stubborn??(long)

[chlarson]

Hello again bw,

I had a quick question about whether anybody has gone through this situation. I have a 4 month old male that is quite stubborn. Whenever I take him out during the day he gets two feet from the house and just lays on the grass. He gives me this look like ill go when I want to go and doesn't respond to his name. However when he does this sometimes i drop the leash and continue to walk and he eventually comes running to me but then he will lay down again. Is this just a phase he is going through because sometimesI feel like he doesn't like us. I thought something might be wrong health wise but he doesn't have a problem when I take him to a new location or going out in the morning to go to the batheroom. Could it be he is wicked spoiled and has learned that we will cater to his needs. Just want him to be happy. Any thoughts or suggestions would be great. Thanks

 

[Caney Creek]

Stubborn seems to be a breed trait. And, I'm sorry to be the one to tell you, but at 4 months old your boy has not even entered the "teenage phase" yet so his stubbornness will likely get much worse before it gets better. Raising a boxer puppy can seem like a battle of wills at times. But if you get through it the result will be one amazing adult dog. I would agree with you that your pup is somewhat "spoiled" in that he's learned that YOU are catering to him, so why should he have to listen. He's learned that listening is a choice. Try not to call him or give him commands when he's less likely to listen. Every time he hears a command and disregards it, enforces that he has the power to choose. Do what works. If walking away from him and ignoring him gets him to follow you, do that. THEN when he's already in the process of coming to you, give him the "come" command and then give him lots of praise for doing so. Over the next several months you will inevitably be coming up with all kinds of unconventional methods and "tricks" to get your puppy to do what you want him to do, because you'll find that giving him a simple command doesn't always work.

 

[chlarson]

Thank you for the words of encouragement. My neighbors def probably think I have a few screws lose because I have made a fool of myself trying to get my lil fur babys attention.

 

[Dell]

We have a 5 month old little girl with the same issue....and I'm HOPING this is a phase. We are far less interesting than the bugs, sticks, that noise over there...etc. I'm positive our neighbors think we are crazy. I try really hard to not say "come" until she's in full bore dash to me. I also happen to keep some super duper treats near the door or in my pocket on treats. I lure her along with me and then slowly ask for more and more for her to "earn" the treats.

We've also started playing "come and get it" that our trainer recommended. We "bowl" really high value treats (chicken...hot dogs...) left to right in front of us. As she goes away we say "get it" whens as soon as she turns to go the other way (to pass in front of us) we say "come". Every now and then we turn sideways and step in front of her and stop her and have her sit. So far, she will come to the back door when called 90% of the time. Out in the "real world"...forget it, but we'll take what we get and keep working. Good luck and hopefully we'll survive the teenage years.

 

[prittiegirl]

Ah the teenage years. You can survive them, but it's not to say that they aren't frustrating and you won't feel like you might hate your pup at times. Now that Kinnon is 15 months, I rarely hate her !