Hello!
I have posted here for a while! It's been a few months!
Caesar (my half German shepherd / half Husky) is a wonderful dog and loves to be around me at ALL times!
The issues I am having with him are barking issues. He loves to play by getting down on his forelegs with his rump in the air (we call it herding mode), but when he gets like this, he barks at me and makes little fake grabs at me with his mouth which I do not want to tolerate. I know that he is a herder in his heart and that he is trying to have some fun at what he does best, but I don't want to be herded! I have tried grabbing him to put him out in the kennel when he starts barking but he is too quick for me. Then, it ends up being a game of chase (which he loves) and I get more frustrated by the minute. I don't want to call him to me because I don't want him to associate Come as a bad thing. Usually, I just have to walk away from him. He will then follow me and I can usually grab him then when he is unsuspecting. Am I doing the right thing? I don't know if he is associating the barking with going to the kennel because some times it takes me a while to catch him. I don't want to chase him because then he is getting playtime when he is a bad dog.
I really want to give him a herding outlet because I think he gets quite bored. He really likes to fetch, but I would love to be able to set something up for him to keep him busy when we are gone for the day, instead of him just lying around and building up 4 - 6 hours worth of energy for when I get back home.
Thanks for any advice!
I have posted here for a while! It's been a few months!
Caesar (my half German shepherd / half Husky) is a wonderful dog and loves to be around me at ALL times!
The issues I am having with him are barking issues. He loves to play by getting down on his forelegs with his rump in the air (we call it herding mode), but when he gets like this, he barks at me and makes little fake grabs at me with his mouth which I do not want to tolerate. I know that he is a herder in his heart and that he is trying to have some fun at what he does best, but I don't want to be herded! I have tried grabbing him to put him out in the kennel when he starts barking but he is too quick for me. Then, it ends up being a game of chase (which he loves) and I get more frustrated by the minute. I don't want to call him to me because I don't want him to associate Come as a bad thing. Usually, I just have to walk away from him. He will then follow me and I can usually grab him then when he is unsuspecting. Am I doing the right thing? I don't know if he is associating the barking with going to the kennel because some times it takes me a while to catch him. I don't want to chase him because then he is getting playtime when he is a bad dog.
I really want to give him a herding outlet because I think he gets quite bored. He really likes to fetch, but I would love to be able to set something up for him to keep him busy when we are gone for the day, instead of him just lying around and building up 4 - 6 hours worth of energy for when I get back home.
Thanks for any advice!