Who taught my dog how to do these things?..

I know my puppy isn't perfect. One of the most confusing things being her natural wariness of me being too close to her when she 'feels like it' (which makes it frustrating to bring her to the park, because I can never get her to come back with me). She also isn't very good at learning/obeying commands without springing away (I see that leg of yours twitching puppy! Planning to ditch right afterwards eh?!). <--I have yet to successfully understand how to incorporate an 'up' command to my 'sit'

This all said, I have to admit there's...like....-absolutely nothing else- that bothers me about her. I mean...man...there's -a lot to like- And with regards to some of these things, I'm thinking, "Who the heck TAUGHT her these things to begin with".

There's only three possible answers, and I was wondering if someone could clarify this for me

a) Breed b) training c) luck d) some combination of the last 3

I can explain to you the two -most- thankful things I consider about Wanta: 1. Barking 2. Going to the bathroom outside the house.

Yes I have been coming to these forums since she was a little pup. Yes we've been training her/spending much time with her while she was young (I had a lot of free time then). But still, I'm really confused how she's so....'good' at these things, because I don't remember doing anything particularly 'special'.

1. First off, there was a thread back when some Chaz-ers warned me that being surrounded by other barking dogs might increase Wanta's chance to 'reply'. Oh how lucky I am then, because besides my yapping neighbor's dog on the left, my neighbors on the RIGHT recently bought a beagle that yaps so much, the other neighbors threatened them :yikes: So both on the left and right, I have dogs that were threatened by other neighbors for chronic barking. Then across the street, I swear there's yet another one....

But when this happens...Wanta..she just finds a comfy spot on the grass-yard, and...lays there. As another dog barks across the fence, she just...chills out in the sun. (though I suppose the neighbors on the left get a free pass because their fence is barred rather than solid (AKA you can actually see the road outside). But the thing is Wanta just...rarely barks. True we discourage it when it occurs, but really, all that means is we ignore it without rewarding it. So I'm wondering if this is due to breed (listed in my signature), training (she did from time to time bark when she was younger, but I followed Chaz's advice of ignoring + time-outs), or luck (genetic factors and randomness!).

2. As for housetraining, it's even weirder. I learned from fellow Chaz-ers that you're supposed to follow her around the house, interrupting her when she goes, and redirecting her outside. Through experience she would learn that in-house means 'uncomfiness'. Well the thing is, I...never actually ended up doing this (way too hard! :yikes: ). On occasion, a solution we found was to leave her in the yard for a couple hours in the afternoon where she would sun-bathe. (probably a #3 thankful trait is that she's -extremely- independent for some reason (never whines/barks when left alone for a while..not sure how we were blessed with this either.....). Actually now that I think of it, this is tied to #1. Back sometimes when we left Wanta with the vet for her shots, the workers said that while other dogs screeched, Wanta just sat there trustingly/silently wanting to play...?!?!) But in any case, over time, she developed grass-preference mostly on her own (we gave her treats when she was a little pup for grass-peeing. But that was only a little push initially...we stopped as she went into the 4 month+ zone). One day, about 1-2 months ago, we decided to open the door to give her the 'benefit of a doubt'. And while watching her like stalkers, we were amazed to see her voluntarily walk out of the house to do her business....and then come straight back in.

Aha, my father has been defeated! My dad has always hated the idea of having a dog come indoors, but I see Wanta's charm has won my dad over into becoming such a dog lover, that he lets her sleep on the sofa Now the doors are -wide open- and Wanta can just come in the house, sleep on the sofa, go back outside, sleep in the grass, waddle around. And the weird thing was, I don't see, again, the answer to how this occurred... Breed? (listed in my signature), training (something as simple as the initially puppy training), or luck (genetic factors and randomness!). I can understand how she developed grass-preference from being in the yard many afternoons, but -how- did she learn to -avoid- wood floors indoors

Sorry, whew, that was kind of lengthy. Just wanted to make sure I didn't leave anything out. An explanation from a Chaz-expert, besides satisfying curiosity, might also shed some light on how this would be 'replicated'.

Thx!

The barking thing is probably just her temperment. Some dogs just don't get too worked up around other barking dogs. You can count yourself lucky, though, because this is certainly contradictory to her breed! Sometimes, too, it's just later in life that they find their "voice," so it could always happen anyway.... Hope not!

Thanks Lizzy =]

Because they know that wood floors are bad, you would not reward her if she would do it there. Dogs have good memories, so she would remember you giving her treats when she peed outside, and frankly, it is easier for them to have grip on grass and dirt then flooring.

What makes dogs think that wood floors are bad? I have all wood floors in my house and I'm thrilled to say that my dog is just as comfortable on the wood as on the rugs. She has never had an accident on the wood floors so I have never had the opportunity to teach her that pottying there is "bad" (not that I would potty train her that way anyway).

Not all dogs, but some think that grass is better than wood flooring. Like I know my dog loves laying on our hardwood floor just as much as our deck or the grass, but as a pup she learned that grass was better on the feet for the following reasons:

1. We used to give her treats as a pup for doing it on the grass.
2. She could roam around outside for awhile and smell new things before doing her business.
3. Some dogs find it comfy to just lay down on the grass after doing their business and observing things.

My dog is quite the cat watcher as well, every time there's a cat in our yard she'll chase them out and come right back. It's rather funny.

Our dog has been used to lying on the grass. We built him a dog house but I think he is much comfortable in the grass. Do you guys ever let your dog stay inside your house? For us, we do not allow him. We just let him stay outside to watch over the house. I believe some people want their digs to stay inside too, even in their rooms.

Yes, actually, very much so. Though it is true she spends the afternoons in the yard.

Always, my dog couldn't live outside, she loves being inside. She sleeps in my bed with me too.