My Confession...

What??!!! Your dog isn't perfect? Not even close? Oh no! you've got to go. We can't have anybody who doesn't have a perfect dog here.[]

Really, If all of us were perfect than this would be a pretty boring fourm.
Poster 1: So, how is your dog today?
Poster 2: good. Yours?
Poster 1: Good, but I did meet an idiot at the dog park today.
Poster 2: Oh really? I was at the dog park today...

Anyways. If all our dogs were perfect then we wouldn't need quite a few of the fourms we have here. A wise man once said that is it not the healthy who need a doctor. It is true here. Sometime you are the patient, and other times you are the doctor. Except for me; I happen to be the little kid who likes to play with the toy doctor equitment.

Julitza, you are SO not alone on this.  While overall, I think my pets are pretty nice animals, my cats have ruined furniture with inappropriate spraying and Mia barks her fool head off at inanimate objects, the cats, the water delivery guy, her brother, and pretty much everyone who ever walks by.  Enough so that people think she is a wild viscious dog and I've tried every trick, training idea given to me and either I'm not good at it or she's just not getting it.  I feel I've made just a little progress lately (she does not get her ball thrown if she barks at me - no reward for barking), but that is with nearly a year of effort.  And I thought I had desensitized Pofi to people who are all bundled up head to toe in heavy coats etc. in the dark because when we were at dog park on a cold night.  But it turned out that was because it was still relatively light out and when I was throwing the ball for Mia and talking to my neighbor who had shown up, the sun started setting and the first people who walked in all bundled up in the dimmer evening light got jumped up on and talked to in the face by a mighty big dog a couple of times before I even noticed. And I had to profusely apologize and walk out with MY tail tucked between my legs...

If I recall correctly, don't you have a new baby?  I'm sure you're overwhelmed.  And like everyone else said, whose dogs are perfect?!  I guess I talk about the great things my dogs do, which is mostly their doing, and they are well trained for the things I like to do, such as no leash walking, but they are far from perfect, not even close.  You're human, Lizzie is young, don't worry!
 
I think my dogs are well behaved ONLY because I take them for a long run every morning.  It's not news, but 'a tired dog is a good dog.'  This is my savior and my mantra!!  []  I agree with others that, if possible, this would solve a lot of your problems for now.  Hang in there!

My only "perfect" dog is buried under a beautiful white rose bush in the backyard.[sm=angel.gif]
 
I learn a lot from the challenging dog stories. I can identify some things in my dogs, and get so many good pieces of advice without ever even having to post. There's been many a time when we've had an issue and I've just done a search and found what I needed without having to post something new.

I'll just add my list of "failures" to everyone else's- let's see. []
 
 
Axl can't go out in any public place where there are, or have been, other dogs. He pulls like crazy, and though he's not a very tall dog, my 65 pound bulldog is, without exception, THE strongest dog I've ever handled. Monday, he went to the vet for booster shots and a thyroid panel. Another dog came in, and he spent 10 minutes whining, barking, and pulling to get to the other dog. He doesn't want to fight, but it certainly LOOKS like he does...either way, it took both myself, and my husband to hold him still while we waited. Then, when it was time to go into the examining room, he nearly pulled my arm out of the socket. This is a dog who is PERFECT on lead on walks... but around strange people and strange dogs, he's the biggest embarrassment ever. On his first (and last) trip to Petsmart a couple of years ago, he managed to bark at every single dog at the store, and pee on TWO seperate dogs. Then he marked a bag of dog food that he thought smelled particularly nice. Axl has NO behavioral issues at home....in public, that's another story.
 
Pepito has a whole thread dedicated to his multitude of problems:
[linkhttp://forum.dog.com/asp/tm.asp?m=199139]http://forum.dog.com/asp/tm.asp?m=199139[/link]
 
Pepito also can't be taken out in public because he bites *everyone.* As long as no one approaches him, he's fine...but I've learned that no amount of "please don't pet my dog" will stop people from petting him, and getting snapped at. Right now, he's doing very well- he hasn't had an accident in weeks, he's being very nice to everyone (except Ogre) and is actually LISTENING to my commands. I know that it won't be long before he forgets it all again, and we're back at square one.
 
I'm also horrible for not having Pepito neutered yet. He was due to be neutered this month. Since the low-cost clinic we go to is 3 hours away, we decided to wait until May, when Sgt. Butter is 6 months, and take them both at the same time. He *really* needs to have it done now.  I have no excuse other than convenience.
 
I admit that I'm being WAY too lenient with Sgt. Butter. I feel bad for him because of the start he had in life. He probably doesn't even remember it, but I have a VERY rough time with correcting anything that he does. I'm getting over that, now that he's starting to get somewhat obnoxious, but I should NEVER have let him get to that point in the firt place. Luckily, he's young enough still that I can fix the problems I'm starting to see in him before they get out of hand. Still, I should have been correcting his behavior from day one, instead of letting him get away with murder because "he was so sick and sad when he got here." [8|]
 
Ogre is a big bundle of nerves, and I'm probably making him worse. Ogre needs 100% +R training, a soft voice, and endless patience. I'm loud, impatient, and given to yelling at my dogs when I get frustrated. I'm working on it, and getting so much better...but due to my own depression, I've been pretty impatient with him lately, and I have *screamed* at him a few times in the last few weeks. We were making so much progress, and with my few screeching outburts, I've all but ruined what we've accomplished. I feel like a complete butthead, and I am. But all I can do is work on NOT being such a rude, loud mouthed idiot who screams at her dogs for not being mind readers,  work on earning his trust back,  and go from there. We all make mistakes. We all do dumb things. That's how we learn. []
 

Perfect dogs you say, yep four perfect angels.
 
