THe roommates dog....

[zebra15]

My roommate has a 9 mos old bernese mtn dog. Needless to say this is less than ideal. i was not on board from the beginning - I have a 9 yr old ds who didnt want the dog to come home either. But it is 'her' house so we dont have final veto power. fast forward to now. This dog is huge, she bites, she will not follow commands, and its adding major stress for everyone. The dog is apparently a 'show' dog but I dont see how. Added into this is my sons 4 mos old french bulldog, who is not perfect by any means but at least she does not bite. (she is just gassy, she my previous post). I did get roommies approval before we brought the FBD home.

I really dont want to move but if this berner doesnt get under control we are going to be out of here fast.... 9 mos of biting my feet, legs, thighs, not listening, etc is all I can take. I know its the owner and lack of training but sheezez...I do feel bad for the dog but its not my dog...

The stress of this whole thing is way too much..

Any ideas to make this work a bit longer?

[greenmagick]

You can do things to stop the mouthing (I am assuming thats what you mean when you say biting as the pup is still young).

When does it happen the most?

Basically, when she starts mouthing, yelp, and turn away. If she doesnt get it, remove yourselves from the room she is in...sort of like a time out for a bit. The idea is that if she mouths, all fun stops.

Also, it could be that she is just needing more attention and exercise. I know its not your dog, but there is no reason you can do some games with her etc to help the situation

[zebra15]

Originally Posted by greenmagick

You can do things to stop the mouthing (I am assuming thats what you mean when you say biting as the pup is still young).

When does it happen the most?

Basically, when she starts mouthing, yelp, and turn away. If she doesnt get it, remove yourselves from the room she is in...sort of like a time out for a bit. The idea is that if she mouths, all fun stops.

Also, it could be that she is just needing more attention and exercise. I know its not your dog, but there is no reason you can do some games with her etc to help the situation

About giving attention. Why when I try to play with her, pet her, etc...when I stop she gets psycho and really starts to attack. I mean this is after a good 5 -10 mins of 'petting',

Mouthing, involves teeth that equates bruising.

Yelping upsets the owner, she takes it personally

Honestly it happens the most when her owner is home. Its almost like a kid who acts up when mom is around but is fine when she is away.

Ive really had it. I know she needs about 200% more attention from her owner and I really dont like large dogs.. Its just stressful and I want to cry.

[Ola_]

Sounds like she needs more training and definitely more exercise. But this age is tough with many dogs - it's when many dogs are given up and surrendered to shelters because they're already almost their adult size, but still have puppy crazies and often not great impulse control. We got Chaos when she was 6-8 months old and I have to tell you, it was a mess until she was well over a year old.

Is this the roommate that won't teach the dog any commands because it might somehow interfere with showing it later?

[zebra15]

[QUOTE=Ola_;15703477]Sounds like she needs more training and definitely more exercise. But this age is tough with many dogs - it's when many dogs are given up and surrendered to shelters because they're already almost their adult size, but still have puppy crazies and often not great impulse control. We got Chaos when she was 6-8 months old and I have to tell you, it was a mess until she was well over a year old.

Is this the roommate that won't teach the dog any commands because it might somehow interfere with showing it later?[/QUOTE]

Yes thats the one.

Im thinking our days are numbered here

[Ola_]

Sounds very frustrating!

[Shahbazin]

Originally Posted by Ola_

Sounds like she needs more training and definitely more exercise. ....
Is this the roommate that won't teach the dog any commands because it might somehow interfere with showing it later?

Definitely more exercise... & training a dog interferes with showing it HOW?! What nonsense! Does she think the dog will know how to gait & stack & so forth, all by itself? Her dog will need to perform & be animated, without being distracted, without paying attention to other dogs/people, hold a stand pose like a rock, & move out at different speeds with its handler, at a minimum; & there's no reason one can't be working on obedience titles at the same time, my 1st breed champion finished his CD title & his championship the same weekend! (An 18 month old Anatolian Shepherd - who wants a really big dog around that doesn't behave?) And heck, it's a Berner - one of the breeds that offers draft titles, the beastie is old enough to learn basic carting commands, even if too young to pull any weight. Why does she want to show the pup? Has she shown it yet?

Anyhow, you shouldn't have to put up with this nonsense - the above is all about ideas for the roommate.

[da-tamsta]

Puppies act crazy until they are about 2...and if there is no consistent training in the dogs life it could just be a problem until you move. I'd start looking for a new home for you and your brood. You don't need stress at home. Home should be relaxing. If it were your dog it would be a different story, but you just need some "poor babies" (hugs and give you knowledge that we've been there!) and encouragement.

(not for the faint of heart, but my previous landlord (I lived on her ranch) had a very large show dog - same size as a bernese but short haired - the dog had NO manners and she never reprimanded it. It eventually because extremely aggresive and bit a Jack Russel and basically scalped it. It survived, but barely. This is why I suggest to cut your losses. You don't want something like this to happen to your son or your Frenchie. And that was why she was my former landlord...I moved out a month later in fear of that big dog.)

[SugarGlider]

Originally Posted by Ola_

Sounds like she needs more training and definitely more exercise. But this age is tough with many dogs - it's when many dogs are given up and surrendered to shelters because they're already almost their adult size, but still have puppy crazies and often not great impulse control. We got Chaos when she was 6-8 months old and I have to tell you, it was a mess until she was well over a year old.

So true! Our 7.5 month old Bernese pup is a monster And he's had lots of training, socialization, and foraging toys for all of his food. I shudder to think what he'd be like without all of that.