Hello, my Pomeranian is completely out of control, please help me.

Me and my girlfriend own a 1 year old Pomeranian female. As I type this she has been barking in her cage for 3 hours straight, this isn't normal behavior.
We have tried everything from ignoring her bad antics, to spanking her. She does the following every single day.

Scenario 1
I goto jack in the box, and I try and enjoy my meal on the couch. She stares at me and starts barking, and clawing at the ground. I will yell NO GINGER, she will then get even more angry at me and come at me and attack my hands.
What I usually end up doing, Putting her in the bedroom and shutting the door.
What she usually does : Pisses and ****s on our bed to get us back
Or I will put her in the cage and she will bark RELENTLESSLY for hours at a time with no ceasing at all.

Scenario 2
I want to sit on the couch and watch a tv show, wrong she demands attention and starts barking at me and clawing at the ground, I will get up and go after her and she is so ****ing small its hard to get a hold of her and I CANNOT get to her. She will eventually stop after we ignore her for about 1 hour.

Scenario 3
Me and my girlfriend are watching a show together, she barks and claws and demands attention, we ignore. She will go out of her way to get attention by trying to jump on the counter and pull stuff down , endangering herself and making the apartment an absolute mess.

Scenario 4
When we finally do give the little bitch attention, all she wants to do is bite us like a piranha. Even if we close our fists she will continually bite us.

She has complete control of this apartment she gets whatever she wants, just because our eyes are ****ing bleeding and we don;t know what to do anymore. She is a cute dog, but this behavior is pushing us to the edge. I did the whole research on the internet, such as Nothing in life is free. PLEASE HELP ME GET CONTROL OF MY LITTLE GREMLIN

I am sure you will get good advice here. My mom has a Pommeranian nd I can't stand him. He is spoiled rotten, and bites me in the leg when I walk in. I have an APBT who is a pussy cat, except that she ate the couch tonight. Oh well. Good luck.

First, PLEASE stop hitting her... this will hurt not help your goals.

Second, it sounds like you could really benefit from getting her into a class. The trainer will be able to help you with basic obedience and helping her become a better part of the family.

There are a lot of trainers on here that will probably be able to help you.

I hope you are able to get the answers you need.

Good Luck

Elissa

If you have the stomach to be able to hit a tiny dog who is obviously miserable, refer to her in the most hateful way, have no compassion for and blame an innocent animal who doesn't know what to do because her owner hasn't taught her anything, the only advice I can give you is to re-home this dog before you completely ruin her.

:yikes:

I would IMMEDIATELY begin with the NILIF program.

Have you tried this? How has it been going?

Why not get her to wear a leash around the house for control?

Biting at this age is a serious problem. When she bites you, yelp and act all hurt. Leave her alone and walk out of the room for a couple minutes before coming back in.

Hope this helps to an extent, though you really need the help of a trainer.

~Tucker

First off let me clarify me spanking her, before you go out and call Animal Control. I do not abuse my dog, nor do I condone beating the dog. I came to these forums for help not , to be chastised and called out. If I really did abuse and not care about my dog, and ultimately wanted to ruin her, do you think I would have even bothered to make a post?

I'm glad you came here looking for help. Unfortunately, this is just the internet and we can't give you the kind of advice you're going to need. Often times people need to see the dog in person in order to evaluate what's going on, kwim?

First off, I would find a reputable trainer/behaviorist to work with. Maybe get her in an obedience class. www.adpt.com has some good resources for finding a trainer.

Second, are you familiar with clicker training or methods based on operant and classical conditioning? If not, please study up on it. These methods work great with little dogs because it's more hands off and teaches them to think for themselves, rather than waiting to be forced into doing something. www.clickersolutions.com is one of my favorite sites.

Third, don't hit her. Ever. That doesn't teach her anything and will destroy her trust in you. If you're frustrated, put her in another room or in her crate, and hit a pillow.

Do you ever give her attention when she's behaving nicely? When she isn't jumping on you, ruining things, growling etc? It sounds like she has a lot pent-up energy and boredom, maybe a good long walk would help her calm down. How much exercise does she get every day?

I know how you feel, I have an obnoxious little dog too, but please remember that dogs are not capable of feelings such as spite. She is not doing these things to "get back at you", she simply hasn't been taught what good behavior IS. Dogs were not born with a set of human morals and manners - they need to be taught how to live peacefully with us. What your dog is doing is normal for any puppy (and at 1 year old, mentally, she is still very much a puppy)

It's possible that the biting is play, by the way. She's young. She's bored out of her mind and you are the only living things that will pay attention to her. She has a need to play that obviously isn't being fulfilled. I can't tell you what it is over the internet, but if you get to a good behaviorist, they should be able to tell you what her "angle" is when she is doing these things.

Good luck, and please, when you're spending time with her, don't be cross. Dogs pick up on that sort of thing, and it just makes things worse.

Oh, and if you feel like doing some reading, two of my all-time favorite books are "The Other End Of the Leash" by Patricia McConnell, and "Culture Clash" by Jean Donaldson. Both are very easy to read and offer excellent insight into the way dogs behave and learn.

