Do dogs grow out of some behaviors as they grow older?

[JacquelineDeane55]

Our dog precious, a cocker spaniel, is only about 1 year and a few months old.

I know she is quite young still, but I was hoping that as she aged she would mature, but that is not what is happening. It is creating stress in my inner person.

She is still selfish and kind of a brat. She whines really loudly when she doesn't get what she wants, kind of like a spoiled rotten brat, and no amount of punishment seems to be getting rid of this behavior. I kind of wish my mom would not have gotten a puppy and would have gotten an adult dog, a dog that is already mature (we are a household of adults), so you see, I am stuck living with this nightmare.

I wanted a mature dog. Precious is not mature. So I told myself I would give her a chance and see if she would grow out of some of her behaviors that she does, but so far, nothing. And she is getting older every day. She is not progressing as I want her to.

If I had my way I would have gotten rid of her by now, but my mom seems to like her and wants to hold onto her still. But in my opinion, Precious is the worst thing that has happened to me and I don't want to live with her. She is immature, a brat, selfish, and a glutton. I could name some other character flaws, but that is only the beginning. Truth is, I am not fond of this dog, I wanted a mature dog and my mom instead got this...spoiled child that I have to deal with.

She seems to think that we exist solely to serve her, which is very selfish in my opinion. I am no servant to some immature baby puppy. I have more pride and self respect than that.

Do dogs grow out of some of their more undesirable characteristics as they grow older?

 

[JacquelineDeane55]

How do you guys suggest we curb her gluttony, whining, and selfishness?

 

[JacquelineDeane55]

Which begs the debate whether or not dogs have a sin nature like we humans do. She certainly does fit the description of a sinner, in my opinion.

 

[SkyWriting]

Our dog precious, a cocker spaniel, is only about 1 year and a few months old.

I know she is quite young still, but I was hoping that as she aged she would mature, but that is not what is happening. It is creating stress in my inner person.

She is still selfish and kind of a brat. She whines really loudly when she doesn't get what she wants, kind of like a spoiled rotten brat, and no amount of punishment seems to be getting rid of this behavior. I kind of wish my mom would not have gotten a puppy and would have gotten an adult dog, a dog that is already mature (we are a household of adults), so you see, I am stuck living with this nightmare.

I wanted a mature dog. Precious is not mature. So I told myself I would give her a chance and see if she would grow out of some of her behaviors that she does, but so far, nothing. And she is getting older every day. She is not progressing as I want her to.

If I had my way I would have gotten rid of her by now, but my mom seems to like her and wants to hold onto her still. But in my opinion, Precious is the worst thing that has happened to me and I don't want to live with her. She is immature, a brat, selfish, and a glutton. I could name some other character flaws, but that is only the beginning. Truth is, I am not fond of this dog, I wanted a mature dog and my mom instead got this...spoiled child that I have to deal with.

She seems to think that we exist solely to serve her, which is very selfish in my opinion. I am no servant to some immature baby puppy. I have more pride and self respect than that.

Do dogs grow out of some of their more undesirable characteristics as they grow older?

Punishment does not work at all for most dogs. They cannot connect the punishment with the action like humans think. You must re-train yourself in order to change your dog. They mostly work on a reward system even if reward is only your attention. There are some free training videos online.

 

[SkyWriting]

Which begs the debate whether or not dogs have a sin nature like we humans do. She certainly does fit the description of a sinner, in my opinion.

Without the law there is no sin or death.

 

[JacquelineDeane55]

I just told my mom what you said about rewards, and she told me she already knew that.

I don't know much about dogs, which is why I'm not the one taking care of Precious.

So now I am wondering is if she already knew that, then why is she still punishing the dog like she doesn't know? Punishment clearly won't work. She needs to try the rewards system you suggested.

And yet she still punishes the dog...hhmmm, I need to ask her about this.

 

[JacquelineDeane55]

Oh OK. She says that she thinks a combination of discipline and rewards is the best approach. Do you agree?

She actually spanks this dog on her butt. Sometimes.

I told you she is a Conservative, because I don't think a liberal parent would believe in spanking, right?

 

[Poppyseed78]

All dogs are "gluttons," they live to eat, it's their main drive and motivation. That's not something that will change, but I would use it to your advantage by rewarding her good behavior with high-value treats. Teach her commands like sit and stay and reward with treats. A tired dog is a good dog, so your mom should make sure she takes her for walks and gives her lots of exercise. She should have plenty of bones and chew toys to keep her busy so she stays out of trouble. If she's not crate-trained, I would look into crate-training because it's useful for many dog owners. Dogs often don't start to calm down until they are 5+ years old, so it may be a while before you see her start to mature.

 

[JacquelineDeane55]

Oh, I did not know about the crate thingy, thank you for suggesting that.