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Golden Retriever Discussions / Re: strong willed at five months
« on: August 15, 2005, 10:33:35 am »Sounds like you have what the British and Canadiens would refer to as a "cheeky dog" - she has attitude. Typical cheeky behaviors are demand barking (she barks at you as if yelling at you and in fact IS - she is demanding some action from you - food, play, attention etc.), assertive body gestures for your attention, perhaps even butting another dog out of the way etc.
A cheeky dog isn't anything to worry about, but be sure to follow good training principles so to get it under control. I had a cheeky dog and demand barking is not a good thing. Whatever you do - don't enable it by petting her, giving her attention or doing the thing she is demanding when she does it. My cheeky dog would stand in the kitchen and yell at me for food as I was preparing her dinner. I would put everything down and walk out of the room when she started....it took a week for her to learn the demand barking wasn't going to work. You can work on all behaviors like this and as has been recommended - Patricia McConnell has some great books out and I highly recommend.
Good luck