[sully]

Hey guys, just a quick question.  I'm teaching Oggie some basic commands like sit, stay, lay down, etc etc.   It definitely takes some work.  I was trying to teach him "stay" last night, by having him sit then saying "say" then leaving the room for 5 seconds.  Then praising him for staying, then leaving for gradually longer, and so forth.  Anyway, he eventually gets into this phase of protest whenever I try to make him do something he doesn't want to do.  Best I can describe it as barking at me, jumping up and down with his front half, then almost stamping his front paws onto the floor in front of my feet, and all the while he's almost jumping back.  If I try to move forward he retreats a bit, but all the while barking.  If I keep saying "no" or "sit" it just excites him more and he won't stop protesting.  I try to snap him out of it with a quick "bite" (fingers) to the neck but it's almost like I have to look away and let him be.   What's the best way to deal with this behavior?

Thanks!

 

[sully]

Yeah thats a good point.  I do try to keep the sessions short, probably because I have less of an attention span than a puppy!  No but seriously it's possible I did it too many times, I tried it probably a dozen times because I felt like I was making no progress.  But actually now that I think about it he did stay more than usual so we probably did make progress.   That protesting behavior bothers me though, he'll do it sometimes when I'm telling him not to bite on furniture or something.  I think you're right though, it does come off as frustration.  I'm afraid if I take a break by walking away, he's going to think he's winning and becoming dominant.  What's the best way to do a timeout?