My Dog

[ESisback]

He’s part Pug, part Terrier, and totally wimpy. Beg, bark, whine, hump, dump were his big five, although the ‘sniff’ replaced the ‘hump’ after The Snip. A visitor to our house gets nonstop sniffing, until it stops being cute. Until guests get that look that says “you’ve got three seconds…”. It’s now become our custom to shut him inside our downstairs bedroom to allow our guests some breathing room. Unfortunately, he cries, scratches, whines, barks and growls…nonstop, until we let him out. If our visitor stays for five minutes or five hours, he’s relentless. It’s maddening. I realize dogs (especially this breed) aren’t what you’d call “deep thinkers”, but wouldn’t you think at some point he’d sense in some small way that noise making just wasn’t working?

“Despite all my rage, I’m still just a rat in a cage.” —Smashing Pumpkins

Kinda reminds me of some football fans…

 

[Creeper]

Dogs have very little sense of time. They don't know they have been barking for 5 hours. They bark because they feel like it is the best thing to do under the circumstances.

 

[Sammy]

Put a TV in the downstairs bedroom that continuously plays whatever it is that he likes to chase or sniff. He needs something to keep himself busy or at least catch his attention.

 

[Sammy]

Found some that sound good.

https://www.thethings.com/funniest-best-dog-videos/

 

[ESisback]

Dogs have very little sense of time. They don't know they have been barking for 5 hours. They bark because they feel like it is the best thing to do under the circumstances.

Yeah, it just seems like the short attention span/conditioned response thing should factor in at some point, ya know?

 

[Runwildboys]

Dogs have very little sense of time. They don't know they have been barking for 5 hours. They bark because they feel like it is the best thing to do under the circumstances.

Because they don't have hands to turn the knob, and they don't know why they're locked out of where you are. @ESisback , maybe you should try putting the dog in a crate, in the same room you're in. That way he won't feel completely abandoned, but he won't be able to physically annoy your guests.

 

[Vtwin]

If you make the decision to separate him to a different room you must wait until he exhibits the right behavior before rewarding him with his release. Otherwise the message that he takes is that the barking and scratching leads to getting what he wants. Ten minutes, ten hours, doesn't matter to the dog.

I would put him on a leash and train him that he gets a few seconds of introductory sniffing then he has to mind his own business. It will take some patience and repetition but it is absolutely possible and not all that hard. Reward him when he stops sniffing and correct him when he starts. Use a command word timed with the correction and a marker word to highlight the behavior you want when it happens then give him a treat to positively reinforce the desired behavior.

I've got a little experience with dogs but if anyone has any tips on wife training I'd love to hear them.

 

[Runwildboys]

If you make the decision to separate him to a different room you must wait until he exhibits the right behavior before rewarding him with his release. Otherwise the message that he takes is that the barking and scratching leads to getting what he wants. Ten minutes, ten hours, doesn't matter to the dog.

I would put him on a leash and train him that he gets a few seconds of introductory sniffing then he has to mind his own business. It will take some patience and repetition but it is absolutely possible and not all that hard. Reward him when he stops sniffing and correct him when he starts. Use a command word timed with the correction and a marker word to highlight the behavior you want when it happens then give him a treat to positively reinforce the desired behavior.

I've got a little experience with dogs but if anyone has any tips on wife training I'd love to hear them.

Oh, you can't treat old wives new tricks. You have to train them before the wedding. For instance, I told my then fiancée that if she ever wanted to tell me anything important, she had to say it on every third sentence, because that's all I was listening to, because if I listened to everything she said I wouldn't have time for my own thoughts.

 

[ESisback]

Because they don't have hands to turn the knob, and they don't know why they're locked out of where you are. @ESisback , maybe you should try putting the dog in a crate, in the same room you're in. That way he won't feel completely abandoned, but he won't be able to physically annoy your guests.

He’d bark and whine like a maniac!

 

[ESisback]

Oh, you can't treat old wives new tricks. You have to train them before the wedding. For instance, I told my then fiancée that if she ever wanted to tell me anything important, she had to say it on every third sentence, because that's all I was listening to, because if I listened to everything she said I wouldn't have time for my own thoughts.

I’ve been married 35 years, and it’s all about compromise, which is code for “most times, just let her have her way.”

I love football, but my wife and daughter HATE it, so I only watch when my team is playing, and I give them advance notice. Several times. I watch so much ridiculous CRAP and don’t say a word, because if I even INSINUATE that I don’t like it, they’re offended. But when football comes on, even if I’ve told them in advance, I get eyerolls and heavy sighs, and they scurry upstairs as if the game is sending out foul smells and dangerous radiation. Sometimes they leave the house altogether!

Equal? Oh no, grasshopper! “Compromise”!

 

[Creeper]

Yeah, it just seems like the short attention span/conditioned response thing should factor in at some point, ya know?

No. Not if the dog is reacting to stress he feels. As long as he is stressed or excited he will act accordingly. You can try to condition the dog, most respond to positive reinforcement better than punishment.

You can try this. Get a friend to come over. Put your dog in his room for a minute or so, then return to the room until he calms down. Give him a treat. Then leave and do the same thing. Do it over and over lengthening the amount of time between leaving and returning. See if he remains quiet and calm for longer periods after you leave the room. Some dogs pick this up quickly. Others are just slower and don't get it. But keep repeating this to reassure the dog that you are going to return. Hopefully, if he is reassured that you will return he will eventually learn to remain quiet locked in his room. This will work if the problem is he thinks you are abandoning him.

I used this technique to crate train my German Shepard who did not like being crated at all. But in about 30 minutes she got it and eventually learned to go into her crate on command. Even when she was going nuts because the mailman was trespassing on her property, she would go into her crate when told.

Good luck.

 

[ESisback]

I’ve been married 35 years, and it’s all about compromise, which is code for “most times, just let her have her way.”

I love football, but my wife and daughter HATE it, so I only watch when my team is playing, and I give them advance notice. Several times. I watch so much ridiculous CRAP and don’t say a word, because if I even INSINUATE that I don’t like it, they’re offended. But when football comes on, even if I’ve told them in advance, I get eyerolls and heavy sighs, and they scurry upstairs as if the game is sending out foul smells and dangerous radiation. Sometimes they leave the house altogether!

Equal? Oh no, grasshopper! “Compromise”!

@Runwildboys

My wife will binge on YouTube videos of Dollar Store household shortcuts—with the sound turned down. Another time a Japanese soap opera with subtitles, about an 18th century emperor! She also binges “Call The Midwife”, a show that features nuns in a poor London neighborhood in the late 50’s. Every episode features human tragedy and multiple scenes of horrific childbirth, complete with blood and screaming and assorted chaotic difficulties. She DESPISES John Wick because of the violence, but loves Outlander, I guess because historical romance negates the many scenes of war, rape, torture, and sodomy. Through it all, I “compromise” with smiles and interested convo, because household harmony is the priority. The irony? I gripe but I wouldn’t change it!

 

[CouchCoach]

Visitors complain about the leg humping. Guess I need to get a dog.

 

[Sammy]

Visitors complain about the leg humping. Guess I need to get a dog.

CURmudgeon.

 

[ESisback]

Visitors complain about the leg humping. Guess I need to get a dog.

People don’t care much for ***-sniffing either.