# dog suddenly started acting like a crazy brat



## emoduck (Dec 8, 2009)

i have an 18 month old female german shepherd and she has been pretty well behaved even though she has a whining and jealousy problem(she gets jealous of my golden retriever and starts whining, non serious growling in a bratty way and mouthing him when i come home. she just acts like a brat)

Yesterday when i came home she did the same thing to my golden retriever and they got a little too noisy so i made her stop in my "bad dog" voice and i used a newspaper to make a loud noise. she suddenly got all hyper and ran around(the zoomies) sniffing and then she ran to the basement and peed on the carpet.

Then later that night after we came home from our walk she ran out of the gate to chase a cat and i had to call her to come back. so i took away her toy and she refuse to come when called so i just ignored her.

This morning when i came down she started whining(she did this when she was 6-8 months old but i thought she grew out of it) to get me to let her in, and then she started barking and whining really loudly. i continued to ignore her until she was quieter and then i let her in. she immediatey ran inside, ran around the house, started sniffing around and then ran into the toilet and peed on the floor. i chased her out of the house and ignored her. 

she seemed to realize she made a mistake because she was quiet and then i went out of the house and realized she had dug out the soil from one of the flower pots.

does anyone know what is causing my dog to act this way? she never acted this way before.


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## Jax08 (Feb 13, 2009)

Welcome to the teenage years. Step up the obedience and the NILIF. Never punish your dog for coming...ever...ever...if you do she will learn that bad things happen when she comes.

I would have her tested for a UTI if she is suddenly peeing in the house. It sounds like she is doing it out of excitement but it's a very inexpensive test to rule out a medical problem.


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## ZAYDA (Apr 22, 2010)

Sounds like she is rebelling but do dogs actually do that...to this degree


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## Jax08 (Feb 13, 2009)

On second thought, it sounds like submissive urination. You yelled at her, she ran and peed. The second time, you were ignoring her until she quit whining. What was your body language like? Were you irritated with her?


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## emoduck (Dec 8, 2009)

i let her into the house as usual even though i did sound angry because it was 5 am and she might wake the neighbours up. i didnt yell at her. i just sounded stern, and told her to her lie down. she did that initially(while whining) and then she started running, getting the zoomies and started sniffing around and then she went into the toilet and peed on the floor


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## Jax08 (Feb 13, 2009)

I bet it's submissive peeing. When she starts sniffing, you need to get her back outside CALMLY. Keep her on a leash while inside. Does she normally sleep outside at night? Or was she being punished for peeing on the floor the night before?


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## Zoeys mom (Jan 23, 2010)

How much exercise is she getting- could she need some more activity possibly? Is she spayed? I ask because my Zoe just entered her second heat and both times right before had a full week of naughty obnoxious behavior for no reason other than hormones


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## onyx'girl (May 18, 2007)

Is she an outdoor dog? If so, then she is obviously not housetrained or needs supervision like a puppy. Are you in any classes with her? It sounds to me that she needs more structure. Personally I don't agree that it is the "teenage stage" but just a lack of leadership that has her acting up. She needs NILIF and structure along with some mental exercise(mental is just as important as physical for a balanced GSD).


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## emoduck (Dec 8, 2009)

she stays outside during the night but we let her into the house during the day. she isnt spayed but her second heat was around 2 months ago. she is usually more subdued during heat though.
she is also housetrained. she has a potty area in the yard where both dogs do their business.
she also gets to go on long walks almost everyday and i also get her to fetch balls and stuff


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## onyx'girl (May 18, 2007)

So what do you do with her as far as training? Anything?
Sounds like she just has an unstructured free lifestyle where she can pretty much do whatever she wants...
You do know that if she comes into heat a male will do whatever it takes to get to her when she is unsupervised in your yard. I'd spay her or get a crate and keep her inside during the night.


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## emoduck (Dec 8, 2009)

our house is gated with high fences so no strangers or dogs can come in. yeah i guess we need to give her more obedience training. we had a trainer for 2 months when she was 7 months old. she does know the basic commands like heel, sit, down, up.
i do isolate her and ignore her when she does something wrong.


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## onyx'girl (May 18, 2007)

Maybe use her meals for tracking, so she can work her brain, or have her find toys that you've hidden. Formal obedience is boring for the dog(if she is just doing the same commands over and over), but working on rear end awareness or getting her into agility if possible will help her. You can make your own course in your back yard.


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## Jax08 (Feb 13, 2009)

I think that by isolating her and ignoring her when she does something wrong, you could be creating a situation in itself. Why not teach her what you do want instead of isolating her and trying to make her figure out what she did wrong? Dogs don't really reason like that.

Definitely up the obedience and mental workout. She's young and bored in the yard by herself. These dogs weren't bred to be isolated. It doesn't surprise me a bit that she was crying to come in. Is there a reason that she can't sleep in the house?


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## selzer (May 7, 2005)

First, she is eighteen months old. She was in heat two months ago. Do you know about split heats? Youngsters are not always as steady and like clockwork as mature bitches. 

While, I do not think you should spay your bitch like many people on here think, I am curious as to why your dog is sleeping outside at night. That is strange, and NOT SAFE for an intact bitch. 

Dogs will climb your seven foot fence to get to her. So unless you have a covered kennel, your puppy COULD be pregnant. Not saying she is, but she or they will dig under or climb over fencing to perform the mating game. 

The person I bought Arwen from told me something weird. He said of her mother, "I never have any problems with her, well she will pee in the house, but only when she is pregnant and I do not like to whip her when she is pregnant." I know I should have run, but I would never have been blessed by my Arwen.

But here is the thing, bitches will pee in the house for a number of reasons: spay incontenance -- your bitch is not spayed so you can rule this out; UTI -- urinary tract infection, will need antibiotics if this is the case; hormonal seasons -- yes both when they are in heat or when they are pregnant, they will feel the urge to pee and will pee in the house sometimes, unless they can get out more often to go; and submissive or excited urination. 

I do not think it is submissive urination or excited urination. My girl Joy sees my mom, gets all excited and pees right there. It is embarrassing. Other dogs pee when you come home, they get excited and pee, and all you can really do is keep comings and goings low key and pray they grow out of it. Submissive urination happens right then and there when you give a harsh correction. Dog turns over and piddles a little.

Submissive urination happens because puppies have a pheramone in their urine that will calm and angry dog. So when they are afraid and submissive to an older dog they will pee a little right then and there, and the dog will be satisfied and back off. They will not remove themselve to the basement and pee. They do it right when you are yelling and carrying on. This is something when you see it happening, you will KNOW that you need to tone down your corrections. 

About corrections, I am a little concerned with what is happening. You ignore a lot of behavior. If you call the dog to come and it won't NEVER ignore it, in fact, do not give a command that you cannot enforce. Enforcing a command is not punishment. If you say SIT and the dog does not, you help the dog get into the proper position, and then you praise it. 

If you say COME, when the dog is chasing a cat and not attached to something, you are setting yourself up for failure. Cut it out. First off, no open gates when the dog is off lead. Second, for now, no commands when the dog is off lead. First have the dog 100% compliant on lead, and then start working with a long line. After you get good at that, then start training off lead. Now, only give commands that you can enforce. 

And ALWAYS praise a come command if the dog comes. NEVER call the dog to you to curb it. 

Good luck with the puppy.


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