Prince the Lhasa has some weird aggressive tendencies with my male neighbor and cannot be trusted offleash if said neighbor is home.  He's fear aggressive and barks at every passing car on the road.  Yep, he's an angel.
 
Akasha the Labrador mix can't be trusted not to hunt down birds and small mammals off leash and has on more than one occasion found interesting ways to show her seperation anxiety, the most recent being evident in the hole in the drywall that she somehow reached through her crate.  She's an angel too.
 
Baxter the Pomeranian mix finds interesting ways to show his seperation anxiety too.  His most recent stunt?  He's been licking the fabric on our green recliner, causing bare patches.  He, too, is an angel.
 
Finally we have Cheyenne the Pembroke Corgi.  She feels it is her duty to know where every person, dog, bird, rodent, and cat are in the house at all times.  If they are not where she thinks they should be, she will try to herd them there.  If she can't, she woo-woos at them until they go on their own.  She is also starting to show some mild resource guarding with the newest edition, Baxter.  She's also my angel.
 
They're not perfect by any means, Julitza.  No one's dogs are.  If someone says they have perfect dogs, chances are they are probably one of those do-dos that doesn't curb the behaviors because they don't see them.  The only thing we, as nonperfect being ourselves, can do is strive to keep learning new ways of thwarting our dogs.  That's why this forum is here.  While I may be good at working with herding behaviors, I may not be good with fear aggression and someone else here is, but needs help in another area.
 
Don't feel like you shouldn't post because you're having problems with Lizzie.  It happens and we're all here for you.  Post about it and maybe someone will have your answer.

Julitza,
 
I am so sorry to hear that you are feeling frustrated currently with Lizzie/ I wish I had some fantastic and miraculous advice to give you but alas…I do not!  Some days I don#%92t know how to deal with my own pups.[&o]  I hope realize through reading these posts that there is no such thing as a perfect dog (or a perfect dog owner for that matter  [] ).  That is what is so truly great about idog is that it is a place to come and get advice or even to vent…sometimes venting helps a whole heck of a lot for me!  
 
Perhaps you should post a “herding breed question” in the training section to get some ideas on possible ways to help with Lizzie right now.   I am sorry to hear you haven#%92t been on idog as much, but hopefully you will realize that NOW is the time perhaps when you need it most and friends to help you through….[]
 
Wishing you the best…
 
Shelly

Julitza, you're no more incompetent than any of us, believe me.  Just about the time I start congratulating myself on how nicely Max is walking on the leash (and thinking of maybe putting away the prong) he takes a flying leap at every dog we pass on our walk.  Just about the time I start thinking of how nice it is that he isn't a barker, he runs outside and spends about 20 minutes barking his head off at some imaginary "thing" that only he knows is there. And both of those things are preferable to finding my shoes floating in the pool. [&:] Just as none of us are perfect, none of our dogs are perfect  either.
 
Joyce

Oh for the perfect dog and the perfect solution for them all.  Lol... they are of course, dogs and we are of course humans.  Most of the time we get it right...sometimes we don't.
Don't stay away...you have some very insightful posts

Ha!  a perfect dog..... as said before, this place wouldn't be any fun if folks didn't have questions about their dogs and problems to work out.  I enjoyed your posts, and anything yuo have to share is always welcome.  I felt for a long time that I didn't have much to add to anything, but after going through some problems with Sammy I can now give advice to people since I've been there, done that. 

So, Lizzie, just tell us about the successes for a while. Shadow will get in a barkfest with the neighbors' dogs, especially if someone is walking down the street. It's more excitement than anything. If we went out front on leash and harness, Shadow would be quiet, intent on sniffing everything. It's situational. Still, if I want, I can go over and get in front of him and break his attention long enough to look at me. More often than not, I can help him manage his excitement by playing with the ball. I figured out after a while that he was wanting to play.

I hope this doesnt sound wrong, but im glad im not the only one!! Im sorry everyone has to deal with their dogs little (or not so little) quirks and problems, but at least I know im not alone.
 
I wont give up on her. Sometimes I get a little angry (well maybe alot) but I do remember shes just a puppy. Shes almost a year old, but she still looks/acts very much like a puppy. Ive figured out a key term in distracting her from the annoyance of chasing the cars. If I say 'NO' she'll keep at it like shes deaf, but if I say Lizzie NO (calling her name to get her attention, she'll stop right away. You can see the desperation in her eyes, wanting to get at it, but if I say 'Lizzie' before my comands she restrains herself.
 
Its an extremely annoying (and dangerous) habit, but at the same time its a bit amazing to watch. Also, Ive noticed its only with moms car (maybe the different noise). She will run to the grassy part on the side of the driveway, looking amazingly like a champion herder (laying down, muscles bunched, an intense look in her eyes), before she springs up. Then, here is the dangerous pat, as my mom comes into the driveway she starts barking 'viciously' and biting at the front tires, and under the front part of the car. Shes only been able to do it a few times, when im not watching close enough, or someone else has let her out, but im sure if my mom kept plugging forward she would hit her.

So,getting back to the exercise questions posted at the beginning of this thread... How much is she getting per day?From first impressions it sounds as iff she needs to get out more and have loads of free running time away from home.