Look at the confidence. Salem is so certain that Major will stay right where he is that walking across the backyard is old news. No biggie. No threat. Life is good when you run the place. He who chases his own tail! Imbecile!
Major is still a challenge for me. He is loving and cuddly at night when bedtime is near, but the rest of the day is managed chaos. The only person who can control him is Chuck, who is second in command after Salem, and I’m desperately trying to assert my inner Pack Leader. It’s not working. My hands look like chew toys. To the stranger in the check-out line, I must look like I stick my hands in blenders.
The dog won’t be neutered until May, so I know I’ve got this amped aggression to deal with at least until then. My hope is that after we sever that testosterone he’ll calm down a bit. Even the vet recognized how dominant Major is, so I know it’s not just my pansy demeanor we’re dealing with.
In other news, we woke up to snow this morning and it reminded me that I never posted a photo from our weekend snow. Despite its beauty, we’re all very ready for spring.
That cat puts up with nothing.
He really doesn’t.
Is it against doggy rules to smack his nose and say “no” when he hurts you? I know there are many newer ways to handle puppies these days. Just asking! Oh, did you notice my signature line? I’m trying to be a crafty seller too. I am stuck on creating a web site using google. Apparently, once you chose a background, you can’t change your mind!!
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On Wed, Mar 6, 2013 at 12:06 PM, WordPress.com
I’ve tried many tactics, though any sort of aggressive response to Major spurs more aggression in him. It is more beneficial to him (and me) to be calm and assertive rather than physical and assertive. That’s super hard for me because I’m almost always uptight and tense, and according to Cesar Millan, that is the wrong “energy” to have when trying to assert authority over a dog.
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I understand completely about hands being used as chew toys. Glimmer has used me that way something awful while she was teething. For awhile, it was so bad that I could hardly use my hands at all. And the more I corrected her, the worse it got – just like what Major is doing to you.
Like you, I also follow Cesar Millan’s philosophies. In fact, I’ve lived them most of my life, with all the animals I’ve had, since before I ever knew he existed. He’s right about the energy… but unlike many of us, he has a huge pack that gives him support on that. So the things our puppies are doing to us probably don’t happen to him simply because the pup is kept in line by the rest of the pack.
What I’ve been doing with Glimmer is to walk her for about three hours at a time, every day. During that time, she is in training (obstacles, heeling, etc.), and by the time we get back home, her physical and mental energy has been drained right out, and she’s good for the rest of the day. She doesn’t even try to go after Charlie, our senior cat. She’s just too pooped to pop.
It sounds to me like Major may be teething. If that’s the case, what I did for Glimmer was to get a cloth, soak it in cold water, tie it into a knot, and then toss it in the freezer. She loved it. I also gave her ice cubes – yep, ice cubes. The chewing as well as the cold helped alleviate the worst of her teething pain, and she could have as many as she wanted.
I hope things ease up for you with Major’s biting. It’s easy for Cesar Millan to say, “Don’t get frustrated,” when he isn’t the one being chewed on…
I hope that some of this will die down once Major has his adult canine teeth and has been neutered. Until then, yes, I work hard to remain calm and keep my cool. We walk him, but I bet it’s not nearly enough since he’s always so full of energy. The weather seems to finally be turning towards spring, which will help tremendously! Walking in the freezing cold is no fun!
Well, Glimmer recently got all her adult teeth in, and once they were all in, the biting did settle down significantly. She still does it every now and again, but it’s because she’s bored out of her mind (our weather has not been hospitable at all, lately, *and*, she was spayed last week and isn’t allowed out for those long walks yet). I just give her ice cubes or a chew toy and she seems okay with that. Puppies are like kids: They always have WAY more energy than their parents… LOL