Re: mixed signals!!!

In Reply to: mixed signals!!!
Category:   Behavior Problems
Posted by:  Lisa
Posted on:  September 25, 2002 at 17:34:31

: On the whole my jack has been an angel compared to some of the problems that I regulary read on your site. He is on the whole obidient as we attend advanced classes every week and tonight he did sit stay and I walked from one side of the hall and back to him and he did not move. Horray!!!. However he did mount the trainers 14 yr old mixed bitch and would not give up (he was neutered at 6 months). Dominance sprang to mind but he is a submissive dog on the whole and does not normally mount other dogs. He sometimes mounts my kids and I get them to do some obidience to show him who's boss but this is not very oftern so I am at a loss. Is he dominant or not. He is 1 year old now and maybe he is pushing his luck. If i tell him to get off of the furniture because it is time for bed he growls with his butt in the air and his tail wagging barks at me but does get off !!!!. I am getting mixed signals from him and would like to understand what is going on in his head. could anyone throw some light on this.

Response:

Dear Lisa,

Based on your post, I think YOU may be sending mixed signals to your terrier. Using the phrase "on the whole" to describe your terrier's behavior suggests to me that there are times when he doesn't obey you at all...true? Dominant personality or not -- if you aren't consistent with your terrier, his behavior won't be consistent either.

I applaud your success at obedience class tonite; you've obviously worked hard to get your little guy to obey these commands. What you need to do is apply the same ideas/methods you used in class at home. If he is capable of doing a sit-stay in a room full of strange dogs/people while you walk away, then he is capable of getting off the sofa without first giving you "attitude" about it... :-)

Best,
Leslie