Help! A couple of Questions :(

[tomatoboi]

Hey guys.. Right now I have a 8month old Shihtzu. Ever since she was young she played rough. We got her around 8 weeks I think. But Ive read on this forums and I tried the ignore, yelp, walk away, crate method. But she doesnt seem to listen :confused: Now, when she does something bad, and we say "NO", she would just bark back and start growling.

So my questions are

1) How should I discipline her , Ive tried most of the things that have been recommended here

2) She Eats everything off the ground, and i mean EVERYTHING.. but only in my house. Outside, she is an angel. Lately, shes also started knocking down my garbage cans and eating everything

Thanks in advance :)

[adojrts]

I would do the Nothing In Life Is Free method, that and management (making sure she isn't left unsupervised near the trash cans etc.

Good luck

[tomatoboi]

Hm thanks, But how do I stop her from Barking back, and trying to bite me after I yell at her for doing something bad? And what does the Nothing Is Free Method teach? Does it just basically teach, nothing is life is free? Thanks :)

[elegy]

for the eating things problem, i think dog-proofing your house a bit better is going to give you the most success. get trashcans with lids that lock or put them in cabinets or closets.

yelling at her for doing something bad doesn't seem to be working, so maybe being more proactive about preventing her from getting herself in trouble would work better.

nothing in life is free teaches respect, basically, and it teaches the dog to rely on you for the things she needs. it reinforces that you are in charge.

[heartdogs]

Yelling is not training. You need to learn how to communicate with this dog instead of thinking about correcting her all the time. After all, if correction was working, you wouldn't be here asking us for help, right? :)

There's a great little book by Deborah Wood called "Little Dogs: Training Your Pint-Sized Companion" that should probably be in your library. Also, "The Culture Clash" by Jean Donaldson - you can probably get that one from your library.
This site has some free lessons:
www.clickerlessons.com