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New Behaviour

Discussion in 'Behavior' started by sheltiefancier, Feb 26, 2017.

  1. sheltiefancier

    sheltiefancier Forums Novice

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    Santa Rosa, California
    In the past week or so, my Sheltie has begun barking at my husband when he goes into the shower getting ready for work for the day. Ranger actually almost took a nip at him one day; and this concerns us as he has never been aggressive toward anything or anyone, human or animal. He does not show signs of separation anxiety unless this could be one; as there is no whining, drooling, crying; or destruction of pillows, cushions, shoes, etc. He just lets us know that he does not like us getting ready for work. He is 14 months old, neutered, and otherwise quite a delight. I am wondering if anyone could help us handle this. Thank you.
     
  2. Piper's mom

    Piper's mom Moderator

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    It sounds like he doesn't want you to go to work so he's trying the only thing he knows and that's to herd you away from going to work. It's not aggression it's just him being a Sheltie. I guess he knows your routine in the morning and would rather you stayed home.
     
    sheltiefancier likes this.
  3. tofu pup

    tofu pup Moderator

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    First: at 14 months, Ranger is now an adolescent. Congratulations! You will see all kinds of limits-testing, "forgetting" things, and general airhead behavior during this time, just as you would expect in a human adolescent. He will grow out of it. He's not being "aggressive", he's being a teenager and seeing what he can get away with.

    Second: keep in kind that you have two options for dealing with any unwanted behavior. You can train it, or you can manage it. "Training" means you actively teach the dog a different way to react, and "management" means that you alter the environment so that the dog's unwanted reaction isn't a problem. It's up to you which approach you want to take here.

    The thing about management is that it easily bleeds into training. Dogs learn by repetition. If my dog flings himself at the door and barks every time I leave the house, he's rehearsing those behaviors every time, and making it more likely that he'll do it again. I can try yelling at him from the other side of the door, but by that point he's already done his whole fling-and-bark cycle, so I'm not really changing anything. The more he flings and barks, the more he'll fling and bark in the future.

    But what if I did this instead: every time I'm about to leave, I toss my dog a Kong smeared with peanut butter. He can't fling himself at the door and lick peanut butter out of a Kong at the same time, and because he's a little chowhound he chooses to follow the Kong back into the house. Instead of one more rehearsal of fling-and-bark, he's doing something different. The more he doesn't fling himself at the door and bark, the less he'll do it in the future.

    Think about the way your morning schedule goes. What's happening when your husband gets into the shower? Where is Ranger while you're getting dressed? What's going on right at the time when he starts barking?

    Now figure out a way to break the cycle. It sounds like Ranger is escalating (from bark to nip), and even if he's being playful (which I sincerely believe he is), it's annoying and you want to stop it now. What can you have Ranger do that's mutually exclusive with barking at your husband while he gets into the shower?

    Can you...
    1. Put Ranger in a crate
    2. Put Ranger in the (fenced!) yard, just while husband gets into the shower
    3. Give him a special chew or Kong
    4. Have your husband throw Ranger's favorite toy down the hall, away from the bathroom
    5. Ask Ranger to work through his Obedience commands with you, on leash, while your husband gets into the shower (this may be difficult, but having him on leash will help).
    6. Be creative! You know your house and your dog better than I do.

    This is the age where many Shelties go from "easiest dog I ever owned, he trained himself" to "I KNOW I taught this dog 'come'". It's a phase, and he will grow out of it, but you need to be proactive and not let him rehearse bad behaviors. Impose some structure and rules, and see what follows.
     
  4. Caro

    Caro Moderator

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    I agree, he's worked out shower = going to work and he's trying to stop your husband getting in the shower, and therefore going to work. My male worked out that ironing=going to work and did the same thing when I ironed, whenever it was.

    You should try mixing up the routine, change when you shower and what you do after the shower - maybe have a shower first thing and then have breakfast. I bet atm having a shower signals the busy-ness of getting ready, and there's very little enjoyable for your Sheltie once the shower happens. After having a shower get your hubby to have a little play with your Sheltie (honestly even one minute will be enough to break the routine), so that shower means something good will happen afterwards, not something bad.

    Another thing to try is distractions. Do you feed kibble for breakfast? Don't put the kibble in your Sheltie's bowl. Buy a treat dispenser or make one but cutting kibble sized holes in a PET bottle (like a soda or water bottle - make sure you smooth out the edges of the holes). When you are going through the getting ready process, esp when your husband has a shower, then that is when you give your Sheltie the treat dispenser. Then he has something to do instead of getting anxious while you get ready. And dogs absolutely love working for their food - makes them feel they are getting the food themselves.

    If your Sheltie is acting like this when your husband is showering then I can guarantee he is developing separation stress. So now is a good time to address it. Do you also leave the house to work or are you at home? If both of you are leaving then I recommend setting aside some of his breakfast kibble to give him as you are leaving. You can do this either by refilling the treat dispenser, stuffing a Kong or tossing some kibble around for him to hunt. My dogs particularly love the treasure hunt, but they aren't crated so how you give him the rest of his breakfast depends where he is when you leave. If he's crated or x-penned I recommend using something like a Kong to stuff with the kibble (and then put something in the top of the Kong that he has to lick out to get to the kibble). A PET bottle and some other treat dispensers may be too easily chewed if it's left with a dog all day, a Kong is sturdier. But it also means giving him a different kind of 'treat' to work at that he looks forward to when you leave. If you are home then make him part of your routine, and then when your husband leaves take your Sheltie to a room away from the door and give him the rest of his breakfast as mentioned.

    My male has quite bad separation anxiety - but if I leave him a couple of Kongs or esp a treasure hunt, than he actually wants me out the door so he can start working!
     
    Spirit likes this.
  5. sheltiefancier

    sheltiefancier Forums Novice

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    Sep 19, 2016
    Santa Rosa, California
    Thank you all for your responses. He does in fact get given treats in a small Kong toy right before I leave for work. I only work part time though, so am home a good deal of the time with him. My hubby leaves early; and yes, it is the same routine each morning.

    I think that training is, in fact, a a good management tool for any situation. It is just choosing which approach to take. I don't crate Ranger much. He was when he was a puppy part of the time, but he is not crated at all now. He has a pen that he goes into when he requires a bit of "quiet time", but it is bigger than a crate. It has a towel in there for him to lay on and just mellow out for a bit when he gets too rambunctious!

    This morning I tried to get him to go outside when hubby went to the hall. Ranger was having none of it; as he kept one eye on dad and one eye on the door. He stood in the kitchen and refused to make a move toward the door. It was almost as he was saying no, Mum; I can't go out now; I have to watch Dad! So we brought him into the living room, got a toy for him and started to play with it while hubby made his way down the hall. Ranger tore away and followed, but by that time hubby had the door closed so Ranger ran back in and started to play with the toy.

    I will try some of the other suggestions and see what works. I thank you for your time and the help.
     
  6. SKNerissa

    SKNerissa Forums Enthusiast

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  7. sheltiefancier

    sheltiefancier Forums Novice

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    I have a small red Kong treat dispenser; he loves it but it is always good to have more options.That Toppl toy looks like one he would really enjoy. Thank you for the links.
     

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