So, I just finished battling my puppy for alpha dog status. She seems to think she is in charge and it is my job to jump at her whims. Lately her whims have been to stay up all night playing and keep me up with her.
After a week of no sleep this has GOT to stop. So in to battle I went.
I pinned her down. She struggled. She stopped and laid there. I still held her pinned. She struggled again. I didn't let go. She laid there. I didn't let go. She struggled... and so it went. A friend of mine who is a dog trainer told me that it's important to hold her long after she stops struggling. If I let her up right after she stops then she is choosing when to get up. If I continue to hold her then I'm choosing when she gets up and exerting my alpha dog status.
So, like the well organized drill sergeant that I am, I set a time limit. She had to go 10 minutes without struggling before I'd let her up. The first go around she lasted a minute and a half. Restart clock. Second time she lasted a minute. Restart clock. This went on for an HOUR. Finally I decided to cut the time down to six minutes. She's just too ADD to lay still for ten minutes. FINALLY she stayed still and laid there until I let her up...
The jury is still out on whether it had any effect or not...
Wish me luck, I have an out of control puppy!!
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