# What works best?!



## copperdog (Jul 27, 2011)

Hi,
I have a 6yr old Vizsla girl. We have been working on a few things over the years! Her whining or should I say whistling and barking at us for attention has really testing our patience and the counter surfing is another pain in the back side. She is getting better at coming when called! I am still trying to get her to not pull on leash. Barking is a problem too. These things aren't major behavioral problems but if I could figure her out, we would all be happier. My thoughts are this......we spoiled her! She was so cute and cuddly when she was a baby, I let her sleep with us, go up on the furniture, be a lap dog, go everywhere we went, and pretty much catered to her every whine.........shall I say anymore! All of this is o.k. if you are prepared to do this 24/7, but she has become the most demanding dog ever! If you try to ignore her, she just gets louder and brattier! I have worked with her alot and even though she is spoiled she is also very sensitive, so when working with her you have to be careful how you go about your training. Getting frustrated with a Vizsla doesn't work. I am trying to be understanding and caring while still remaining top dog. I love this breed so much and will definitely get another but I will be a little more careful next time and make a few more ground rules...... so anyone who is thinking of getting a V puppy or has their first one.....beware, you will find yourself in love with how cute and irresistibly cuddly they are and may find it hard to say no.............I know I did!!!


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## Linescreamer (Sep 28, 2010)

You hit the nail on the head!!!! ;D 

The real question is - do you personally have what it takes to turn this around. Understand, the dog will think he is living with a new Master, and if you pull it off, he will be! ;D You should start with NILF by redbirddog. After you read that and are willing to be committed to this.....come back with some specific questions.


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## laurita (Jun 12, 2011)

Copperdog,

Vizslas ARE adorable and it's hard not to just give them your refrigerator and keys to your car when they look at you with their liquid eyes. It's also difficult when your dog has learned that x gives them z and then one day they try x and they no longer get z. One of the best things with dogs, I think, is being preemptive. When I knew that my dog was looking at the counter a little curiously and that he might put his paws up, I'd ask him to sit before he tried and I'd praise him profusely for being a good boy. Once he learned that that got him all this attention, he loved to sit A LOT. If you haven't already, start intensively rewarding quiet and calm behavior. When your dog is lying there not making noise, make a big fuss or toss a treat or two her way. Don't wait for her to whine or do the behavior you're expecting. You don't want to catch her, you want to prevent her from thinking about it. Before she starts, tell her what a great girl she is. It's so much easier to teach them the behaviors you want than to change the behaviors they are exhibiting. Does that make sense? An example: my vizsla loves tug and when he wants me to tug, he'd start trying to get my attention by walking by me and punching my leg with this nose. It's kind of funny, but sort of annoying and I didn't want to encourage that. So when he does that I started pretending that he wasn't even there. He was not able to get my attention. He knows how to bow (like a play bow) on command, so when he'd walk near me with a toy, I'd ask him to bow before he could punch my leg and when he did, I'd immediately start tugging on his toy. Over time, he's noticing that when he bows in front of me, he gets an immediate tug while when he punches me, he gets nothing. We just started this but he's bowing over punching over 90% of the time and I'm sure it'll increase.

Good luck! They are softies and love to please, so communicate the behavior that you do want, the one that will give them plenty of attention, praise, and make them feel good & if they understand, they will choose it overwhelmingly!


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## sarahaf (Aug 17, 2009)

Behaviorists have a name for what you describe re the behavior intensifying if you stop giving in--it's called an "extinction burst." In layman's terms, it means the behavior escalates before it "extinguishes" or stops. You can expect that if you stop rewarding behavior you rewarded in the past, your dog will try harder and harder to get that reward--but eventually she will realize that the old strategy for getting your attention doesn't work well anymore and stop (counter surfing and stealing, of course, being a major exception--the behavior is rewarded not by you but by the food/item the dog obtains). I would work on obedience commands that might come in handy when you need to help her use a more appropriate behavior to get your attention (as well a things like "leave it" and "drop it"). I can recommend a very inexpensive DVD called "perfect paws in 5 days" by Jean Donaldson. 

But this is the blind leading the blind--Rosie gets away with a lot at home because of how cute she is, and we have allowed a lot of annoying behaviors to persist. But I've been exposed to a lot of learning theory and I still hope my advice might help you with how to help your dog, even if I don't practice what I preach lol...


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## redbirddog (Apr 23, 2010)

http://redbirddog.blogspot.com/2009/12/history-and-misconceptions-of-dominance.html

http://www.librarything.com/work/785787/book/51223293

http://www.librarything.com/work/2997564

Good luck. At least it isn't a teenage girl that you are having these problems with. Your dog will understand things are different once you are the pack leader. 

Rod a.k.a. redbirddog


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## datacan (May 15, 2011)

Thank you for the heads up - copperdog -

I find Vizsla dog (Sam 5 months old) very easy to spoil rotten because he is so cute and smart and do almost everything I ask of him. 
This really makes me quit testing the dog and assume he will always do as asked. WRONG. These dogs need training and need to be continuously tested. 
That way I can rely on him coming back when I call, it may just save his life.


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## 1notenough (Sep 6, 2008)

tuff breed these vizslas.,sometimes i think mine can read my mind.Smart and manipulative if your not carefull they will have you doing tricks.......think about it.....what does your dog teach you to do...........When i got mine there was two brothers and yes i had to get them both, why seperate the twins boys...Besides i was offered a deal i couldnt refuse.The first thing they taught me was to love them unconditionally.There it was the first trick i learned....Now they can get away with things...Dad will love us they know this,now its game time.Get in your dogs head know what their thinking watch them closley their tricky. The breed is very special and it takes a very special human to get from these dogs what it is they can give you.Never give up on training and introducing new things into their world even if it is just a new toy or your walk in reverse just keep them thinking and wear out their brain just like they need their bodies remember a tired dog is a well behaved dog.and a sleeping dog dosnt whine.Good luck with all your dogs.As sweet and gentle as these dogs are lets not forget that a firm hand is always needed whether its a swat on the behind or a good finger pointing,dogs need guidance, limits and boundaries.Once that is all set for them then and only then can they set their little brains to rest and concentrate on being a well behaved dog.Just my point of view.enjoy the **** out of your dogs.


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## copperdog (Jul 27, 2011)

Thanks everyone for all the advice.......even as a person who has owned dogs all my life, and have had 7 at one time, my little vizsla jess has been the one I have had the most challenge with but love the most! They say the smart ones are the brattiest!! Just when you think you have it all under control...the V throws you a curve ball. Anyway, I assume that you like Cesar redbirddog, I love his books, dvd's, seminars and anything else I can get my hands on but lets just say Cesar is way better at getting a dog to do what he wants than I am! Don't get me wrong, I follow everything he says but I need to work on some stuff. The one thing Im lucky for is the fact that I can give my dogs plenty of exercise and thats half the battle! I also like the NILIF method. I will be looking into that. Thanks Laurita for the preemptive info.....it totally makes sense to use a preventive approach, this way your not constantly giving them heck! Can't wait to try some new stuff!
Thanks again all!!!


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