Hello,

I was wondering if anybody else is facing a similar situation. Our girl is 3months old and has a real attitude!!! She is extremely friendly and gets excited with anybody who comes to the house but will not "tolerate" discipline! When I say "no" or "what are doing"(when she uses me for a chew toy, or tries to eat the chairs), in a stern voice and point my finger at her....she goes nuts!!!! She growls and barks up a storm. (all while wagging her tail -if that means anything). Its not a threating kind of bark or growl its more of a "back talking" thing. As if she has to get the last word in... When I continue to scold her and raise my voice she will retreat to her bed while growling and barking.

She is pretty good with "sit", "stay", "lie down". Its getting her to stop doing something that really gets her going.

Any suggestions?

Hi and Welcome to Bernertalk! First of all congrats on you new Baby!

I had to laugh when I read your post. Berners are really smart, and learn very fast, but they are Stubborn ! You have to have lots and lots or patience. Riley does the same thing when you point at him. He started it as a puppy and at almost 4 years, he still thinks the "pointing finger" is a big game. He could be asleep across the room and without saying a word, my husband or I can point a finger at him, and somehow he knows and will start "talking back". It is so funny! It is probably more funny to us, since we aren't trying to "train" right now like you are. I wonder how many other Berners play that game?

Like I said, just have patience and be repetitious with everything that you are trying to teach her. Riley used me for a chew toy also for a long time. My arms and hands looked awful! A lot of that was my fault for not making him stop ( he was just so cute ) I ended up using something called apple bitters, apparently tastes really bad, and I would spray it on my arms before I played with him. He eventually stopped. Just hang in there, it will get better, and it will be worth it! Berners are amazing dogs!

We look forward to hearing from you and would love to see some pictures..

Hello,

Thanks so much for the input. Nubia is my first Bernese and I must admit she is all together very different from the dogs I had in the past (Belgian shepard, German Shepard). I totally agree about their stubborn streak...She has a mind of her own and is not afraid to show it!!! And even though she drives me nuts some times I think she is the best doggie in the whole world.

You are absolutely correct that they are the most amazing dogs, she has become the center of my family's world.

I have posted some photos in my profile album so all can see our little fur ball.

[quote=Nubia's mom;603]Hello,

I was wondering if anybody else is facing a similar situation. Our girl is 3months old and has a real attitude!!! She is extremely friendly and gets excited with anybody who comes to the house but will not "tolerate" discipline! When I say "no" or "what are doing"(when she uses me for a chew toy, or tries to eat the chairs), in a stern voice and point my finger at her....she goes nuts!!!! She growls and barks up a storm. (all while wagging her tail -if that means anything). Its not a threating kind of bark or growl its more of a "back talking" thing. As if she has to get the last word in... When I continue to scold her and raise my voice she will retreat to her bed while growling and barking.

I had to laugh too when i saw your post as our 4 month old pup Charlie does the same thing!! He is a sweet boy, but he definitely has that stubborn defiant talking back streak when we stare him doing or make a funny noise. Its hilarious, and i have a hard time disciplining him when he's stubborn like that because he is so adorable. But since i have a stubborn little male on my hands and he will be so big we do assert our dominance over him when he does this. We gently pin him down as his momma would so that he goes into a submissive state, and we never let him nip us or win a tug of war game. Maybe I'm a little strict, but I've had a dominant dog and they can be a handful!

Kody does the same thing, hes just turned 7 months. He likes to chew on us... not so much anything else( I can ount the number of things he's destroyed in the house on one hand). When we tell him no he grunts grumbles growls and barks. All the while wagging his tail. Its the funniest thing, I think its pay back for all the times I argued with my mom as a kid. Weve been able to teach him some tricks as long as we have a treat but cant get him to listen to no. And its so funny when he does it that we cant help but laugh at him, which Im sure reinforces the behavior.