Hi out there. Our family has recently
adopted a 2 year old female spayed pyr. She has been working on a sheep
farm for the past while, but her previous owners they found that she was too
socialized and kept leaving the sheep. She is great with our kids,
adores the attention, but we have a few wrinkles to iron out. Perhaps
you could help!
1) When we groom her, which she seems to
absolutely love, she often gives "love bite" which I feel should be
discouraged. Any thoughts?
Give her a firm NO! and push her head away from
you. If she continues with this behavior, stop the grooming
session.
2) She doesn't know how to play with
people, and tends to jump on us (her claws are sharp, and she's very
big.)
Give her a firm OFF! command and push her away or
turn your back on her and do not acknowledge her unless she stops jumping. You
can also teach her to sit. Give her the OFF! command, then the Sit! command,
when she sits, praise her.
The kids want to play with her, but don't know
how to do so. She played baseball with us the other day (getting excited
and running around), and knocked our 3 year old over in her excitement.
She's still young and active, supervise play
(perhaps on lead) when she is around younger children.
She also puts a paw onto a person (usually their
leg) when she wants to be petted. I've got bruises all over my legs, and
I get nervous when I'm in shorts. When we tell her no, she'll turn her
head aside, but continue to do it. If I get quite adamant that I mean
no, she thinks it's an invitation to play (translate wrestle).
Suggestions?
This is a Pyr trait. I tell them NO PAW! and
remove the paw. When they sit quietly for a few seconds I say GOOD No PAW in a
happy voice and praise lavishly. If they continue, to hit with the paw, I move
away and ignore them. They get no attention unless they keep their paws to
themselves.
3) We'd love to be able to go hiking and
access the wooded area behind our home without restricting her to a leash
(which gets twisted around trees, or tugs our arms out when she spots a
rabbit,) but Bonny will not come when called. She'll also hang out in
the yard for a short while with us, but then decide she wants to explore and
trots away. Attempts at training, (I'll call her and then go get her,
release her and call her to me -- then she comes to me, I praise etc.
then increase the distance) have now started to backfire, because the last
time she left, she left galloping, looking over her shoulder. I do not
punish her (including confining her right away) when she does run.
Should I be?
Pyrs CANNOT be allowed off leash. Their recall is
NEVER reliable enough to trust them. They need good fencing and leashing at
all times. The tendency to roam farther and farther afield has been bred into
them for centuries. It's not going to change, no matter how well you train. To
keep her safe, allow her off lead only in fenced areas, and use a leash
everywhere else.
We are new not only to Pyrs but also to
dogs. We'd love advice!
Jeannie
Love your girl, but understand that she is a Pyr,
with a Pyr personality. You will have to adjust to that
personality.
Barb Bowes
Bo & Chelsea (Pyrs), Flopsy
(Pyr Shep) & Machin (Doxie)
The more people I meet, the more I like my
dog!
bamb@monmouth.com