Riley's weird behavior.....I want it to STOP NOW! HELP!

[Ilovesmepets]

Whoa...I just got total chills when I read that...I think there is something going on in that house that yall can't see...that is bizarre.

[Scarlette]

An update: Riley started doing the spinning thing at my house. Then she started doing it more often at Jeff's. One of the links that Mandie posted said to distract them with a toy (which I had been doing), then it said that was reinforcing the behavior. Kind of confusing and I was getting pretty frustrated. I kept jumping up and grabbing her and shaking my head no. I was getting no where fast and the behavior was getting worse and I was getting more upset. The thought of having my dog put down because she won't get over this really scared me. I had no idea what to do and out of scared/sad frustration/desperation for her to stop I slapped her hard on her rump. I felt bad about slapping her, but you know what? She hasn't done it since!

Now before anyone jumps on the "Don't slap you dog" soapbox, I'm not saying what I did was totally right. I'm not proud of what I ended up doing but it worked and we're moving on. Riley pouted for a few minutes but she got over it and doesn't spin anymore and I hope it stays that way!

[fstybrat]

Under the circumstance though Scarlette ... I don't see any reason to "jump you" for what you did.
The important thing to focus on is how Riley is doing... & if she is actually doing better... don't stress yourself over it!

[Formula86]

scarlette - don't worry hun! i have had to do that to penny because she is sooo stubborn. she just will NOT stop barking, etc and the only way to get her attention is to be mean. i know how the guilt feels after, though. i always feel horrible. but remember - a mother dog will nip and growl at her pups. it's natural. as long as you didn't hurt her or do it so much to make her hand-fearful, it's ok. riley is in my thoughts (for the spinning).

[Chinchilla_Girl]

Don't worry about slapping her on the rump...I can guarentee it didn't hurt her, only her "feel bads" When playing with Kali and Orion, we often slap their rumps...Shane does it pretty hard too! But it's playing and they know that. It's when your hands go onto your hips and you make a mean face at them, they know they are in trouble and will immediately start sucking up. We don't even have to say anything...body language does it for us. So yeah, don't worry about slapping her rump...she's a bully-breed and it just got her attention, that's all. I hope she was just doing it for attention and the negative attention she received taught her a new lesson.