Ruckus thinks he owns me

Ruckus is over six months now.. i dont think he is quite 7.
well, he is pushing his limitations....

for example, i say... "NO!" to him for getting into potting soil. and he looks at me... shows his teeth (in a playful manner) and barks and makes all sorts of noises at me!

i will say "go in your crate" and he runs the other way barking at me! he loves his crate and this is the only time he has been difficult getting in it.

last night.. i told him "get on the bed" and normally he will get on the bed! but last night he ran into another room.

and when i call him... he goes the other direction. this has all started a couple of weeks ago. he is also biting me. he has never bitten during play before until now. and when i was brushing him he actually growled at me!

i think he is having bad behavior due to age, and not going on walks. I cannot walk him on crutches thats for sure. and in two weeks my bf only took him walking 3 times. i used to take him everyday and he would go to work and play with dogs for 5 hrs a day. i throw toys for him at home to burn off some energy but i know thats not enough.

at this age 6-7 months, what is to expect? how do i deal with it?
i have just been consistent. for example... like when i was talking about me wanting him on the bed or crate and he would run off... well i would make him get on the bed or in the crate.

ps. i know since he isnt going on walks that is a big part of the problem there. i cant do it, the bf just doesnt have time. so please dont give me a hard time about it

I think it is a combination of age and lack of exercise...he's approaching the magical "idiot phase" I've heard about...that around 8 months puppy's brains just sort of fall out of their heads. It sounds like he's testing you to see what he can get away with. Stick to your guns...experiment with tossing balls and stuff around to try and work off some of that energy.

thank you

Dante hit the 'teenage butthead' stage at about 8 months. It seemed like he woke up one morning and had forgotten all of his training!!

Does Ruckus fetch? Can you play find it? How about some kinds of new tricks you can teach without you needing to really move around a lot? Mental stimulation will tire them out faster than physical!!

oh yeah we play fetch all the time. i have been teaching him lots of things. in two weeks he has learned to give me a better recall, roll over, and to beg.

Has anyone considered that the dog doesn't feel comfortable around the OP?

You say "No!", Ruckus feels threatens and shows his teeth. It may come off as playing behavior, but unless he does a play bow and tries to make it a game I don't know if he's comfortable with you reprimanding him.

You command him to go into his crate. He disobeys you. Out of fear? Out of stubbornness? (Dog's aren't purposefully difficult)

He won't come to you when you call--he walks away. This is definitely characteristic of a dog that doesn't trust the owner, or a dog that hasn't been rewarded well enough for recalls.

You brush him--he growls at you.

This might be due to the fact that he isn't getting as much exercise, but I would consider other possibilities as well. Have you ever yelled at your dog? Is your dog sensitive to your voice? (Does he tuck his tail when you yell?) Is your dog very scared of your crutches? Who does most of the teaching? Training? Taken you.

I say go with NILIF.

oh he does a play bow all the time. everyone i tell him no actually. i say h disobeys me out of stubberness. he is a stubber dog.
Ruckus has a pretty bad recall, so its rare that he ever comes to me.
my dog is very sensitive to some peoples voice, but not mine. usually dont yell at him. i dont like to yell at all, but sometimes it slips and i yell "NO"
he does not tuck his tail when i yell. he looks me right in the eye like i am an idiot.
i do all the teaching and training. he is scared of my crutches but not VERY scared.

whats NILIF?
hope this has helped.

btw, he isnt scared of me... he is by my side all of the time and is always happy to be around me. tail waggin, being playful...
sleeps with me, lays on my feet... he is my shadow. my happy stubborn shadow

Good morning! I second Zooms post. Having spoken with you in private before, I'm sure you're not heavy handed (verbally) with your pup. The issue is more likely lack of exercise, training and this broken foot of yours, coming when he needs it most! Be careful about giving commands he's learning you can't enforce. I.e.... "go to bed", slow recalls, getting into things with no more redirection other than "no!" He's learning you're a little slow on those crutches and that you're timing on corrections is off. Don't raise your voice, he'll simply become bettter at tuning you out. Reccommend you do some daily training in place of the lack of exercise. Put his leash on, (he should be dragging a leash quite a bit of the time if you're the only one home with him.) Sit in a chair and bring him to you. Practice "watch me", a sit, down and leave it, with some extra special treats. Practice "stand" and "stay', then brush. If he's growling when you brush around his rear, hips, back legs, he's possibly a little sensitive about being handled back there with recent neutering. Also, how'd that unglueing session go? Did you rip out hair when undoing his ears? That also might contribute to his recent protests during grooming. Make this more of a massage verses brush out. Get in some bonding time via training, while you're comfortably seated and have his undivided attention. Also, since those crutches are part of you for awhile and he doesn't care for them... make them an object of interest. Something that hides treats! Take your dog on leash, while you're seated, put him in heel position on your left. Lay crutches on ground length wise in front of your feet. It's o.k. if he backs away. Set a cookie up against arm rest, one under hand hold and one at base of crutch. Hold him back a litle and tell him "ready?!", get quietly excited, repeat command several times then "find it"!! Give him slack in leash and let him go down length of crutch and fish out treats from hiding spots. The crutches will be something he doesn't mind being close to, in no time!

the unglueing went swell, thanks for asking. not much hair riped out, or much problems at all. thank you for the support and the crutch idea. so far i have only tried putting the crutches near him and encourage smelling. he isnt so afraid of them now. its mainly the noise it makes when i walk with them that is scarey to him. i still have to walk him outside to potty with my crutches when my bf is at work. that is sooo sooo hard to do because he is scared so is constantly pulling and of course it is dangerous to the both of us, but i have no choice.
thank goodness i will be off these this wensday.

your so helpful! TY!!

Hi there, I agree with Zoom & otch, it sounds to me like he's just restless because he's used to a certain level of exercise, and isn't getting it... sounds almost like he's trying to turn everything into a game, even when you're being serious about what you want him to do I've noticed that Moro will get a lot more playful and puppy-like indoors, and tend to listen less when she doesn't get to go on a long walk or a run... she usually gets one every day, but I've been sick lately and haven't been able to take her as far, and when the weather gets really cruddy she definitely finds ways to take out her energy in the house I'd say Ruckus will just have to be patient about the exercise until your leg is better, and you'll have to be patient with him, it's probably just stressful on both of you to have to be cooped up inside more than usual.