pilates + angus = pain

[nickerbokker]

so i tried to be all "healthy" today.  haven't had pain in a while so i figured it was time to try and start moving my body a little lol, sadly. 

i stick in my dvd.....i assume the position, and angus runs over and thinks were going to cuddle.  i tell him no, he gets frustrated and barks lol.....he walks away, only to get a toy and run at me with it and pounce on my belly.  i tell him to go away, so he gets another toy, runs over, and jumps on my jelly belly.  i tell him no, so he starts to whine and growl (talking) and starts to literally pounce on me with his paws like "get up mom!".  i get one exercise done, he lays down on my arm.  i tell him no, he TAKES OFF, runs into the bed room, i hear him bounce off the bed, and before i could get up, he was running full speed at me....jumps from like 5 feet away, slams into me, and takes off into the bedroom again....i quickly get up, but no matter where i go, he keeps finding me and jumping on me.  so my work out is done.  i fear for my life lol.  now im on the puter so he is in the family room pouting. 

[RedyreRottweilers]

Nik,

with all due respect, why would you allow your dog to treat you like that?

[Anky]

Nickers,

You do NOT have a Jelly Belly.  I swear on my bodacious ghetto booty that your stomach is flat.  Girls with massive 8 packs scare me.  I think that they're mutants or something.

[nickerbokker]

Nik,

with all due respect, why would you allow your dog to treat you like that?

isn't it terrible red!  i have the spawn of satan, yet i let him get away with this LITTLE YET BIG stuff cuz he's sooo cute!  it's like, usually my boundaries are up with him cuz i'm trying to do right by him....but sometimes i just am so in love with him he can get away with anything!  at least i never said it wasn't my fault he is the devil!

[RedyreRottweilers]

If you understand that, it's fine.

However, dogs do not understand sometimes.

Either you command a position of respect, or you don't.

You won't carry  much weight as an authority figure, for example, in instances where your dog might act out towards others, if you allow him to disrespect you in these ways at other times.

Just hoping you understand that part of it.

[Roxy Poxy]

Nickerbokker.. ..not laughing at your pain, but definitely laughing at the story!!  I know what you mean...sometim es Roxy gets into her "psycho-maniac" mood-personality...and it's like she just gets these spurts of energy out of nowhere!  Actually, she just hates it when all the attention isn't on her, and heaven forbid that mom want to do something that isn't dog related!  I think when I say "NO" she hears "GO" and runs around with even more energy!  I wouldn't give up her maniac-ways for anything... what else would I have to talk about!  When I tell about my drama filled days with Roxy...they almost sound made-up.  But there is NO WAY I could ever come up with such craziness if it wasn't true!  I thought your story was hillarious; let your dog go crazy and keep it fun, it makes for better stories!!  haha!    

Obviously, Angus thinks you look perfect, since he won't let you work out!!  I have my own Pyrsonal trainer living with me....vacuummi ng a 2000 sq. ft house full of dog hair everyday is a great arm workout, as is trying to keep up with 150 lbs of dog when on our daily walks.  Considering she outweighs me by a good 30 lbs., no workout DVD is needed around here!

[jabear]

Poor Nicks....I am soory but that was funny. Angus LOVES you so much!

[pndlake]

You are right, Red.  You are an absolute genius in training and dog knowledge, so I respect and listen to everthing you say.  And, yes, Nick will pay the price of having goof around time with Angus.  I do wonder, though whether or not they understand "sometimes".  At time I feel we under estimate a lot of their feelings and do not give dogs the credit that is due.  They still constantly amaze me and I do believe they can have an understanding of "sometimes" especially after maturing more, which Angus still needs to do.  Nick and Angus are "nuts" that is why we love them so much. 

[Jen and Rick]

I do believe that dogs can understand the notion of "sometimes."  Here's a story about my first dog, a highly alpha rottie.  As a disclaimer, nowadays I would never, ever play tug of war with a dog struggling to be alpha. But back then, I was new at the whole thing and pretty clueless lol.

I had managed to work through my pup's growling and snapping at people and he was a fairly well behaved fellow.  He knew he was never allowed to growl at people, but he understood he could growl when playing with his tug toys during play time.  Well, this dog was still h*ll around the house, and would get in trouble from time to time for other stuff...and this made him want to growl at me.  Whenever he was in trouble, he would run around the house frantically looking for a tug toy.  He would bring it back, sit right in front of me, and growl his head off with the toy hanging out of his mouth!  I would just calmly take the toy and wait.  The growling would stop instantly, and he would run around to get another toy, come back, and growl again!  He really seemed to understand that sometimes he could growl and other times not.



Jen

[RedyreRottweilers]

Okay then, let me rephrase since some want to refute the notion that dogs dont' understand sometimes.

Dog's don't understand someone who is the leader SOMETIMES, and not others.

If you are not the day to day LEADER FIGURE, if your dog decides to behave like a butthead and you step up to the plate to THEN be the leader, your dog is not likely to recognize that fact.

Particularly some dogs who may be "social climbers" within the pack structure.

If you want the respect of your dog in highly charged situations, you must be the clear leader all the time, not SOME of the time, and especially not just when the doo doo is deep.

[LuvmyMal]

I have had the social climber with my 8 month old malamute. There have been plenty of times I have had to re-assert my alpha status. Now my 8 week old, unfornutely for her, I learned from the other one so she is stuck with strict mommy that does not laugh at cute stuff, because where it may be cute when they are small, it definitely is not cute when they get bigger and stronger. Nikker, what I learned was to be more aggressive with my voice, try it, it should work for you. I know sometimes I just want to laugh, we have had the same problem with Tonka, she likes to get in your face and bark and go get toys and throw them in the air so they hit you. I am sure Angus will come around.

[RedyreRottweilers]

We all have to laugh at the antics of our canine pals from time to time.

If there are no issues in the relationship, you can be more casual with your dog.

When the dog understands absolutely that you are the leader, you can be more casual as well.

However, if/when there may be issues in the hierarchy, or a dog ignores his leader figure when he really should not, sometimes the relationship might need a fresh outlook.

[damar]

If you want the respect of your dog in highly charged situations, you must be the clear leader all the time, not SOME of the time, and especially not just when the doo doo is deep.

I couldn't agree with you more. I think that dogs do some very adorable things but they still need to know who the boss is all of the time! Without one clear "leader of the pack" chaos and "pain" is usually what emerges...

[Jen and Rick]

Okay then, let me rephrase since some want to refute the notion that dogs dont' understand sometimes.

Dog's don't understand someone who is the leader SOMETIMES, and not others.

If you are not the day to day LEADER FIGURE, if your dog decides to behave like a butthead and you step up to the plate to THEN be the leader, your dog is not likely to recognize that fact.

Particularly some dogs who may be "social climbers" within the pack structure.

If you want the respect of your dog in highly charged situations, you must be the clear leader all the time, not SOME of the time, and especially not just when the doo doo is deep.

Oh, I absolutely agree with you on that.  I know that dogs need (and want) consistency from their owners.  With difficult dogs we can't sometimes want to be in charge and othertimes give in.

Ya know, it's kind of like with kids.  If you ever notice, the ones who are bouncing off the walls, hanging off the guide ropes in line at the post office are the ones whose moms are  saying,  "no no no no hehe aw come on" without ever following through. 

Anyhow, I didn't mean to sound like I was refuting the idea of consistency with dogs.  When pndlake mentioned how much dogs are capable of understanding, even understanding "sometimes,"  it reminded me of a story. 

[RedyreRottweilers]

NP, I enjoyed the story.