Once in a while Qannik (1 year old) will growl at us when we want him to do something he doesn't want to do. For instance, he has a new obsession with going into our bedroom closets. Basically he's nosediving for laundry and things like that to chew on (mostly socks and underwear). When we tell him no and come near him to get him out he'll growl at us. Our tactic thus far has been to redirect his attention by bribing him with a treat to get him out. Not sure if that's the right thing to do.
One thing he has been doing for months now, is running away from us when we attempt to put his harness on. Generally speaking, I don't think he's a dog who likes his head touched too much. Once his harness is on, he's perfectly fine with it. And we never have any issues taking it off. Anyway, a few minutes ago, Q was hanging out outside on his lead in the back yard, and when my husband attempted to put the harness on him, he growled at him and actually showed his teeth. When that happened, my husband turned around and walked back into the house.
Q is probably a little less exercised lately due to the cold temperatures and the darkness in the morning. Because of work schedules, I am responsible for his morning walk. Unfortunately right now, it's dark until almost 7:00am which only gives us about 30 minutes to walk before I have to leave for work. Also, the last two weeks have been brutally cold, with negative feel like temps. Our walks in the morning have only been 15 - 20 minutes because of this. He goes to daycare twice per week which gives him plenty of play time and exercise. On non daycare days, he is walked at night too. Usually around 45 minutes (again depending on how cold it is right now). I'm wondering if this might be playing into a little brattiness.
Anyway, just wondering what the best course of action is to stop this type of behavior. We don't use any negative reinforcement and realized a while ago that yelling doesn't help.
Chris, I'm hoping you can chime in....you've given me some really good advice in the past.
Thanks!
