when my mal was a puppy i always gave her a treat for going in her ex pen.(she was real real cute) now at 2 years old and a deep bark. she goes crazy when she goes in the pen. even at midnight after going outside for a few min.She wont let me forget. of course i let it carry over to the fridge. getting soft in my old age.

any one else do something that crazy?

Well....I did something real stupid that stuck with my dutch. I would pull up at home and get out of the car and see him looking at me in his kennel in the backyard. I'd say "HI LOGAN!" and go let him out. Well, now when I get home, no matter when or who with he knows its me....and he greets me with a corral of barks. I don't go let him out anymore but still...if I come home at 3am its not good. He barks a few times real loud, like welcome back, let me out! ugh

Foxy was not a barker, she was quiet for a toy dog....until I taught her the speak command. She gets super excited and "offers" alot of behaviors chaotically so now she might as well be a barker because its hard to get her to shut up sometimes. Ill keep that in mind next time I think of using the bark command to teach a loud dog to be quiet!

Foxy was not a barker, she was quiet for a toy dog....until I taught her the speak command. She gets super excited and "offers" alot of behaviors chaotically so now she might as well be a barker because its hard to get her to shut up sometimes. Ill keep that in mind next time I think of using the bark command to teach a loud dog to be quiet!

I taught my girl a "mumble" command and now when ever she wants something, she will sit in front of me, stare at me and mumble. The something may be a toy that is stuck under the couch, more water, to go outside, dinner. It is up to me to figure out what it is she is asking for. Sometimes I can, sometimes I can't but she'll keep up the staring and mumbling until I do or I give her something else to do that will distract her for awhile.

I thought it was cute that Ryuk brought me his food dish when he was hungry as a puppy (he was super skinny, so he was on a 5 small meals a day plan for a little while)....so I let him.


not as cute anymore...as he uses it as a percussion instrument when he wants something (food or not)...oh, and he likes to bring it guests with a super puppy woe face so they tease me about never feeding my dog....

I let River jump on me when we're working together as a reward and to amp up her energy level. That translated into jumping on everyone she met so I had to really work with her and teach her it's only okay to do it to me. Because I never taught her an appropriate time to jump on me, she does it whenever she feels like but stops whenever I tell her to or I can see when she wants to and I give her a command like sit or down.
Being a dog, she doesn't realize when her feet are muddy or I'm wearing a shirt I'd rather not have feet on. I often go out in public for shopping or errands with a paw print or two on my pants or shirt!

I realize people might consider that bratty behavior, but my dogs being physical with me is something I enjoy about them. At least she's not knocking down my elderly neighbor!

ETA -
Duane can vouch for my loving dogs that jump. He's seen Radar jump straight up by my side and ever so gently put his mouth around my neck in mid air because he was just THAT excited about focused heeling and jumping over the boards for the retrieve.

I taught my dogs to bark from their crates when someone was at the door....I completely failed at teaching them to stop without me walking over to them first. It's loud and annoying for sure and I regret it big time. Quiet command is our ongoing struggle with Bella but apparently nothing is as rewarding as her own voice

Our Mal, Bailey, is a jumper also. That was how we celebrated after a good run in our agility training. She would stand on two legs and we would hold her front paws and dance and jump like crazy. Now, every time she does something great she celebrates, with or without us. Sometimes our face may get in the way and the result is bent glasses or a cut lip. She's not doing it to be dominant, just her way of expressing joy. It's really funny if we pass a dog that's reactive and she does a great "leave it", she'll bound up an down like Tigger while I just walk beside her. Little embarrassing sometimes.

I taught Woozle to go get his food dish as part of our nightly feeding routine. This worked fine until one night neither he nor I could find his food dish. I then made the mistake of using his water dish instead. Well, now whenever he has the slightest trouble finding his food dish (or maybe just because his water dish is in front of his nose) he will bring me the water dish instead, dumping the entire thing in the process.

I've partially fixed the problem by keeping the water bowl empty and filling it up (with water) whenever he brings it to me. This helps, especially since my two year old son has a habit of sitting in it anyway, but if I forget to empty it when the dogs are done drinking, I will probably still get a big puddle sooner or later.

ETA: Oh and it isn't as helpful for Daisy, who doesn't understand the "bring me the bowl and I give you water" routine. I have to be very careful to make sure she gets enough. The cat however, doesn't seem bothered, since he only drinks straight from the tap anyway (a trick he taught Woozle as well).