# Strange habits that don't go away



## Kobi (Oct 26, 2010)

I'm sure a lot of you can add to this... who has a puppy who has strange behaviors that outlast the related behaviors?

For instance, Kobi stopped trying to nip/bite me all the time (unless we are wrestling), but any time I try to put on socks he has to come mouth at my feet/lightly bite them. He doesn't hurt me, just annoys me since his teeth do catch the socks and he's running around my arms and legs bumping in to me! He's not much help when I'm trying my shoes either. For some odd reason he doesn't try to steal my socks or eat them, and they're constantly on the floor. He just seems to enjoy interfering with me getting dressed.


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## kellygh (Oct 25, 2010)

Pumpkin does the same thing, but it is with my kids in the morning! I will be trying to get the munchkins out the door for school, and Pumpkin just can't seem to refrain from making the process more difficult! My 6 y/o son was sitting in the floor trying to pull on his shorts, & Pumpkin comes and tries to sit on him/his lap while wriggling & licking. My son starts hollering for Pumpkin to "go away," & tries to push her away. While pushing her away, Pumpkin grabs the bottom of his shorts, and pulls them back to his ankle. My son is screaming & crying, "I don't like Pumpkin!" At 7am, I don't find it too amusing, mainly because it is always my 3 y/o who lets her out of the kitchen after being asked to please not let Pumpkin out. If Pumpkin is getting into mischief, it is almost a sure bet my 3 y/o is involved too. Pumpkin does some funny things, albeit annoying at times..


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## JillandDan (Sep 8, 2010)

kellygh,
I am so sorry but I can't stop laughing at that whole situation. I can see it in my head and it cracks me up. 

Holley has always had a strange habit of rubbing her face in the morning on my legs while I am trying to put my shoes on to take her out. It is 5:15am and I am not too coordinated and have fallen a few times because of it. The worst though is when she does it when I am wearing a dress and outside. Thank god no one has been outside at the apartment complex or they would have gotten a show.


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## Bellababy (Mar 31, 2010)

Every day I make my bed, and smooth it all over and make it look nice, and every day as soon as I finish doing this, Bella jumps on the bed and messes it all up again. She rolls on it, jumps on it and uses her paws to mess the covers up. Its like her routine now, I make the bed, she unmakes it, every single day! They are so cute and funny though you just have to forgive them.


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## sarahaf (Aug 17, 2009)

These stories are so funny. I really think these dogs do have a sense of humor. What they lack is the ability to tell when we're not enjoying the joke...


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## 1notenough (Sep 6, 2008)

same same with the shoe and sock thing.They just cant leave me alone when i get dressed,everyday same thing its play with the clothes time sock stealin dogs.or i get a face full of wigglin red dog. what the heck ,all they have to do is play and since were all up.. lets get busy ..


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## redrover (Mar 17, 2011)

I don't know if it's a behavior he'll ever outgrow (he's only 16 weeks, after all!), but he does the most hilarious thing.

Sometimes we have what I call "puppy cuddle times," which basically started as an excuse for me to take a nap at the same time as him when I first had him home. I'm not a person that is averse to dogs on the furniture, as long as they only get up when invited and get off when told to (which he does). So sometimes we'll be lying down on the couch or something, and he'll want to burrow under the covers and further down by my legs, which is fine. Then, after about 30 minutes to an hour, he'll apparently get really hot, then army crawl back up out of the covers, and flop over onto his back panting like a crazy man. I think it's probably the funniest thing he does.


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## Sahara (Mar 22, 2009)

Tizane likes to grab the newspaper out of the recycling bin after we have read it and put it away. When it is on the coffee table she won't touch it unless she is really bored. But once we put it in the bin, she's all over it. We tried putting the bin in the garage but she would follow us out there and steal it and go running outside with pieces flying everywhere. At least when the bin is inside she just takes the paper over to her bed and lays down with it like it's her turn to read it. After about ten minutes I can go and pick it up and all is good. This happens nearly every day. We have laughed so much due to this.


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## Jasper (Mar 18, 2011)

I love this thread.

