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Puppy pushing boundaries

Mandy and Molly

Active member
Hi Guys,

Hope everyone and their little ones are all well :)

I have been away studying for 1 week at uni, and my hubby has become the carer of our little almost 5 month Cavi Molly.

He has just told me quite a funny story about how, when he was out at a first aid training course (for 3 hours), she jumped up on the dining chairs and got up to a tin of opened dog food on the dining table, pushed it off the table to the floor and ate the entire thing.

When my hubby came home, she instantly ran outside (something she NEVER does, as she usually is super excited and waiting for a pat!) and when he went out to 'confront' her, she started whinging and crying..obviously she knew she had been found out!

I have never had her do this to this extent before, she has stolen a tissue a few weeks ago, and when i said "Molly No!" she bolted out of the room with it and ended up dropping it in the lounge room (obviously realised it wasn't worth it), so i picked it up and walked over to where she was laying and she instantly started sooking! I took that as her knowing that she took something she knows she isn't meant to take. Tissues being one of them! (Side note: I did not raise my voice at her, i just stood there with the tissue in my hand with a look of "oh really?!" on my face) lol.

Has anyone else noticed their dog trying to get away with things at this age?

:)
 
Yup! Sounds like typical puppy behavior!! Hang in there, it will settle a bit when she gets older, but Brooklyn is pretty curious. She knows the rules, but will still explore and get into things if I give her the option. I learned...if I leave food on the table and she gets it, my fault. If I leave the bathroom door open and the toilet paper down and she gets to it and unwinds the whole thing (did this last week, borderline of angry and totally hilarious) again, my fault. Just two day ago I left a beet salad on the outdoor table and went inside to use the bathroom and mid go I jumped up an ran outside because I knew I left it on the table, and if I leave it in her face, she will explore her boundaries. Sure enough, her gave and paws were bright red!! I got annoyed at myself, then had a laugh, then we had a bath!!!

They are still learning every boundary and limitation. Like, She doesnt know "I'm not supposed to jump on this table right and and eat this food that looks like it was left there for my dinner! Yum!" But with all of these things, they learn...but usually only when you catch them in the act. She probably went outside and had a little sook because she could feel that maybe your husband was a bit annoyed vs. Knowing what she did wrong.
Though, I doubt there will be a day Brooklyn will ever leave tissues and toilet paper around! I just make sure if she is alone or I can't watch her, nothing that is tempting is there to, well, temp her :)

It's puppy, so teach her to drop it or no, which it sounds like you already have taught her, and she will learn to at least let it go :) and just don't leave anything out or tempting that she might get into, afterall, she doesn't quiet no your rules...yet at least ;)
 
Think of a 2-year-old child, just learnt to walk steadily and into everything (my nephew got into a kitchen cupboard and poured paprika all over himself - something he never did again!). So anything precious/dangerous/out of bounds gradually gets put up higher and higher, chairs get put close into tables so that they can't be climbed on, tissues get tidied away...

As puppies grow more quickly than human babies, also be prepared that Molly will soon be a teenager (usually begins 6-9 months), and will promptly forget most of what she has been taught and you will patiently have to teach it to her all over again. Mercifully, like human toddlers in the Terrible Twos and stroppy teenagers, they do grow out of it! And as they grow, you can give them more exercise which helps to make them too tired to look for trouble! (Though they may, in the teenage phase, forget that they were ever taught to come when called...)

Kate, Oliver and Aled
 
YUPPPPPPPPPPPP.me too,having real fun here.i have been given a very BOLD BOY........Keep you on your toes though......
 
HI Guys,

Im glad this is not just my Molly but all dogs! Hehe

The thing is, she knows some of the rules and its the ones she is now pushing. And i know that she knows because of the way she reacts as soon as we catch her! We dont even need to say a word!

Gotta love the puppy stage! lol
 
Wait til adolescence! Ha!! It is then that suddenly the basic "sit" seems to have left their brains completely.

Just hang in there...Molly is not doing anything wrong, she is just being a puppy. We tend to expect too much of them too soon. Think if you put a whole chocolate cake down at eye level in front of a 3 year old and walked away to, say shower...what would happen when you got back? Yup, cake would be gone :lol: Same same for dogs. They are smart, but they are also learning and Molly is so young to really know the rules and follow them to perfect standard.

Gotta love the puppy/adolescence stage!! Brooklyn is just coming out of hers...let me tell you, once you put in all this hard work that you are with Molly, it pays off. Suddenly it is like they understand everything. It just clicks! Work hard now, knowing it will be frustrating for the next few months and in the end, when they are grown ups, you have a wonderful dog to benefit from. Molly might be ignoring the rules now (just like the 3 year old probably "knows" he can't just eat a whole cake, but does so anyways only soon to become a lawyer at the age of 30), Molly will soon, with gentle patience, become a grown smart little girl in no time! :)
 
Rules? What rules? Bentley goes by old saying, "Rules were made to be broken!" Hubby & I both have allergies and often have tissues in our pockets. Bentley will sneak up beside me while I'm sitting down and steal a tissue our of my jeans pocket. Apparently they don't hurt him because I'm sure he has consumed a few, but I catch him & get it away from him if I know about it in time. Fortunately, at almost 10 months, he has become very mellow and sweet which is a blessing because we're experiencing a family emergency this week and for the forseeable future. One of our daughters was diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumor and blood clot so we're sort of going through the motions of normal life right now as we run back & forth between home & ICU.:(
 
Oh my goodness!

Im so sorry to hear that! My blessings are with you and your family. I hope you find a miracle to help your daughter. That must be such a hard thing to go through! :(

I always fear these types of things happening, especially as they are so hard to pick up until they are too late.

Let us know how it goes, and hopefully there is something that can be done :(
 
You know when dogs cower or look guilty it is usually in response to our body language! It does not take a stern tone of voice at all for a dog to go all submissive on you, and all that "look" they give you means is "please don't punish me!" Too funny though isn't it?

At 5 months old my little girl no way had free fun of the house, especially when home alone! I am sure she would have climbed my table too if given the chance :cool:

Yes at this age hormones are just beginning and puppies turn into dogs, so they are in the teenage phase where....yup boundaries are tested :shock:! Now is an important time to make sure bad habits do not develop, the best method is to set your dog up for success and not give her opportunities to fail. She sounds like a little spitfire, sweet sweet girl!
 
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