He is out of control!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Taren]

almost complete transformation!!!!!

maverick is becomming his old self again thank goodness. we have been making him sit for EVERYTHING. we make him sit before he goes outside and we tell him to stay while we walk outside first then he can come. he was so sweet today i didnt tell him to stay and he stayed and let me out the door first what a good boy!!! i dont wont to brag too much i dont want to jinks myself or him!! he is not allowed on the furniture anymore and hes done really well we put his bed down out of his crate and lay in on teh floor and he goes and lays on it. he hasnt been running off he has been LISTENING to US!!! ok i better stop while i am ahead thanks guys i will keep you updated!!!

 

[Macon's Mom]

Woo Hoo, sounds like you are making some great progress! Keep up the NILF approach

 

[bobomom]

what?

what is nilf?

 

[Macon's Mom]

Nilf

what is nilf?

Nothing in Life is Free. This means that you make the dog work for everything. Such as they must sit before you pet them or before you put down their food. Or sit before they can go outside or shake before you'll give a treat. I'm definitely not the expert on this as my babies are way too spoiled sometimes, so I would do a search in the Behavior Forum on NILF and you'll find lots of useful info.

 

[ldyjulia]

Taren - Congratulations on your progress and good luck with the rest. It definitely sounds like your boy is coming around. I'm glad you were able to correct his "adolescent" behaviors. :-D

 

[ladyluck_t]

Taren,

Remember with the NILF program, if he doesnt comply with the command, I personally issue a "too bad" in a soft normal tone of voice and then walk away. Say you are about to put his food down and he doesnt sit at the first command, Just say "too bad" put the food back on the counter, and walk away. Whenever I issue this command, I make eye contact with the dog, then POINTEDLY turn my head up or away then walk away. It is a very clear signal in "dog language" that he/she is being ignored. My girl is 5 and acts like 5 mo's but when I do the "snob routine" look she looks like I killed her best friend and then complys.
Give it 5 or so minutes and then try to feed again, just like it was the first time. Dogs dont use their memories the same way we do, he will most likely remember the "too bad" correction rather than "we just did this" if you get my meaning.
I would try 1-2 times depending on what it was that I was doing "too bad" for, then stop all together until the next meal, walk, etc. They (the dogs) will catch on pretty quickly and settle down.
Remember also, Dogs are opportunists. Thier motto is "what is in it for me" Just show them that "what is in it" is worth their effort.

Lots of creative thinking is essential to owning a teenage boxer!

 

[Luvnmyboxer]

I am so glad to hear that Maverick is doing so much better now, and doesn't that make you feel like a better mommy too? There are times that Titan wants to revert back to being a brat and doing things he's not allowed to, but that's when we bring the training back in again (more than usual) and he straightens up quickly. It's like sometimes they need that extra push of reinforcement to their heads to get it thru that they have to work to earn things. And Titan is 100% better if we make him do basic commands daily anyway, or else he acts like a kid over summer vacation thinking he doesn't have to do anything :rolleyes: