Bad Behavior

Question
I have a 9month old harlequin great dane named Pepper. I have had her since she was 8 weeks old. she is showered with attention from me my husband and daughter, every day or night  3 0r 4 times a day she bounces off the walls and bites and pulls at our clothes, and slaps us with her huge paws, at those times it is hard to enjoy sitting on the couch, what can we do? Or have we done something wrong?

Answer
Sometimes too much attention is what causes this type of behavior. Dogs are pack animals, and you have to remember, she is a dog...not a person...so showering them with attention usually causes those bad habits...

What she is doing is telling you that you need to pet her, right now, and when you don't she pulls at your clothes and bites...this is her being in control and dominating you...

What you have essentially done is allowed her to become the alpha in the home and she thinks that she can get whatever she wants, whenever she wants it...

To stop this behavior you need to discipline her, if she starts getting really rowdy put her in time out, like another room or a crate. teach her that her toys are the only place her mouth is allowed to be. If she is slapping you with her paw, or sitting on your feet, she is being dominant and this needs to be addressed the same way. Remove her for any of these behaviors until she calms down, then she can be let back out again. If she continues the behavior, she gets removed again.

She also needs to be taught a "place" command, this is where she sits in her spot wherever your family normally hangs out, like the living room for instance. Get her a bed that is kept in that room, if she begins to get too rowdy or exhibit the behaviors you have explained to me being an issue, tell her to go to her place. And she needs to stay there until she is calm and has been released by you, your husband or daughter.

Basic obedience classes are crucial for a dog that has become the alpha in the home. Hope this helps a little and please let me know how it goes.