous.
With jumping up, dead easy! Take her daily allowance of food and call her, ask for a sit and then reward with one piece of kibble. Do this over and over for as long as you can and you will soon find that as she approaches a person, she will sit waiting for her treat without even being asked too. This takes practice, practice, practise, but is easily achieved. Once she is sitting each and every time, then start to 'fade' the reward. You do this by only offering a food treat for every 3rd treat, 5th treat etc. Do give her the treat every so often as this will make sure that the behaviour is reinforced all the time. Good luck!
With regard to the chewing, supply her daily with varied chew toys which you have made even more enticing by putting a little peanut butter in cracks etc. There is an article on Toys on my wwwlfriendsofthedog.co.za site which will give you lots of inexpensive ideas. It is under the puppy section.
With regard to the rest of the behaviour, you need to bring in House Rules urgently. Have a look on the site for these too and if you are not coming right, do get in a professional to help. It is not that she is aggressive in any way, but there is always the possibilty of this happening if your lettle one retaliates, and this could be dangerous.
With jumping up, dead easy! Take her daily allowance of food and call her, ask for a sit and then reward with one piece of kibble. Do this over and over for as long as you can and you will soon find that as she approaches a person, she will sit waiting for her treat without even being asked too. This takes practice, practice, practise, but is easily achieved. Once she is sitting each and every time, then start to 'fade' the reward. You do this by only offering a food treat for every 3rd treat, 5th treat etc. Do give her the treat every so often as this will make sure that the behaviour is reinforced all the time. Good luck!
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