The hardest thing to get my dog to do is...... and the way I overcame it was

All dogs are different and what is very easy for one handler is extremely difficult for anthor. Everyone seems to struggle in one area of training or grooming so I thought that this would be a good thread to share how you overcame an obstacle or to provide ideas for those who have a challange with training or grooming.

For us, Suki does not like her ears cleaned at all. She will transform from a sweet and loving girl into a lil monster if we go near her ears. She is hydrophobic for large bodies of water but simply loves the shower to the extent that she will follow us into it if she can. So in order to clean her ears we always do perform this grooming task when she is getting groomed in the shower and she has no problems with it.

The hardest thing to get my dog to do is.......relax. Seriously, she is full-on just about all the time and strangely seems to be at her calmest when travelling in the car

think Milly has turned into a teen today got up late and now she wired

funny enough our hardest thing was to get harvey to go up and down stairs, i mean he new what to do but just point blank refused, until the other day when he literally flew upstairs and will happily use them now.

Although that now means most of the time he will disappear upstairs to go lounge on OUR bed!

well I haven't overcome it yet .. but I want Winston to stop chasing our chooks around when I let them out. Jethro couldn't care less about them, and I was hoping he would pick up the vibes from him.. but he hasn't.. he thinks they are windup toys to play with and chase.... poor chooks !

All the things you guys just mentioned i found to be pretty easy with the ears i'v massaged/tuged or just mess around with them when they are sleeping or just calm so now with a little wet cotton wool their ears are easily cleaned.
I massage them all over from when they were young so they get used to me cleaning, squeezing/checking. They always come to me when they have a problem from things stuck in their and in their paws and teeth, they allow me to lift their legs right up in the air while their standing open their mouth really wide for me to check. I'v always scruffed them and i shake the loose skin they love it especially when they have their collar on cause the skin moves back and forth and the collar scratches their neck.
The only problem i am having problems with is Cassie's jumping (the other day she was really well behaved so i let her off leash, this woman came formt eh corner Cassie sprtined towards her dived through the air atleast 4 foot and hit the woman on thesmackers trying to give her a kiss) and Taz's selective dog aggression which both are extremely dangerous.

Good topic idea jstaff!

My issue was toilet training! At times, I thought Charlie was never going to get it. I just stayed calm and patient at all times with him, and praised him like mad whenever he went outside. He got it at about 6 months.

Ok I have 1 problem and ive still not managed to "cure" it so ideas plzzzzzzzzzzz Zero's chewing!! the 5 kongs, rubber bones etc a week I can deal with but the kitchen wall, garden furniture and the dog cage is really pee'in me off now he's nearly 9mths is this normal???
Vicks worked for a bit then he decided he likes it filled kongs, longs walks, £20 a shot nylabones, training to keep his mind occupied all every day STILL dont work

wow good post - atm billy is so young so really at the moment i cannot say
the hardest thing so far is total recall

Staffiexxx wrote:Ok I have 1 problem and ive still not managed to "cure" it so ideas plzzzzzzzzzzz Zero's chewing!! the 5 kongs, rubber bones etc a week I can deal with but the kitchen wall, garden furniture and the dog cage is really pee'in me off now he's nearly 9mths is this normal???
Vicks worked for a bit then he decided he likes it filled kongs, longs walks, £20 a shot nylabones, training to keep his mind occupied all every day STILL dont work

I had this problem as well. I tried to be understanding because puppies explore teh world with their mouths. Once it became a bigger issue I used Bitter Apple. It's a very naty tasting roll on liquid. You have to make them taste it and hold it in their mouths for a little bit (a bit mean I know) After that you put the liquid on anything you don't want them to chew so the associate that object with an awfull taste and leave it alone. After a while it becomes ingrained that this is not a chew toy. Of course they are a stubborn lot so you may have to reapply the liquid a number of times before they learn.

make me cups of coffee i over came this by meeting maz lol

jstaff wrote:

Staffiexxx wrote:Ok I have 1 problem and ive still not managed to "cure" it so ideas plzzzzzzzzzzz Zero's chewing!! the 5 kongs, rubber bones etc a week I can deal with but the kitchen wall, garden furniture and the dog cage is really pee'in me off now he's nearly 9mths is this normal???
Vicks worked for a bit then he decided he likes it filled kongs, longs walks, £20 a shot nylabones, training to keep his mind occupied all every day STILL dont work

I had this problem as well. I tried to be understanding because puppies explore teh world with their mouths. Once it became a bigger issue I used Bitter Apple. It's a very naty tasting roll on liquid. You have to make them taste it and hold it in their mouths for a little bit (a bit mean I know) After that you put the liquid on anything you don't want them to chew so the associate that object with an awfull taste and leave it alone. After a while it becomes ingrained that this is not a chew toy. Of course they are a stubborn lot so you may have to reapply the liquid a number of times before they learn.

off topic completly - what time is it there

MissRogue wrote:All the things you guys just mentioned i found to be pretty easy with the ears i'v massaged/tuged or just mess around with them when they are sleeping or just calm so now with a little wet cotton wool their ears are easily cleaned.
I massage them all over from when they were young so they get used to me cleaning, squeezing/checking. They always come to me when they have a problem from things stuck in their and in their paws and teeth, they allow me to lift their legs right up in the air while their standing open their mouth really wide for me to check. I'v always scruffed them and i shake the loose skin they love it especially when they have their collar on cause the skin moves back and forth and the collar scratches their neck.
The only problem i am having problems with is Cassie's jumping (the other day she was really well behaved so i let her off leash, this woman came formt eh corner Cassie sprtined towards her dived through the air atleast 4 foot and hit the woman on thesmackers trying to give her a kiss) and Taz's selective dog aggression which both are extremely dangerous.

I tried the same approach. We can brush her teeth, clean her nails and all the other grooming essentials with no resistance. But her ears.... she will only allow when she is in the shower. Fortunately she loves taking a shower so I think we will be okay but still a bit disconcerning. I worry about the jumping thing to since everyone loves Suki so much I would hate to see her accidentally hurt someone by jumping on them. It took us a long time of ignoring her and turning around when she would do it and I still hold onto her collar when she is meeting a child or elderly person but she almost has it down.

off topic completly - what time is it there

[/quote]

It is 6:20 AM. I'm having coffee and getting ready to take her to the park. I love the weekend because I actually get to ride along instead of having my better half (BH) have all the fun.

Have fun it is 10.20am here - 8 hours ahead