Help needed Behaviour

Discussion in 'Samoyed' started by Maryquitecontrary, Jun 5, 2021.

  1. Maryquitecontrary

    Maryquitecontrary New Member

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    Help needed

    Hello, I have a female samoyed who is three months old. I've payed attention to her, petted her, played fetch with her to tire her a little, whenever she was nipping and mouthing I said no and gave her a toy. She was sleeping in my room, and whenever I got out just a few minutes she starts to whine, and I've ignored it till she settles. I've taught her to sit before giving the food because it seemed to me that one time she growled when I approach her near food, and she is hiding her toys whenever I give them, one time when I took the toy from her she bit me. From the beginning I didn't let her to sleep in my bed. she has her space, and yesterday when I got out of my room to help my mom she jumped on my bed, and when I got back she would not go down from my bed and she peed on it, a small amount of urin. I don't know what to do, it seems to me that everytime I say no to her, she becomes destructive. Maybe she does not accept me as her owner. I've taken her to the vet and everything is fine.
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  3. Toedtoes

    Toedtoes Member

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    It sounds like she is having trouble with being reprimanded all the time and that she feels insecure. That causes her to resource guard.

    Stop using the word no. Instead, just ignore behaviors you don't want and focus on encouraging behaviors you do want.

    Take the bed. If she gets on it, just ignore it. Instead, pull out a favorite toy or treat out from a drawer in the room. Then go over to her bed and babble about how much you want her to have it. Make the talk fun and happy but don't look at her. When she comes over to check it out, praise her and give her the treat/toy.

    Having her sit for her food is good. But make sure you always stress the positive side of it. Don't say "no, sit". Say "si-it" and bring your voice up at the end. Then say "wa-it" the same way.

    With toys, try to give her something in exchange for giving the toy to you. Something she'll like better like a favorite treat. And sometimes, when she gives the toy, look at it and say what a great toy it is and then offer it back to her. Let her know that taking the toy from her isn't always a bad thing.

    I also suggest getting her into a puppy class. That will help her socialize and will help create a better bond together. Samoyeds are very smart dogs and very independent so they require a different touch than say a lab or golden. They aren't as eager to please you, so you have to put a lot more effort into making things worth their while to do.
  4. Maryquitecontrary

    Maryquitecontrary New Member

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    Toedtoes likes this.
    Thank you for your reply. She is not reprimanded all the time, she is reprimanded when something is not safe for her, like chewing walls. Resource guarding came from litter where they fought for food and probably toys, the woman where she was told me that. Yes, I am giving her treats when I play with her or to take the ball and give her again of course. I will try to ignore the behaviour i don't like.
  5. Chris

    Chris Member

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    Also try adding food to the food bowl instead of taking away.

    Have two identical toys and if she guards one, ignore her but play with the other as though it's the most precious thing in the world. When she is interested, wait until the first is dropped then throw/play with her with the other
  6. Toedtoes

    Toedtoes Member

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    Sorry. I wasn't trying to suggest that you reprimand her too much. Just that in her brain, she is likely hearing the word "no" as your displeasure. And with a strongwilled and independent dog like a samoyed, her reaction is to take offense to her idea of fun being stopped.

    I'm facing the same thing with my JRT mix. He has decided what he thinks is fun and when I say "no", he gets frustrated even when it's followed with a positive trigger (like giving him a favorite toy or treat). He just doesn't want to give up HIS plans that easily. So sometimes, I have to ignore his behavior (like his digging the blanket on the chair in the living room right after he just played outside in the sprinkler... :102:) and let him refocus himself. It often only takes a moment, because my reaction is half the fun. And he sees it as HIS choice to stop doing it so he doesn't get frustrated.
  7. Maryquitecontrary

    Maryquitecontrary New Member

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    Toedtoes likes this.
    Not at problem I am grateful for your reply because I adore animals and I feel that maybe I am not the best owner for this puppy. Yes I understand that, digging the blanket does not bother me, but sometimes I give her toys to chew and she starts to chew everything else, one time I took a stone from her mouth so that bothers me if she will swallow that. Whenever we take her to cuddle she is shaking her head often and whines, I immediately took her to pee or drink water everything but she does not do anything.
  8. Toedtoes

    Toedtoes Member

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    Samoyeds aren't cuddlers. They prefer a good scratching and petting, but aren't likely to enjoy being hugged or held. It's that independent nature.

    You may not be the "best" owner, but that doesn't make you a bad owner. And you can develop a strong bond with her even if mistakes are made. The fact that you are here asking questions shows that you are a good home.

