behaviour getting worse

Hey all.
As some of you know my singleton puppy now nearly 2 (omg how did that happen) has been a handful to say the least and after shelling out on vet behaviourists etc things seem to keep getting worse so i thought its time to ask some advice from you guys the staffy xperts!

So the vet behaviourist came to the house recently to see us all in our natural setting and obviously there was lots of jumping up and excited behaviour (barking, jumping etc) and then she done her mental ears back spinning and growling which usually came from just sitting so the vet says its like normal staffy behaviour but x2, and that its attention seeking so told us to ignore walk out room etc and to a degree its worked for that.......however theres been adverse sideaffects.

1- she now goes ballistic at the tv (random ads and programmes)

2- she mouths me if my arms on the arm of sofa randomly will jump and jab me with her paws.

3-on a walk she wil be fine for a while then go nuts and swing off the leadjumping at me and growling so iv stopped using the flexi and have to just walk her on harness for longer. Have been thinking of jogging with her but the trails have been icy still and the bits that have melted are all boggy now so that will have to wait a while

My mum has been really upset by the constant barking and the behaviourist says ignore it cos shes trying to find things we cant ignore, and we cant ignore that living in a small relatively quiet street in a 4 in a block! Vet recommended an anti bark collar but i dunno!!!

any advice would be greatly appreciated

It does sound exactly like attention seeking. Did the vet advise on diet as this could be having an effect with the hyper stuff too. What is she fed ?

Mental stimulation may well make a difference too, have you tried some toys that contain treats that she has to work at to get ?

Certainly jogging with her will help tire her out but I'm not sure that's going to get to the root of your issues here. When the vet said to ignore that is correct, however, as for the barking I think you definately need some distraction method like the mental stimulation I mentioned aboved.

She has allergies and has always been very picky but is now on applaws grain free which she likes. Iv got the treat balls and the vet said to fill a box with shredded paper and hide treats in it and let her go crazy finding them but the barking is still all the time.

Its rough as i cant let her off lead and shes too much aroumd the kids in the family as she gets too hyped and last time got hold of my nieces shoe and pulled her down. She goes from chilled to erratic so quick and recently shes been funny about what streets to walk. Shes a special little dog! (Well not so little shes 20kg of pure strength) she seems very sensitive.

Just dont know what to do bout the barking, we tried the spray etc to distract her but nothing weve tried works and its hard to manage.

I just want her to bond more with me and get these habits dealt with

I can feel your frustration, my Flo has her "Special" ways too

It sound like you're pretty much there with the food and games. One thing to bare in mind is that these are her teenage years which might explain some of it but I'm really not sure how you can correct the excessive barking. Hopefully some others here might have some more suggestions.

instead of a flexi lead have you thought about getting her a long lead so she can have a bit more of a run but you will still have control of her if you need to?

One way to get your to stop barking randomly may be to train her to bark on command. Have you tried clicker training ?

Lol thanks Ian shes a special little diva!

I tried the clicker at the start but it never took well, and i tried bark on command but again she looked at bit like hmmmmmm bored not playing ur silly game.

I dnt know tht i would like to use a collar as shes quite sensitive and doesnt like things on her, during the cold i tried to put a jacket on.......it turned her into a statue lol

Hi all

Really stuck just now on what to do!

My mum has been really down and our household is just a nightmare with our little diva! Things arent getting any better despite the countless avenues weve taken were still havin mouthin and really bad behaviour on lead and she ripped the wallpaper off etc. Wev been to various training classes,the vet about her behaviour and even a referal to the vetinarary hospital to see their behavioural experts....all of which have been a waste of time and money. The constant whining and barking for treats which we dont give in to just wont stop.
Im worried if i cant do something my mums going to put an end to this by getting her a new home. The vets have put it all down to bein a singleton pup but shes about to turn 2 and things are as bad as ever and as my mum has been saying "theres nothing enjoyable now with her". Iv been workin soo hard and weve never had a dog like this before where theres little improvement.

What are you her, how much exercise is she getting, and how much training are you doing on a daily basis? She is going through the teenage phase which can be made worse by a low quality food, lack of exercise, or lack of mental stimulation.

If you can teach her to bark on command with positive reinforcement you can then teach the quiet command.

At a minimum she should be getting 2 walks per day of 45 minutes each which should help with the energy levels. There are mental stimulation treat dispensors which may also help. Training sessions should be 2-3 times per day for about 10-15 minutes each and should focus on the areas she is having problems with.

Hi. Shes fed applaws grain free which is high quality. She gets decent walks but as her behaviour has been bad she cannot be let off lead as she ran at me when crazy hyper and nipped my arm and went crazy which im just so happy it wasnt someone else, i just walk further with her. She gets a few training sessions a day and iv recently been using the clicker to go back to basics with her and i use the kong and treat ball too. Everything the behaviourist suggested has made things worse with the barking at the tv and in general.

How would i teach her bark and quiet?

I just dont know whays going on with her its very wierd behaviour shes so scatty, she was barking at tv and i stood up to walk out like the vet said amd she jumped back like i was goingto hit her which i have never done??? Also her ears are back alot like shes tense or worried but the vets have assured shes ok??

Weve always had dogs, a good few rescues and theyv never had the issues she has.....i just cant believe this would be caused by being the only puppy it seems crazy to think