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How do I stop my dog from being mean?

I have a 2 month old australian shepeard mix, she also has some heiler in her too. Anyways she’s generally a nice puppy, but she always snaps at the vet and barks at her. How do I stop her from becoming a mean dog?

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Answer #1

Ditto to cupcake…she’s a tiny baby…and she’s frightened. If you want to get her used to going to the Vets…go every other day WITHOUT a reason. Let the Techs and the receptionist give her treats, then go home…this will give her a chance to see that the Vets is a fun place to go.

She is a herding dog…ALL herding breeds (German Shepherds, Collies, Shelties, Border Collies…ALL of them) grab pant legs, feet, shoes…they instinctively do that. Just use you hand to unhook her from whatever she’s got a hold of, and give her a toy (roll it, or toss it)…to distract her. She will grow out of this.

I kept my pup tied to me for 3 1/2 months (only when he was awake, pups sleep A LOT)…it teaches them to mellow out when you do, to follow you where you go…it also helps get a handle on housebreaking.

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Answer #2

Don’t let her get away with snapping or barking when you remove food from her. To be safe, put your foot (with shoes on) over the bone…then bend down and pick it up. To a dog, the second you “cover” that bone, it sees you as “owning” it…in dog body language.

The time to let her understand that you are the leader, and she is NOT, is now…while she’s still a pup…

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Answer #3

Thank you…I’ll try the whole taking her to the vet every other day. And she does bite at me and my brother’s pant legs all the time. But we buy her rawhide bones for her to chew on and she loves them, she got so mad at me when I went to pick her up to take her to bed and she growled and barked at me cause I took her away from her bone lol

Answer #4

She’s not being mean just to be mean she’s just scared but if you don’t want her to be a mean dog when she gets older start out by taking her on a walk then take her to a park and see how she reacts just make sure she doesn’t snap at any kids Also if she doesn’t know how to walk tie her leash to your pants to were the leash its straight up from pants to coller just not too much we don’t want the dog to stop breathing and then after a week or too start loosing up the leash she’ll eventually know how to walk right beside you without you worrying about her barking and trying too chase people

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