Rick Miller said: Also, I am sure this one would be even more appropriate for your situation, although I don't have it: Establishing Pack Structure for the Family Pet
I have this and it is excellent. Lots of subtle things that establish your position as pack leader and explained in a very straightforward manor. Well worth the $$.
Regarding exercise, does she retrieve when you throw her something? My pup does not have a good recall (yet) but she retrieves well; even if she doesn't bring it right to me, with the 20' line on her I can always catch her and reel her in. As Ed says, the dog never knows where the end of the line is. Have you tried this with her? I would imagine it's very frustrating for both of you to be playing oustide if she only has 15' of running room...

Let me add though that my pup is not a bolter!

I have a comment about the barking. Yes, it could be that she is dominant and demanding the treat from you. But it could also be that she is in drive. I have seen dogs that are in drive bark out of excitement to relieve the frustration of not being able to get their goal.

In agility, the border collies almost always run through the course yapping because they do the obstacles faster than their handler can call out the next command. On the surface it seems like the BC is impatient - but I think they are just in drive and wondering where to go next.

Your dog might be barking because she is very food driven. I could be wrong on this. For now, I would get the DVD Rick mentioned and work on pack structure and don't deal directly with the barking issue - if it is a dominance thing, re-establishing yourself as pack leader could solve it (it is YOUR food, not the dog's food), if not, it could just be excitement/drive.

The rest of your description of her behaviour does sound like pack issues - the sneaking up the stairs, bolting out of her crate, etc.

Can you remove her food bowl while she is eating without being growled at?

This is what Ed says about removing the food bowl in Groundwork

 Quote:

I never put food down and then fool with the bowl when the dog is eating. I get emails from people who think that taking food away or putting my hand in the food bowl shows the dog that you are the Alpha. These people are dead wrong. It shows the dog that they are an incompetent pack leader and it destroys your bond.


There is nothing wrong with making a dog sit or lay down (if they know the command) before giving them their food. There is also nothing wrong with your eating before the dog eats. But harassing the dog after giving him his food only stresses the dog and hurts your relationship. It’s just a really crazy thing to do.

You will not see an Alpha wolf eat its fill, allow lower ranking wolves to eat off a dead deer kill, then come back and drive lower ranking pack members away just because they are tough enough to do it.

So, I don't think I would do that. It seems unfair.

I am far from an incompetent pack leader my dogs respect me as there leader. Some people just go on one opinion and we know what is said about opinions. If i dont want my dog to eat something then i will stop it. But the point is you should be able to pet your dog while he is eating because you are his pack leader and he trust you.The dog should know if your any kind off pack leader that your his protector and your not going to do harm unto him.But you should not have to worry if you reach down by your dog while it is eating and get bit I am not saying take his food but to see where you stand.Are you really the pack leader?Or just part off the pack? HMMMMMMMMMMMMMM

I have heard both sides of this issue before and I think right now we are in between. As a puppy I did find that Kayla had food aggression and got bite once pretty good on the hand when I was wipe off her muddy feet as she ate. We tried the take it away thing for awhile and then just started feeding her in her kennel and stopped making a big deal over it. Now she is find with her regular food (what she once growled and bite over) but is still guarding of a more prized item such as raw cow bone. I just don't push her with it and when she gets off the blanket with it (they are messy and she has to stay on the blanket and off the carpet) I just redirect her with my hand by pointing and touching the center of the blanket and she moves there. If I have to take it away I just trade her a few small pieces of treats for it. Once she gets the good parts chewed off she has no issues with us taking if from her It isn't exactly how I want it to be, but works for us.

I will definately look into more about pack leader and order that dvd. Kayla does have very high prey drive and food drive (At least I think she does based on what little I know in these areas). She will chase a frisbee or stick all day long (she also like balls, but seems to tire of these much quicker than the others listed). I know she needs more exercise than she has been getting. So I am determined that tomorrow we start a new routine and get up earlier. I want to try and take a short walk and play a bit in the yard before work, but if it is just too cold (of course she never thinks it is too cold) then we can play in the house. I do have some agility equipment. I guess I could set different things up in different rooms (don't have one area big enough in the house for it all) and make a course that way throughout the house. She does enjoy the agility and I like that it seems to wear her out more quickly due to the mental and physical stimulation. Once she has a proper outlet for her energy I will see how the training goes and what headway we can make on pack order. Thanks for all the replies and help.

Hello all,
I have only posted a few times here and have learned a great deal from this board but is it me or is everybody that is responding to this post in a very touchy mood?

 Quote: brad satorre

Hello all,
I have only posted a few times here and have learned a great deal from this board but is it me or is everybody that is responding to this post in a very touchy mood?

Since the O.P. ends her most recent post with "Once she has a proper outlet for her energy I will see how the training goes and what headway we can make on pack order. Thanks for all the replies and help," what say we assume that the touchiness is over.

Hey everyone, lets just admit that communicating over emails can lead to the wrong conclusion, we don't know how someone said their statement. It might not have been rude or mean or anything else. That is the one draw back to email, emotions are not communicated. Let's ease up on one another.
Thank you for all of the feedback we are getting on this subject, I am about to start ecollar training and I know it will be difficult.
My dog can do the avoidance of obeying issue too. All I have to do is say her name after she ignores a command and she will perform it. She knew what I was asking, but just didn't want to respond. Sometimes this happens I think.

 Quote: peggybayer

Your right Amber, I just watched the DVD and he does not use the collar correction along with the stim. "Scratch Head", don't know how I came up with that one.

LOL, if it hadn't been just a couple of weeks since I watched it, I wouldn't have remembered it either! In fact, I'm not even sure where the DVD is right now...