Like nails on a chalkboard

You know how there are some things that hit you like nails on a chalkboard? Those little things that are instantly infuriating? 

Despite decades owning, loving, and training dogs, our own herd all have traits that just grate. Everyone has their own tolerance threshold. Things that make us crazy may not bother you at all. 

Case in point

Some people find it adorable when their dogs lick each others’ faces. They post videos on social media, exclaiming how cute it is. We hate it. It makes us crazy when our dogs start licking - whether it’s each other, themselves, their paws, their beds. Simon even licks a wall if he happens to be sitting near one. Stop it!

Speaking of walls, another dog behavior that drives us up one is whining. Most of our dogs haven’t been whiners. Torque, Hope’s French Bulldog, has become a whiner in the last couple years. Whenever Hope’s not in in sight, he starts in. Even if she’s just in the next room. It finally occurred to her that if she’s on Torque’s blind side, he gets worried. 

Even knowing where his anxiety comes from, the whining is incredibly irritating. Theoretically, we know how to train him out of it. While it’s difficult to train a dog not to do something, the behavior should diminish if it doesn’t achieve the dog’s goal. If he got no attention for whining, he’d (theoretically) stop doing it. Even though she knows better, the whining always works to get Hope’s attention. Torque plays her like a fiddle. He doesn't care that she’s yelling “Shut up!” He got what he wanted - Hope’s focus is on him.

They all make us crazy

Every dog has some quirk or personality trait that’s annoying. So do people. It goes along with having intelligence and a personality, which dogs do. 

Dog trainers will tell you that every dog is trained to their owners’ level of comfort. If it doesn’t bother you, there’s no reason to train the dog differently. If it’s sufficiently irritating, you’ll probably do something about it. 

Three choices

What remedy you choose is also up to you. For every naughty dog behavior, there are three choices: ignore it, manage it, or train it. We’ve certainly made all these choices for different dogs and habits. 

Management is probably the route of least resistance. When we couldn’t stop Simon from eating dirt in the yard, we got a muzzle so he couldn’t. With four dogs at once, we couldn’t watch him every second to extinguish the behavior through training. 

If there’s a room your dog isn’t allowed to go in, it’s easier to get a gate than do the perimeter training. If your dog steals socks, it’s easier to put them in a hamper than train it away. That’s also cheaper than a visit to the emergency vet when the sock disappears down their gullet.

Wish they wouldn’t

Acknowledging your dog sometimes annoys you doesn’t diminish how much you love them. It means you recognize that sometimes even the most cherished beings clash. It means you’ve given your dog the opportunity to be themselves, warts and all. And you love them anyway.

So - what does your dog do that makes you crazy?