advice on dealing with bf's dog

[euphrosyne_rose]

I need a little advice on this. It's not a huge problem and it isn't causing me loss of sleep or anything, but just a few suggestions would be great.
My bf and I have been together for about 15 months. We get along great and love each other very much. We've talked about getting married, etc.
I'm having issues getting along with his dog. I know, I have such horrible problems. Anyway, this dog is his BABY. He would go without food before he let her go without. He thinks everything she does is adorable and wonderful and for the most part this dog can do no wrong.
The problems is this: she's a bloodhound and little over a year old. I weigh 120 lbs. and I only outweigh her by 10 lbs. When she stands on her hind legs she's as tall as I am. I'm about 5'2. This dog is GINORMOUS!!! Since she's still pretty much in the "puppy" stage, she's bouncy and likes to jump. See where I'm going with this? She nearly knocks me down whenever she sees me b/c she gets so excited and she has these long, crack nail claws. Just about every time I visit, I get scratched or stepped on and it HURTS! She also has to sniff you and everything you might have in your hand and she's still kind of slobbery so I usually end up with doggie snot all over my pants which drives me nuts. I don't dislike her, but I get so aggravated every time she scratches me, snots on me or steps on me. The bf likes to let her lay in the bed with us sometimes and I'm usually ok with it as long as she's still. Most of the time she jumps up on the bed and ends up jumping on me. He gets so upset sometimes b/c he thinks I hate her and I don't, I'm just tired of him not realizing that it HURTS when she does that stuff. I know she's a dog and she's not doing it on purpose, but I usually end up cursing or crying out when she does it and he gets all bummed and "well, I guess we have to put her up in her kennel" that sort of thing. I hate that it sounds to him like I'm complaining or being too wussy, but when a 110lb dog steps on your boob, it doesn't feel too good! He told me once I was "prissy" b/c I didn't like her jumping on me. Whatever.
He's tried to tell me to put my hand out in front of her before she starts to jump or that all she wants is my attention. He also said she'll start to calm down in a few months and eventually just be one of those dogs that lay around all the time but I don't know if my patience can wait that long!!! I've tried following the tips he gives, but she's just too rambunctious for me. I've tried to explain that I do like her and she is cute, but I just can't take all the jumping and I'm tired of coming home with scratches and bruises. How do I deal with this (both him and her) until she grows out of this????

 

[Janice]

You should be able to use a severe tone with the dog and train her not to jump on you or avoid you all together. She's 100 lbs, I wouldn't want her doing any of the things you mentioned either. As the mother of 4 dogs you learn to set boundaries with them very quickly. It might take them a couple weeks to "get it" (if they're dense) but they will learn what is acceptable contact with you and what isn't.

She's a big dog and she's probably built like a tank, if she jumps on you sternly tell her NO and push her off. If she doesn't get it next time push harder.

You can't let the dog do what it wants, and she shouldn't be relegated to Kennel just for being a big clumsy goof. =P I personally admire you, I could in no way put up with a dog larger than 20/25 lbs max. We have three terriers (hunt, russell, westie) and a chihuahua, anything bigger and equipped with a mouth that drools or slobbers would wear thin on my patience.

 

[euphrosyne_rose]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Janice You should be able to use a severe tone with the dog and train her not to jump on you or avoid you all together. She's 100 lbs, I wouldn't want her doing any of the things you mentioned either. As the mother of 4 dogs you learn to set boundaries with them very quickly. It might take them a couple weeks to "get it" (if they're dense) but they will learn what is acceptable contact with you and what isn't. She's a big dog and she's probably built like a tank, if she jumps on you sternly tell her NO and push her off. If she doesn't get it next time push harder. You can't let the dog do what it wants, and she shouldn't be relegated to Kennel just for being a big clumsy goof. =P I personally admire you, I could in no way put up with a dog larger than 20/25 lbs max. We have three terriers (hunt, russell, westie) and a chihuahua, anything bigger and equipped with a mouth that drools or slobbers would wear thin on my patience.

Thanks for letting me know I'm not just being a fussy bitch. I'll try those things you suggested!

 

[Shimmer]

My brother's 70 lb pit can do some damage, so a dog with 40 lbs on her? Yeah, manners are important.

Tell him that it's VERY important he train her proper manners because due to her size, if she playfully bounces on someone who gets hurt, the situation could become one where he loses his dog.

Training classes for big dogs are very important.

 

[Janice]

You'll probably feel like a meanie and your boyfriend (since he coddles her) might fuss at you, but it's really his fault that he hasn't acted like a pack leader and set acceptable boundaries with people with her or enforced her not jumping on you when you're there. I'm sure she's a real sweet dog, but you coming home with bruises and scratches isn't cool. Be assertive with her and let her know that you're alpha when in the house and she shouldn't be jumping on you, she'll get it. Remember that it's wired in their brains to live as a pack ans so taking instruction from a leader will come naturally. This seems like to me it should be a pretty easy fix, I'm surprised it's gone on for so long!