    If you don't have any, I recommend getting a good supply of chews. Try a few and see what she likes best - bully sticks, hooves, antlers, etc. Tornado-dog really likes the "Better Belly" chews. Most toys are fun for playing with, or ripping apart, but they are not great for chewing. With the edible chews, the dog gets both the chewing need cared for, but it is also a good tasting treat. So it is double the pleasure. She's hitting the age where her baby teeth are starting to fall out and her adult teeth will be coming in. So lots of stuff to chew is important. I gave Tornado-dog a big chew at bedtime so he could enjoy it whenever he woke up in the night - that chew would last a week of nighttime chewing and kept him from chewing furniture, etc. Then I gave him small chews during the day that he could finish in a few hours. It really helped him through that stage.
  9. Chris

    Chris Member

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    How old is she?
  10. Maryquitecontrary

    Maryquitecontrary New Member

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    She will be three months in a few days. Okay I bought a few toys that vet recommended because at that age she can't chew stronger chews that will break her teeth, I will try to find something else. My friend who came to see her said that she is quite pawing me and that she might be a dominant puppy, situation with bed a little reminded me of that.
  11. CaroleC

    CaroleC Member

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    I have a breed which is known for resource guarding - particularly with food. Old fashioned ideas revolved around having to be the boss and able to take his food away - bad choice. Your puppy then feels threatened, and what starts off as simple greed quickly turns to guarding behaviour. Leave puppies like this to eat quietly in their safe space - once they realise that there is no competition for their food they will relax and realise that you are their provider.
    With toys, or stolen items, do not try to take them away. Replace this with a 'Swap', and use this word as a cue. The swap should always be an item of higher value - either food or their favourite item. You can teach Swap as a little game, exchanging one toy for another one or for a treat. Always carry half a dozen small but really choice tit bits in your pocket to reward a good response. This sounds like a confused puppy, handle her sensitively and she will gain more and more confidence as she matures.
  12. GsdSlave

    GsdSlave Member

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    She is still a young pup, I wouldn't be worrying about any dominance issues.
    Sounds like she's just being a normal puppy to me and normal puppies usually play with their mouths, make noises, growls, barks, have lots of energy and everything is a big game to them.
    Start training basic obedience recalls/stays ect: short but fun lessons.

    As for taking things from her teach her to ‘give’ and reward by giving tit-bit and giving object back.
    Try,Treat Balls, A stuffed Kong,/ Nylabone, or raw knuckle bones to keep her amused.

    As for biting better to teach bite inhibition/control, no one method will work for all and there are numerous ways to teach them to understand what's acceptable, main point is teaching the pup what is acceptable.
    Whatever method you choose, the more consistent you are the faster they will learn,
    http://www.crickethollowfarm.com/biteinhib.htm
  13. Chris

    Chris Member

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    Aw, bless her, just a normal puppy with those awful sharp baby teeth that will plague her. She'll start losing those at 16 weeks, give or take a few days either side. When second teeth come in, things should calm down naturally.

    Keep up with swaps and making everything a good game for her to do the right thing
  14. Maryquitecontrary

    Maryquitecontrary New Member

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    Okay thank you for your replies I will do that. :)
  15. Toedtoes

    Toedtoes Member

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    As you can see, everyone adjusts their techniques a bit for their dog. Like GSD, I do a "give", but I say "let me see it" with toys and such.

    Unless you are going to show or do other competitions where standing at the ready is important, you can teach the dog to sit for things. Have the dog sit and wait for you to put the food bowl down. Have the dog sit to get a toy or treat. Have the dog sit and wait at the door before walking outside. Have the dog sit and wait at the car before getting in to go for a ride. This will get her into a good habit of sitting when she wants something instead of jumping up to get it. It can also help with resource guarding because she learns that she has done the "task" to get her meal so it won't be taken away.

    With all my dogs, I started them out with meals by having them sit and wait for me to put the bowl down. Then I simply sat in a chair nearby and talked to them while they ate. They learned that even if I was right there, I wasn't going to steal or take away their food. As they got comfortable with me sitting there, I started to get up and do stuff while they ate. Wipe down the counter, do dishes, etc. Again, this helped them realize that I was not a threat and was not going to grab their food just because I was in the room and/or walking near them. I also never picked up the bowl until after they had a chance to leave the room and then come back and check to see that it was still empty. That way they didn't think I was taking away food.

    Even my Bat-dog who came to me resource guarding, settled down and relaxed for mealtime, well as much as a beagle mix could - she still ate like it was her last meal on earth, but she would let me drop a pill in her bowl while she ate if I forgot to add it before putting the bowl down.
  16. Maryquitecontrary

    Maryquitecontrary New Member

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    No, competitions does not interest me. Yes I am doing that, she sits before food and wait for me to say it is okay to eat, and also whenever I want to give her a toy or a treat I say sit. Of course I won't allow jumping she will be a big dog. I play with her fifteen minutes a day we play fetch and whenever I say drop, I give her tiny parts of treats, and that is working fine when I am with her. Some people told me that I should put my hand on the bowl and see how she reacts, but I think that better approach is to fill the bowl and I cuddled her a bit at the beginning, not to bother her of course while she eats. Do you think that maybe it is better that she sleeps in another room at night? I am afraid I will find poop on my bed :D
  17. Toedtoes

    Toedtoes Member

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    It sounds like you have got this. :)

    At her age, I would be hesitant to put her in another room. Her bladder is still small enough that she will go from "I don't need to pee" to "I gotta go pee NOW" in seconds.

    I suspect the pee wasn't intentional but was because she was riled up and couldn't hold it completely - like when we laugh or cough too hard.
  18. Maryquitecontrary

    Maryquitecontrary New Member

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    Okay thank you all very much. :)

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