I'm sorry. But I just can't stand the visual I get of a toy breed, especially, being spanked. You sound so angry, calling her a b**** and your words indicate that you're to the very end of your tolerance threshold, that it freaked me out. Desperate people do desperate things sometimes. Of course you wouldn't post if you didn't care at all about her. But you scared me. I can't imagine hitting a tiny dog. I have Chihuahuas along with two big dogs. If I hit my Chihuahuas, they'd be crushed for life, as they're very sensative and tiny. I'd ruin them with one slap. So, I'm imagining this tiny Pom, who I don't think is much bigger, if at all bigger than my smallest Chi and she's very young still. And I was just shocked at the thought. How long have you had this pup?

First off, dogs aren't human. They do not think like humans, are amoral, (don't have morals, don't know our "right from wrong") ...do not share our value system. The do not do things to get back at you. They are not that complex. Yelling, being angry, locking a social animal up for an hour in anger, chasing her around....all these things are totally confusing your dog and making her insecure. Dogs need structure and someone they can trust. She's missing all that and it's not her fault. A leader does not get angry, flail around, yell. A leader is calm, consistant, confident and quiet. A leader educates.

All these things that you don't want her to do, the staring at you while you're eating, demanding attention, (she's trying to figure out who is taking care of her) the clawing, the peeing on your bed, the barking non stop...none of it is her fault. She is being a dog, doing what a dog does. She is not a little human in doggie fur. Dogs don't come automatically knowing how to act in a house. Their owners need to teach them. And teaching is not accomplished by anger, yelling, assuming she knows something and is being spiteful. Of course she's going to bark when you lock her in her cage. Did you gradually get her use to a cage and make in a pleasant place to be?

I recommend you read the book, Culture Clash by Jean Donaldson. It's the greatest training book I've ever read and I've read a lot.

How long did you ignore her before you gave up and spoke to her, either in anger or not...before you looked at her, made eye contact with her? How many days?

Is she getting any running exercise outside? Toy breeds don't need as much as a big dog, but they need some. She needs to expell some energy. She needs obedience training with gentle methods which she can understand. Exercise for her mind and body is important. Socializing her with all kinds of people, friendly pups, different environments is vital. You can browse the forum and get a couple of books. I think a puppy class with a positive method trainer would help.

Don't let her on your bed for now. Do that NILIF. Help her to find her place in the family. Be a good, respected and trusted leader. Show her what you want and reinforce with something she LOVES for behavior you like. Remove any possible payoff for behavior you don't like. (what is she getting out of this, you must ask yourself.) And prevent it. Some behaviors you need to manage....prevent, such as getting into things.

There are lots of neat things you can teach her such as "leave it" when you don't want her to get something, but you have to show her what you mean. Yelling doesn't teach, harsh punishment, getting all emotional doesn't teach. You can also do a search on top of the page to find things you are looking for.

I hope things will improve for you. I really do.

Oh my doberluv, that was brilliant, as usual

you have been given some great advice here. Please don't feel like you were being chastised. It's just that you did come across as really having a dislike for this little girl now, and that isn't going to help at all, for one thing she will sense that. You are showing by being here that you care about her and want to change that situation.

Us as humans need education too, so you and your partner and your dog can learn together. It's not all work, it can be fun and exciting watching her learn something new, and you both being proud that you could teach her. Cuddle her, love her, but teach how to be what you want her to be (within reason)


I wish you the very best of luck

If you haven't done any obedience training with her yet, that would be the first thing I'd do. Find a class, but explain to the trainer ahead of time that your sweet little demon has issues and make sure they'll have time to work with her and you individually. A private trainer/behaviorist would be even better.

I also recommend the NILF (Nothing in Life is Free) training at home, BUT you have to teach her some obedience commands like "sit" before you can start using that.

And please don't hit her. That doesn't teach her anything. She needs to be shown how to behave.

I think

Are you taking her for daily walks? Does she have play time with other dogs--or do you play fetch or other games with her? She sounds like she is acting frustrated because she is bored. Wrigley will generally only act destructive when let's say we have been gone extra much and he hasn't been walked in two days ect. Doing things to keep her mind busy and to make her tired are important. If you walk her for at least a half hour--play with her for 45 minutes and enforce rules like sit and stay away while you are eating ect--things will improve.

First off if she starts barking in the cage--no matter how maddening it gets, ignore her (unless she may have a valid reason like needing to go potty ect). Do not yell "NO STOP IT" or even look at her. Eventually she will stop after she realizes it isn't getting her anywhere. I don't know if you live in a house or an apartment but when Wrigley tried this behavior a couple of times I actually picked up his crate (saying nothing not looking at him) and put it in the pitch black garage and left it in there for an hour or so. (just to clarify as I feel as I must he had went potty and our garage is heated)--I had to do this twice and he never tried it again (unless it was for potty).

Does she know "sit"? Make her sit and you enter doors first then she is allowed to--make her "sit" when you go down the hallway and then call her--make her "sit" before she is allowed to eat her food--all of these things have helped us tremendously. Have her walk beside or behind you not trotting around in front.

Was the Op for real? it almost seemed ...too... set up?
If not, then get yourself into a training program,even the local petco can help you out. Locked in a cage for 3 hours? it's not a bird.

I have been reading all your responses and am so glad i found this website. You all obviously love your dogs and want to help other people with your knowledge and experience. i so agreed with all the advice that was given to this frustated dog owner and hope they take your advice. However, can someone please tell me what NILIF is, and where I can get info. about it.

Thank you. I hope the pom owner went to this sight too!