If Jasper is allowed upstairs she will bomb up and bounce into the bedroom, if someone is still in bed she will launch herself at their head, then dig to get under the duvet. Once under the duvet she will curl up beside you and whine constantly for about 5 minutes, telling us stories, then she will fall fast asleep. Adorable!

She LOVES having a cover over her, to the point that she is known to whinge until a cover is put over her ... spoilt brat really.


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## Ms1234 (May 14, 2010)

It is so funny to hear that Vizslas all seem to have similar strange habits!
My V also does the jump on the bed and mess it up right after I've made it thing. 
She is not happy unless she is underneath a blanket...I don't know how the crazy thing breathes all night under there!
Her most favourite thing to do outside is knock the lid off of the paper recycling bin, grab whatever cardboard or newspaper she can find and gallop around the yard triumphantly and then tear it to shreds. Drives me nuts, but I can't help but laugh at how much fun she appears to be having.


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## JillandDan (Sep 8, 2010)

Holley's latest funny thing to do is come running when we sneeze. Now that allergy season is upon us it happens quite frequently. If Dan or I sneeze, she will stop whatever she is doing, come running over to us and start giving kisses to make sure we are okay. It is so cute. V's have the best personalities. We laugh so much with her.


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## viszlaluv (Mar 16, 2011)

Our boy DVS has this habit of wiping his face off on his dog bed after every meal, just like clockwork! He'll go eat, come give me a kiss and then go to his bed to wipe his face. I never thought that dog bed would be used as a napkin!! Lol...funny animals.


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## datacan (May 15, 2011)

Interesting topic. The minute our Sam (Viszla boy) is unattended he will bolt for the cat food. All else is ignored until the dish is clean.
Most other problems I read are not an issue for us. Our dog was crated the moment he arrived. Having had a German Shepherd before it was an easy decision. In my opinion no dog should be allowed even close to jumping or sitting, sleeping on human sofa or bed. No matter how cute it may look. Our Sam may challenge this notion from time to time but he knows there will be repercussions.


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## Carpowell (May 8, 2011)

I also am getting a kick out of reading this subject. Our 8 month old V also loves to sleep under the covers. He insists! Doesn't bother me. I like the warmth at my feet. . I used to have a problem with him getting right under my feet when I was changing my clothes or getting my shoes on, I started putting him in a sit/stay while I got done. He got tired of that and now goes and lays on my bed instead. I also banned him from my walk in closet, I use that as my "safety zone". I love how similar the V's are. Does any one's V have a issue with them "digging" at beds. We can't give Brody a bed cause he gets so worked up digging at it.


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## JillandDan (Sep 8, 2010)

Holley has just recently started digging at her bed. It is every night around 12am or 1am. It has just started the past week or so. I don't know what got into her. It wakes me up every night though since I am a light sleeper.


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## Kobi (Oct 26, 2010)

Could she be uncomfortable (hot or cold?). Sometimes I think Kobi arranges his kennel to his preference. He will lay out his bed and sleep on it, or shove it to the side. Maybe she is trying to burrow (for warmth), or move it (to cool off)?


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## datacan (May 15, 2011)

JillandDan I have had the same problem and my solution was to tire him out. 

It may be a just a passing habit however, if I notice any unusual behavior like chewing on stuff and fast erratic movements I interpret them as boredom and will compensate the next day. By the way, I would never allow a dog on my bed it diminishes our status in his eyes and he may at some point challenge us by nipping (not biting), not listening. Then we would end up with a dog that is just living with us for his convenience instead of a dog that is obedient and mild tempered.

My understanding is that a dog looks at humans and thinks we are dogs. Humans look as dogs and think they are human children. Not so. Dogs are pack animals and only the leader (alpha dog) gets the best sleeping quarters no sharing of food either. 

Some trainers insist the dog should sleep in separate room as this will establish the human in alpha postion! I find that a little harsh as the Vizsla breed is more sensitive than others. We keep the crate in with us in the bedroom...don't mind waking up at 6am.


