Puppy’s First Christmas
This Christmas I had to teach Gypsy many things. This must be this puppy’s first
Christmas. She was really good about not playing with the ornaments on the tree. However, about a week before Christmas she came home from the woof doctor with a funny looking cone thing on her head. In her defense, she would forget about the cone when running past the tree and the cone would knock off the bottom ornaments. She did pull my human sister’s gift out from under the tree. I explained that was not hers; her gifts are in the stockings hanging from the fireplace. She is still too short to feel the stockings for presents but she watched me as I poked each one and pointed out which ones were ours. On Christmas Eve we got to open our presents one by
one. Mum would give Gypsy her present to unwrap and then she would give me mine. As soon as Gypsy saw mum hand me my present, she would drop her wrapped present and run over to take my wrapped present away. Mum chased her around trying to get it back but that made Gypsy run faster. I would open my present and then go over to show Gypsy how to unwrap hers. Gypsy was more interested in playing with all the great toys that I had already unwrapped than unwrapping her presents. I love unwrapping presents so I unwrapped them for her. We spent the next hour playing tug-o-war with all our Christmas presents. Having a little sister isn’t so bad sometimes.
[adsenseyu5]
Although it is true that GSPs are a high energy breed, exercise alone isn’t the answer to solving common adolescent issues such as you described. Although corrections and redirecting are useful in teaching what is allowed and not allowed, the more “stronger willed” dogs need more. With such a temperament, corrections can backfire, elevating arousal and creating mistrust. And what looks like rambunctiousness is actual driven by stress, creating a vscious circle of mischief and reprimands. I urge you to contact a positive reinforcement based trainer in your area to assist you in establishing trust and respect while both of your needs are met. A good book to read with useful tips is Nan Arthur’s “Chill Out Fido”. It won’t replace consultations with a qualified trainer who can coach you on specific training skills, though. Good luck!
Hi, my GSP is 1-year old and – even with consistent training – is more than a handful. We’ve had him since he was 7 weeks old and he has becoming increasingly strong, willful and restless. We have a fenced yard and he gets plenty of exercise and still comes on the house with boundless energy. It becomes difficult to enjoy him since we spend a great deal of time in ‘correction’ and ‘redirection’ mode. We love him so much and want him to finally get it and settle down a bit. Any suggestions…we’re out of ideas.