Temper tantrums

[mranderson]

Does your dog or cat have temper tantrums to get attention? If so, how do you control them?

What I mean (to be more clear) is the following. Do they bark until they get what they want? Do they show any other unusal but not harmful behavior to get what they want?

My dog will keep barking until she gets what she wants. Often it is food. She eats twice a day, but she often wants food in between meals. She will not shut up until I put food in the bowl, and it is causing her to eat too much. She has even reguritated several times as a result.

What would you do to control this?

[Curt]

I once had two dachshunds that liked to throw temper tantrums, one of them left a nice surprise on my pillow onetime when I had to lock him in my bedroom. I actually had to laugh at it though. I miss the little shits alot.

What I mean (to be more clear) is the following. Do they bark until they get what they want? Do they show any other unusal but not harmful behavior to get what they want?

My dog will keep barking until she gets what she wants. Often it is food. She eats twice a day, but she often wants food in between meals. She will not shut up until I put food in the bowl, and it is causing her to eat too much. She has even reguritated several times as a result.

What would you do to control this?[/quote]

First, this is not unusual behavior at all. Dogs are opportunistic animals, they do what works to get what they want. In this case, it happens to be food. The reason she won't shut up till you feed her is simple............it works. It's the same thing as a toddler throwing a monumental fit in the grocery store to get a candy bar. He knows Mom will crater to get him to pipe down. The key is to ignore her. TOTALLY. Not even so much as a glance in her direction. It is all attention & as long as you acknowledge her, she wins. Expect is to worsen before it gets better, this is known as an extinction burst. Again, the toddler in the grocery store, screams louder & louder to get Mom's attention. As long as she gives in, the kid wins & the behavior continues. Unrewarded behavior will extinguish itself & they (kids & dogs alike) will try something new to get what they want. The key here is to teach them what IS acceptable behavior to get what they want instead of punishing them for unacceptable behavior.