Help Needed! Another Gretchen problem!!!!!

[michelle23093]

u guys are gonna get tired of me after a while. Sorry for so many questions. I have 2 this morning. First one is Gretchen does good all day. listens to commands, uses bathroom outside and plays nicely. When my husband comes home from work that is all over. she is rough, chases the cat, pees and poops in house, refuses to go outside. Last night she jumped on the bed and peed on my bed. NASTY!!!!!! I don't know why it is she feels the need to be bad for him. Is this a behavior becasue she is mad that he has left her all day. she is not alone. He has to go to work so how can I correct this. we even took a baby blanket and wiped it all over him and gave it to her when he left the next day. it worked for a day and they she is back to her old tricks. I take your advice and we start with progress then he comes home. Its not my husbands fault but goodness sakes- after having a bunch of toddlers all day I have to deal with Gretchen and her mishbehaving. Please help me with some pointers to make this stop.
I appreciate all the advice you have given and we took down her crate. we now have a exercise pen with a door she can come and go and a large gate for the kitchen to keep her in there. she has a safe place to go and feel comfortable during the day and only crate her when we leave to go somewhere. I have a list of what treats she gets for doing certain things so that she will know if she does this then sne will get a certain treat. plus I made her some special treats from scratch. she seems to like them better anyway and they are very good for her.
It seems to me when theres progress we just go backwards........ Please help!!!!!!!

 

[JAKEISGREAT]

Does he greet her with excitement and playing with her? They feed off the energy presented. He should calmly walk in the house, actually not acknowledging her until she ànd everyone are calm. if she starts to behave wildly, you need to tell her no..put her on a leash and get her calm and you in control. If it persists, she gets crated right before he gets home and is let out after the frenzy is over. Feed the good behavior...stop the bad.

 

[michelle23093]

yes she gets very excited so I take her outside to greet him and she jumps ( which is a no no) and gets all excited.

 

[michelle23093]

He also comes in to all my daycare kids getting ready to leave and parents coming in and out so its a very busy 20 minutes for all of us. not just Gretchen but alot going on. she actually greets all my parents with trying to jump on them- excitement so I have to put her behind the gate till they leave. doesn't do that to the kids at all.

 

[Texas Carol]

Yes, I agree w/Becky @JAKEISGREAT...Hubby should mimic your behavior,
calm, cool & in control. Once things are on an even keel and she's behaving
then, of course, y'all can get excited, have fun & be fun but right now is
about controlling her issues BEFORE she escalates and y'all are still learning
WHAT her triggers are and she is still figuring out WHO y'all are and how far
she can push her agenda and control y'all and everything else! Not her fault,
all bullies inherently do this, lol...so we must teach them, lovingly...no way!
We won't get tired of your questions, we've had all of them & more, ourselves!

 

[michelle23093]

thanks so much- we will try it today. any advice about why she pee in the bed- on his side of all things then moved to another location

 

[Texas Carol]

thanks so much- we will try it today. any advice about why she pee in the bed- on his side of all things then moved to another location

It's hard to say, she may have just become too excited & happened to 'be there'.

Or, being in heat, made her mark but you don't want this to continue so I'd keep
her off the beds, off the sofas, etc. I'd try and keep her in her pen or in the kitchen
until her heat is over and you get more of an idea about her true personality traits.

It sounds like you're making progress tho...hang in there...she'll be the great dog you
are hoping for...it's a good sign she doesn't jump on the kids but until she's more
controlled (toy, fear & dominance) I agree w/the poster that advised, no kids w/her yet.

Also, you might want to put a thin blanket or cover over half of her crate so she feels safe.

 

[Baconator]

That is probably a biproduct of all the excitement. It's going to take time an patience like everything else with bullies, just be consistent with her. Like it was said above, and I know it's really hard because I was the same way, have your husband totally ignore her when he gets home. This helps reinforce the fact that she is not alpha in the house and should curb the craziness. Once he has been home for a little while and he is settled in, then go say hi to her.

 

[bulldogs4me]

sounds like she would benefit from "No Talk, No Touch, No Eye Contact" so that she doesn't get so excited when parents enter to pick up there children. Putting a sign on the door that says "Dog In Training - please use No Talk, No Touch & No Eye Contact" to control excitement. I also think maybe your husband needs to demonstrate strong leadership with her (being calm and assertive) and only reward her with affection when she has earned it by being calm submissive.

