My sheltie is 8 months old now and she's a really good dog. She knows sit and stay and down etc. when she feels like it (like most dogs at this age) Her chewing on our walls has gotten a lot less, and when she is mouthing when we play when I tell her no she'll usually stop and start licking me instead.
The thing I have a problem with is that she seems to nip/bite out of frustration. For example if we have been at the dogpark and we leave too early for her liking, as soon as she understands that we're leaving she'll go for someone's legs! Most of the time my stepsons but she will grab me or my husband too if we happen to be within reach. Even if I lift her up she'll try to bite my hands etc. It really doesn't seem like playbiting at all, not like she wants to draw blood or anything but you can clearly tell that she is NOT happy with you at that moment.
We have tried the ignoring thing but she just continues to do it anyway. She still goes after my stepson ALL the time. He cannot run or go anywhere without her grabbing him by the ankles. He is only seven, it hurts him and so it's hard for him to ignore her when it happens. I'm afraid of her behaviour and also of my stepsons, he get's really upset when she does this to him, to the point where he has hit her. This only happened once and he came telling me crying coz he felt so bad about it and knew it was wrong right away. I tried to explain to him that Penny right now is just really stubborn and is testing us all because of her age, he knows that but I see his side too, it hurts him...
Now when I see her do it I usually grab her and push her down to the ground (not violently at all mind you) just to tell her it's time out and what she is doing is not okay. It does seem to help a bit coz afterward she won't do it as much, but I dont really feel like that is positive reinforcement and like to get some advice from people... I'm really at my wits end...
The thing I have a problem with is that she seems to nip/bite out of frustration. For example if we have been at the dogpark and we leave too early for her liking, as soon as she understands that we're leaving she'll go for someone's legs! Most of the time my stepsons but she will grab me or my husband too if we happen to be within reach. Even if I lift her up she'll try to bite my hands etc. It really doesn't seem like playbiting at all, not like she wants to draw blood or anything but you can clearly tell that she is NOT happy with you at that moment.
We have tried the ignoring thing but she just continues to do it anyway. She still goes after my stepson ALL the time. He cannot run or go anywhere without her grabbing him by the ankles. He is only seven, it hurts him and so it's hard for him to ignore her when it happens. I'm afraid of her behaviour and also of my stepsons, he get's really upset when she does this to him, to the point where he has hit her. This only happened once and he came telling me crying coz he felt so bad about it and knew it was wrong right away. I tried to explain to him that Penny right now is just really stubborn and is testing us all because of her age, he knows that but I see his side too, it hurts him...
Now when I see her do it I usually grab her and push her down to the ground (not violently at all mind you) just to tell her it's time out and what she is doing is not okay. It does seem to help a bit coz afterward she won't do it as much, but I dont really feel like that is positive reinforcement and like to get some advice from people... I'm really at my wits end...