Is there anyway to correct bad behavior without catching it. Bandit took the kong I prepared for her when I went out to start the car, she jumped up and stole it right off the counter. I guess I can't really do anything can I?

Correct. You can not. Deep breaths and move on.

Prevention is the key.

Eh didn't really make me mad but I wonder sometimes how she gets things in high spots

Jeff, I won't completely disagree but something I've found with my various dogs... if there hasn't been too much time passed, take the offender to the spot, tap it and watch the dogs reaction. If they look away (guilty) then simply a reinforcing "No!" will often help.

Avalanche did a bit of counter surfing when I first brought him home and while I wasn't always able to "catch him in the act" he knew he wasn't supposed to and this worked for me. Of course, when it comes to new bad behaviour it doesn't stand a chance.

It's hard to correct her right now cause she is still acting weird after being spayed. I'm trying to just kind of leave her alone. She's really moody ha women

That's fair Al. I personally don't ever say No to Link because I primarily communicate non-verballly.

I think the actual, tangible issue to be wary of with retrospective corrections is scaring the dog now for doing nothing wrong.

Especially with this case here, this person regularly expresses substantial confusion and ambiguity about the interactions with his dog , so I think the likelihood for error is greater.

Ahhh I thought having a dog would be easy. It's so confusing sometimes ha

Very much so. You'll find your groove, hang in there.

cosmothunder wrote:

Ahhh I thought having a dog would be easy. It's so confusing sometimes ha

I'm laughing because to those of us who've grown up with our furry friends there's so much that's a natural part of the dialogue - but I sometimes see people who have "married someone who doesn't speak English!"

As Jeff says, hang in there Tony, eventually it'll all click for both of you.

aljones wrote:

cosmothunder wrote:

Ahhh I thought having a dog would be easy. It's so confusing sometimes ha

I'm laughing because to those of us who've grown up with our furry friends there's so much that's a natural part of the dialogue - but I sometimes see people who have "married someone who doesn't speak English!"

Oh so true I've come to be able to anticipate Ami's moves over the past year, to stop behavior before it begins. Son #2, Archer's dad, has not even had children of his own yet so has not developed this ability. He is constantly confounded by Archer - but then, Archer is definitely a trouble maker:P

Tony, you don't need to worry about the aftermath of the surgery beyond her physical recovery.

She has no knowledge of surgery or that you put her through it. The only thing she knows is that you, right now, are struggling in your dealing with it and she sees you as unstable because of that.

She still needs structure and boundaries from you. It is fine to correct her if she's misbehaving right now.

In another thread you asked if she's mad at you. No, she is not. That's a human thing. She only knows your energy and body language right now.