growing pains or bad training or what???

[Charleysmom]

it seems lately Charley has become a bit - how shall I say this? I guess he's developed a mind of his own. sometimes he's just such a nuisance (where did my little angel go?). I suppose this has been going on for about a month. he's also become quite strong and has started jumping alot. wow! he loves to jump up on his hind legs. if I put something on the countertops and he wants it he'll keep jumping up to try to get it. I say no jump and he stops but then starts again 15 seconds later. Everything on my kitchen counters has to be pushed back at least 7-8 inches otherwise I'm afraid he might reach it. I can't seem to stop this jumping. he never used to jump and now he's always tring to get at something.

also, he's driving me nuts with scratching at the door all the time. even if he's gone out already. I'll let him go out and then he comes back in 3 minutes and then 2 minutes later he scratches to go out again and this can go on for hours. how do I stop this behavior? the last day or so I've been thinking, okay you get to go out once. and I'm trying to ignore the door scratching or I try to busy him with something else but this just seems crazy. there has to be another way. what am I doing wrong?

Is there something I need to be doing? we've trained so much over the past year and lately I just wonder if I've been doing it correctly at all??
Help!!!

[Charleysmom]

oh, I forgot to say that Charley just turned a year old.

[Charleysmom]

I was just reading another post about a dog becoming very vocal and forgot to mention that about Charley. He whines quite a bit lately and I dont' know what he wants. For example, He'll scratch and whine at the cabinet where his food is kept. HE NEVER did this before. He acts like he's hungry alot but he is well fed and the right weight. He whines other times and I dont' know what he wants. I hate to complain like this but we seem to be developing some problems.

[Gabs]

I'll be watching this post - gabby (a year & a half) started jumping up too to see what's on the counters - I'm thinking I need to train her "off" but I don't know how to start.

[krandall]

It sounds like Charley is mostly being an adolescent, and testing the boundaries. I don't think you've done anything "wrong" in your training. He's just the equivalent of a teenage boy right now. I found that Kodi was at his most demanding between 8 and 18 months... sort of right where you are. He didn't scratch at the door, but he did a lot of jumping when he wanted something, and the demand barking drove me to distraction!!!

Remember that it's MUCH easier to teach them to "do" something than it is to teach them "not to do" something. So try to come up with replacement behaviors for the things that drive you most crazy. For the others, do your best to TOTALLY ignore them. That's the best way to get them to stop, although you are likely to get an "extinction burst" (they might do it a LOT more!!!) for a short period before totally giving up.

I'm not quite sure what to do about the door scratching. I'd hate to have a dog scratching up my door, but it's great that he lets you know when he needs to go out. I'm not sure how you differentiate between the potty runs and the times he just wants you to open the door. You sure don't want to guess wrong and cause him to have an accident in the house!

Kodi didn't develop his "signal" to go out until he was past that very demanding phase, so I never had to sort that piece out!

[Suzi]

My first thought is he is telling you something like he is bored. Do you take him on long walks? Mine have been cooped up more than they ever have and I have noticed a big difference in their behavior. I have a bell on my door and a fenced in back yard so if the bell rings I just let them out. At least that would save your door. Maddie is my jumper I swear she could jump 3 feet. Barking has been a problem. I have been working on it for over a year. Mine are about 2 1/2

[FancyNancy]

I'm going to offer some advise, but I'm not an expert - just someone who has been through some of the same things and has successfully gotten my dog to do what I want him to do most of the time. And probably many people on here will yell at me for the advise I am about to give.

All I can say is that I had an AMAZING trainer (he trains search and rescue dogs) and this is what my trainer suggested. Second, I have a wonderful dog who is extremely happy, well behaved, and is never annoying in any way.

This technique is for the most dangerous behaviors - ones which can put your dog in danger if you don't get them to stop (and this includes trying to grab things off the counter because there could be something lethal to him up there). For Henry, this was lurching on the leash to chase a car everytime one went by when we were walking, and running away from me when I gave the COME command. I need him to obey me when I say COME and STAY because I need to be able to protect him if/when he is in danger.

I used this technique only twice in his life - at about a year old. And it worked. I held him by his scruff (not shaking or lifting - just holding him still) , looked him sternly in the eye, and commanded (yelled actually) NO CHASE (or NO JUMP) very loudly and very sternly. Then I released him and ignored him for awhile. As I said, I only did this twice in his whole life. The rest was positive reinforcement. But I will tell you, my dog COMES when he is called 90% of the time and he never tries to chase a car anymore. He also knows he has no choice but to obey me. That is for his protection and my sanity.

Our dogs are very soft dogs. They don't need you to be heavy handed in training. That is why I only had to use the technique twice. But sometimes they need some strong signs to show them where the boundaries are. Henry did.

Again, lots of people will disagree with me. Guys - dont beat me up too much please!!! I am only saying what worked for me.

[HannahBearsMom]

Charley sounds exactly like Maccabee. They must be brothers. Lol.

[FancyNancy]

I forgot to say -about the scratching at the door. You dont want to stop this necessarily because you want the dog to communicate when he needs to go out. When Henry does the scratching thing (he does the same thing as your dog), I put him out and I dont let him in for 15 minutes or so. It isnt a cure - he still does it - but it might help.

[Suzi]

Originally Posted by HannahBearsMom

Charley sounds exactly like Maccabee. They must be brothers. Lol.

That's cute I was going to say its all Toms fault Just kidding.