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## redrover (Mar 17, 2011)

Jasper definitely likes to rearrange his kennel on some nights. He's very vocal about it too--he makes this grumbling whine while he shoves his blanket around, to express his opinion about this inconvenience, of course.  After about a minute he settles in and happily goes to sleep. What he's typically trying to accomplish is to get the blanket so that it will be very fluffy and big right where his back will go, so that it keeps him a little warmer, I think.



Totally off-topic but in reference to the above post: I guess it depends on what your opinion of dominance theory is. I've never put a significant amount of stock into dominance theory, as I've been told it was developed from wolf pack theory. Also, I truly truly truly don't think that dogs see human as dogs. I'm sure they don't understand the exact differences between humans and dogs, but they're smart creatures that we have bred and domesticated to live with us in a very particular manner. We look different, act different, smell different, etc. We're clearly not dogs, and therefore the normal "dog" rules don't exactly apply to us, which is why clear and consistent communication (verbal and non-verbal) between human and dog is key. 

Not that this means I don't think there need to be rules, and I have no problem with people who have rules about animals being on the furniture, etc., because everyone has a personal preference in that regard!


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## datacan (May 15, 2011)

Sorry, I will be more carefull with my posts & opinions next time to be on topic. :'(
Posted some pics of our puppy we think he's cute.


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## redrover (Mar 17, 2011)

Uh oh! I didn't mean you were off topic, I meant I was straying off topic even further. And just to be clear (it's hard to understand somebody's tone over the internet) I didn't mean what I said to be taken in a combative or defensive way--just sharing some thoughts. But I do think we've managed to completely derail this thread now, haha. 

Jasper also has a new habit since it's gotten warmer out. He likes to sit in front of the fan with the breeze blowing his floppy ears all over the place. He then gets a somewhat sad look in his eyes if I turn the fan off on him.


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## Mercutio (Jan 18, 2010)

Merc does a few of these strange things!

He seems to consider that anyone sitting down is doing so in order to be at the best heigh for patting him! In the morning he will follow us around waiting till we sit down to put shoes and socks on (or in his eyes, waiting till we are ready to give him a pat!) Irritating yet funny at the same time.

And he also does the bed-digging. Mostly when he is excited I will hear him jump onto his snooza-bed outside the back door and then start scrabbling at it. I think a couple of times he has also tried to 'bury' bones or toys in there. We have had to replace the hessian sack quite afew times but at $6 a cover it's not too bad. We stopped giving him blankets on his outside bed seeing as he sleeps inside at night.

Our furniture rule has evolved from "no dogs on any furniture" to "he can get on a particular lounge, but only if invited and only after the humans have finished dinner". He can now hear the lounge squeak as we sit down after dinner and appears seconds after we sit down with that sad and patient look on his face: "is it time for me yet" ;D


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## Linescreamer (Sep 28, 2010)

datacan said:


> JillandDan I have had the same problem and my solution was to tire him out.
> 
> It may be a just a passing habit however, if I notice any unusual behavior like chewing on stuff and fast erratic movements I interpret them as boredom and will compensate the next day. By the way, I would never allow a dog on my bed it diminishes our status in his eyes and he may at some point challenge us by nipping (not biting), not listening. Then we would end up with a dog that is just living with us for his convenience instead of a dog that is obedient and mild tempered.
> 
> ...


I agree with most of this. I could care less about people letting dogs on their furniture. It just better not happen at my house!  Yes, we are the pack leaders and if we do not assert that position on a regular basis, they will take over and expect you to follow!  I don't think that Copper looks at me and thinks I'm a dog. At least he doesn't try to smell my _ _ _! 

One habit that we think is strange -> He backs into us when he is called or when he wants to be touched. This dog rarely comes over and looks you in the eye head first for a pet on the head. Rather he wants his backside rubbed! ??? Makes us a bit nuts!


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## jld640 (Sep 29, 2010)

Hey Merc- that's the furniture rule at my house, too. Savannah is allowed on the couch after dinner, by invitation only. She sits in front of the couch for a moment to smell what's for dinner, then goes to play with her toys. When the couch squeaks again after the dishes are cleared, she appears with those puppy eyes asking 'is it time for me yet'. Too funny!


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