BTW - I totally sympathize with you, my husband believes our dogs can do NO wrong either. I swear sometimes I get so PO'd at that, so I totally know where you're coming from!

 

[ashleydenise]

This is really hard.. I have a rottweiler/chocolate lab who is about 5 months right now, and like your bf, she's my baby, and everything she does is adorable to me.. But you have to learn how to be firm with her, when she jumps on you, smack her nose and with a firm voice say 'no jumping' I don't mean to beat the heck out of her, but just a light tap that startles her into listening to you.

good luck!

 

[MACPixie]

Discipline and reward - like others have said, you need to firmly tell her no when she does these things and reward her when she doesn't. A good idea with a large dog is to train them to sit or lie down upon greeting people. Where you might have trouble is that you have to get your boyfriend on board with this too. The dog will never learn if you're telling it no to something your boyfriend lets it do.

Good luck with the training and I understand your frustration. My boyfriend's cat is bossy and when you do something it doesn't like, he kindly urinates on the bed. I have 2 cats and a dog and they have manners, but it came with time and a lot of work and patience. I work at a Vet Hospital as well and I get to deal with the large dogs with zero manners on a day to day basis and let me tell you we don't appreciate them jumping on us either.

 

[pumpkincat210]

Seriously, train her! She is so big she needs to learn manners while she is still young, it will be easier and shoudn't take too long if you both are consistent.
my sister in law has a rat terrier and it jumps on me and scratches my legs and it is so annoying! They don't train her and it drives me nuts!

 

[Willa]

Seriously, as it's been said : your bf should get her trained.

I have the same problem back home (my parent's place) with my father's dog. It's a big black labrador. He jumps on everybody, want's to eat everything, you just can't leave anything on the counte (bread, butter, leftovers...) he will eat it as soon as you go outside without him. My bf didnt believe me when I told him that... but we tested the dog. Went outside, and just the time when we got to the window, his 2 paws were on the counter and he was grabbing EVERYTHING!

My father don't see any problem with the dog.
Like your man, he thinks I hate the dog. No I don't, I just dislike very much the fact that the dog isnt trained.

When I was living at home, back in the time, like 4-5 years ago, we had a trainer but my father being strange as he can be sometimes, didnt believe in ''this''... He literaly said that his dog was trained...

NO HE IS NOT!!!

Just because you have to scream after the dog, doesnt mean he's trained... moron.

I'm telling you, get it trained, because it's going to be a big pain in the ***...

 

[GlossyAbby]

I have a 200 pound Saint Bernard...and he is almost a year and a half and he started to calm down after a year ....Im sure she will start too calm down too but he really nedds to train her not to jump big dogs need training so they don't over power you.

 

[user79]

I don't have a dog but have been around dogs a lot and love them. I definitely agree that dog school is really important, especially for big dogs like her. Your bf should really train her while she is still young so she knows her boundaries from the start. She won't just calm down be well-behaved with age unless she gets some training. I know a dog who is extremely wild and misbehaved and even bites people, simple because she was never trained. The dog has a good spirit, but all dogs need guidance. They want the human to be the leader of the pack, if the dog doesn't get any guidance, they will assume themselves to be their own master, which can be dangerous. Dogs should never jump up on people, even when excited and happy. They can easily be trained to sit down and be more calm when someone comes in the door, it's a matter of just keeping at it. There's lots of good dog training books that you and your bf can look at, or even take her to a puppy-doggy school.

 

[urbanlilyfairy]

YOu both need the Ceaser Milan ...or just rent some dog whisperer dvds..lots of tips and advices. hehe I know it sounds corny but seriously my hubby and I learned so much from just watching this show about our diffrent problems with our dogs.

SOunds like this doggie needs boundries and limitations. The ceaser way to chill a dog out ..is excersise, discipline , and then affection in that order.

Im not doggie expert and have never dealt with big dogs before...but i do belive that having a firm tone ..and immediately correcting a dog's behavior as its happening or even just before the moment she lunges at you..that you need to shush her ..or stop her in some manner with a hand movement and or word or sound or both.

if shes always pretty hyper or overly excited all the time the dog prolly needs to be walked. A big dog like that could use at least an hour walk a day ..and maybe with a doggie back pack and some weights to use up some her energy. Or you can try walking her on a treadmil ..it takes soem practice ..but belive me when i say walking dogs on a regular basis like that seriously helps so many issues.

My doggie winston was the most aggravating hyper lilttle guy ..but now that we get him on the treadmill for 30 mins a days ..he is pretty much chill now ..and he is under a year old ..and I kept telling myself he will grow out of his annoying habits ..but we got it sooner by just excersing him on a regular basis.

Good luck ...I do highly reccomend you check out Dog whisperer techniques =)