Going Crazy!!!!!

I am seriously going out of my mind...Raika has been a nightmare this morning. She is barking, getting up on the couch, biting, scratching, trying to get the cat, aaah!!! Every time I try to discipline her she barks and nips at me like I'm playing with her. I've been trying to establish dominance with her and I feel like she is walking all over me. She doesn't cower at all when I yell or punish her. She's like an out of control teenager!!!! I feel like when I try to punish her (and by punish I mean scolding, holding her mouth shut when she bites, etc), she's like 'haha, you think THAT'S gonna stop me'? I feel like she needs something more dramatic, but I don't know what to do!!!

First how much exercise is the little "beast" getting? Maybe she needs a job to do to feel useful. Second, holding the mouth shut is not going to work most likely rather it will encourage her to keep up with the behavior because you are reinforcing it by giving some type of response. Try timeouts, ignore her for a period of time to show that if she continues the behavior she gets NO attention from you at all. Even a negative response to a dog is still a response and they will thrive on it.

As for exercise, we play fetch in the house for a good 15 minutes twice daily, then I walk her about a mile to a mile and a half every day. If I'm outside, I take her with me and put her on her lead so she can run around in the yard.
When I try to ignore her, she just follows me into another room. Should I just act like she doesn't exist? I think my boyfriend has taken the 'alpha dog' position and I'm just another pup to her...it's just so frustrating.
Thanks for the advice! I'll try giving her the silent treatment and see how that goes.

I ignore Boris too when he does it. It's often unpleasant (he still jumps at me or try to nip me in the back), but he stops fast when he sees it's not working.

You could also give her a timeout in a room where she can't get out. It should be a short timeout because dogs attention spans are pretty much nil at that age so a few minutes should suffice.

Adrienne, is that a full bred collie at the bottom? He or she looks just like the collie I had when I was little, Pete. I have childhood memories of the whole family sitting on the floor brushing burrs out of Pete's fur. (We lived out in the country and he would run in the cornfields). Aah...memories...

Nope, she is a Caucsian Ovcharka, also known as the Russian Moutain Dog.

Aww, they're all so cute. I guess the ears should have been a giveaway.

Have you tried using a stuffed KONG toy to keep her busy? You can stuff it with peanut butter and other goodies to keep her busy, plus it's a good way to exercise her mind. Their website is www.kongcompany.com.

I think you should use timeouts when she does something unacceptable. Say she's biting you - you pull back from her and say "NO BITE!" and then continue to play with her. If she bites you again, say "NO BITE!" and escort her to a puppy-proof room or an exercise pen. Leave her there for five minutes. This way she learns that biting means no more playing, and no playing means no fun. To a puppy, five minutes is long.

We just got home from the vet. We're finally done with puppy boosters! The vet suggested that when Raika bites, I put her on her back so she knows that I'm the boss and say NO! She demonstrated in the office and it seemed to work...then again, Raika was out of her element. Tomorrow we're going to the dog park for the first time.

Hmmm, intesting advice from a vet. What does she suggest doing when your puppy is a 60lb German Shepherd? It's fine to put a pup on its back and give it some tummy rubs but it shouldn't be used for punishment. It will only confuse the poor pup. In a wolf pack the only time a dog is put on it's back by another dog is when the leader plans to kill it. I wouldn't want my pup to think I had plans like that. Resource controling is your best bet to becoming alpha in your pups eyes. Everything your dog relies on you for such as food, play, attention, going out, etc. should be given for a price like a sit. This is how to show them you are alpha, by being a fair, consistent leader and communicating with your pup in a way it can understand. I would not recommend putting the pup on her back for punishment. Try the ignoring and timeouts for a week first and see how that goes. German Shepherds have sensitive souls...my pup Gunnar just cringes if I raise my voice to him, his ears are tucked way back on his head and he just looks pathetic. So I avoid punishment by replacing the behavior I don't want with one that is acceptable.

Raika, I suggest waiting another week or at least a few days before taking your dog out, it takes as long for the shots to be effective.

Yes, we got a kong yesterday. Today I stuffed it with kibble mixed with peanut butter and froze it for an after-vet treat. She worked on that for about 30 minutes straight which is awesome for her tiny little attention span. It's really a good distraction toy for when she's doing something she's not supposed to be doing.

As for putting her on her back, I don't think the vet wanted me to do it for a long time, just until I establish dominance. Right now she walks all over me! I don't want her to think I'm trying to kill her though.
Having a puppy is HARD!!! (Not that I thought it would be easy).

Thats good to hear about the kong. Keep working on it. Don't give up

I always did the alpha bit with with all my pups....by the time they went home all were able to lie still and not struggle. I usually did it when I was grooming and it worked out well.

Don't try to hold it's mouth if you do that she will bit you intill you stop it and also you can scold her if you saw her do it. If you worn't there when it happened and you scold her she won't know what she did. Another thing is if she is making a mess at night or if you are not watching her carefully put her in crate. If you didn't buy a crate you probley should get one. First you meant want to crate train her too get some books on that. THIS IS IMPORTANT: DON"T USE THE CRATE FOR A PUNISHMENT IF YOU DO SHE WILL NEVER GO IN HER CRATE AGAIN!!!!!

Raika read this article http://k9deb.com/nilif.htm and also the social isolation on the same site. That should give you a lot of insight.

I also don't recommend you rolling your pup onto it's back. The timeouts do work even if you have to take them and put them in a separate room for a couple of minutes. It just takes a bit of time and consitency.

Thanks for that webpage, Saje...it's very helpful!