People need to remember that dogs think different from us and they don't do logic like humans. They don't "get back" at you. I agree it was not Brat mode
_____ From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Joan Croft Sent: Saturday, May 14, 2011 3:26 AM To: [email protected] Subject: RE: [Chihuahuas] Advice please - spoiled doggy tantrums I think that the peeing incident is not 'brat mode.' It is caused by you not paying attention to you, so then she does something that will get your attention. I guess I may be accused of spoiling my dogs if it means that they want to spend some time with me.they want to feel some love, me petting them and talking to them calmly. I am not really sure that is what you mean, because if Pia was a wild dog, then it would not be normal for her to want your attention; but Pia is a pet and that means that the owner and the dog have a relationship where they do interact with each other. I do hold my dogs; I do cover them with their blankets at night; when I come home, they turn over so that I can tickle their bellies, then give them a kiss and send them out to go potty. If I only had one dog, there would be nothing else to interact with if they were not to interact with you. Maybe I just didn't understand what you were writing about being spoiled and being a brat. From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of freddyscribbles Sent: Friday, May 13, 2011 4:44 PM To: [email protected] Subject: [Chihuahuas] Advice please - spoiled doggy tantrums Remember when I said that she was mostly house broken? I still think this is true. I know that she can go at least 6-7 hours without peeing in the house. I also know that she knows how and when to use piddle pads. But when she goes into 'brat' mode, she's likely to squat and pee where ever she is. It's like she gets herself so worked up about not getting her way that she can't control her bladder. I guess it's a little like the child that has such bad tantrums they throw up. Bad analogy, but it's the closest I can think of. I think crate training her will help significantly with a number of the problems we're still dealing with. But has anyone here ever dealt with an excessively spoiled dog? I know she can be on her own without freaking out. My midday snooze was spent in another room away from the dog where she couldn't see me. Not a peep. Earlier, I repeated this morning's experiment - I went to another room at lunch time to read/eat for 40 minutes. Again, not a peep out of her. I am in the process of stopping her from jumping up on her hind legs and pawing/scratching at you until you pet her. That has helped already. If nothing else, it means that she's calmer when she does get pet and cuddles. The spoiled/dominant behavior is also why I stopped napping with her on my stomach. Just wish I could fix the random blips in house breaking. And maybe nip the tantrums in the bud since these two things seem to be inter-related. Thoughts, help, advice? Been ignoring the howling. Been ignoring the jumping/pawing. It's not cute. When she gets down, she receives affection - lots and lots of head scritching which seems to a favorite.