 

[michelle23093]

so this is what we have done with Gretchen in the evenings when my husband comes home- She no longer greets him on the porch or at the door. this might have to change in spring when we are outside in the evenings when it is cooler but as for now this is what we have done. when its time for him and the kids to start leaving she gets a special treat and goes to the kitchen behind a gate. she can see everyone but can't get out. when he walks in, he goes to her and says hi gretchen and pets her and leaves the room till all the kids have gone. by this time she has already seen him and she has time to calm down and all the noise is beginning to leave. when he lets her out she is no where near as excited and doesn;t jump and act out. he is now able to play with her and have fun now that she calms down. I feel that greeting him all excited is the way she thinks she has to behave around here so the chaos never ends. it has been 3 days of doing this and it is working. She is also getting a little better in some areas and some days she goes back to her own ways but all and all I know its gonna take time but her progress is very pleasing to me. Just wanted to give everyone a update on her progress some. still have a long way to go but we are one more step in the right direction

 

[Texas Carol]

Gretchen, this is wonderful news! Honestly, it all seems overwhelming but
as you've found out, it's knowing the things to do (which you learn here)
then just doing those things consistently. Yes, it takes a while but imagine
if just 3 days has shown such improvement, how much, 3 weeks, 3 months
etc will give you. You are in for a miracle and so much happiness! Bullies are
stubborn but very smart and do want to please you. Gretchen is a challenge
because of her past but it's overcomeable and fast! Hang in there, it's all so
very, very worth it! GOD be blessing you & yours, thank you for taking her in.

 

[michelle23093]

I recommend anyone who actually has adopted from a pound or a rescue who has gotten a bullie that has been caged alot to get this product from amazon. I hope the link will attach here. It makes her feel safe like a kennel but not like a punishment to. she sleeps in it during the day and I allow her to have certain special toys only if she is in there. it cuts down on some of the agression when you take her toy she likes. they sell it larger but the 4 panel is a perfect size for her bed and her to lay down in it all stretched out but small enough so she doesn't have the extra room and feel like the other end is a bathroom. Its not very tall and she can tip it over of she really wants to but I never use as a time out spot. its her safeplace to go so that when we do leave and she goes in a actual kennel cage its a totally different reason.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000FS6INU/ref=oh_details_o02_s01_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

[bluesteelapd]

[MENTION=8403]michelle23093[/MENTION] I have to commend you for coming on here and feeling secure enough to ask your questions! Please don't feel bad for a second. I for one, and I'm sure others will agree, would rather you come on here and ask your questions anytime rather than try to settle it on your own and possibly cause bigger problems down the road. I have to agree with what others have said about her behavior. They will feed off your energy. Mona is a couch potato all day but as soon as my partner comes home it's I wanna play, play play. She barks at the cats, chases them, etc. We just have to keep working with her on this behavior. They love us and just wanna learn what makes us happy. Good Luck!

 

[2BullyMama]

so this is what we have done with Gretchen in the evenings when my husband comes home- She no longer greets him on the porch or at the door. this might have to change in spring when we are outside in the evenings when it is cooler but as for now this is what we have done. when its time for him and the kids to start leaving she gets a special treat and goes to the kitchen behind a gate. she can see everyone but can't get out. when he walks in, he goes to her and says hi gretchen and pets her and leaves the room till all the kids have gone. by this time she has already seen him and she has time to calm down and all the noise is beginning to leave. when he lets her out she is no where near as excited and doesn;t jump and act out. he is now able to play with her and have fun now that she calms down. I feel that greeting him all excited is the way she thinks she has to behave around here so the chaos never ends. it has been 3 days of doing this and it is working. She is also getting a little better in some areas and some days she goes back to her own ways but all and all I know its gonna take time but her progress is very pleasing to me. Just wanted to give everyone a update on her progress some. still have a long way to go but we are one more step in the right direction

great strides... consistency and patience will get you where you want her to be

 

[Vicaroo1000]

Spot on advise here re: "the dangers of over excitement". My Bo is the PERFECT dog --- well, almost -- until he gets OVER STIMULATED. Then, all bets are off. You gotta take a bus to get him back to Calm/Submissive; therefore, its my job as his pack leader to manage his excitement level until he's mature enough to do it himself. (He is only two) Outside stimulus (mostly people ooohing and ahhhing over how cute he is) for a sustained period of time sends him to the stratosphere. It's not his fault. Dogs are instinctual; these outbursts are not premeditated.

When someone calls a new puppy "aggressive", I would bet a thousand gazillion dollars that whatever happened was a reaction to over excitement. Puppies are NOT aggressive. Silly rabbit.