Jesse and I actually got out of the house and saw a movie last night. We went to “This is 40”. It was funny and actually made us re-think some things that go on in our house.
#1 – We need to stop yelling.
We don’t yell a lot. But enough that we are worried about Oliver and even Bella learning from our behavior.
My number one aggression outlet is the dogs. I might be frustrated by Bella, Oliver, etc, and the dogs will do one little thing and I turn on them. I always feel bad afterwards.
So I personally need to do a better job at letting my frustrations/anger go. Probably a deep breath and leaving the room for a minute would work.
The number one reason I yell. When I am crazily trying to make lunch or dinner for Bella and Oliver, get everyone served, and then shortly afterwards Oliver is taking the food I prepared for him and feeding it to the dogs. And there in lies the reason I yell at the dogs…because they are constantly begging. Most of the time Oliver isn’t feeding them because he doesn’t want to eat it or he is finished, it’s because they are there and he is sharing. I know this because he will continue to eat what is on his plate when the dogs have been removed.
Besides locking the dogs in a room I don’t know how to change this behavior, because it is so ingrained in them to beg. So advice for anyone getting a dog in the future….do not feed them from the table…EVER. It will turn into a nasty habit that you will regret.
And I know Oliver is learning from me. He yells at the dogs too. Most times right after I have finished yelling at them in a string of words I can’t understand. Whoops…nice one mom.
He also loves to torment them by ramming his pushing toys into them. He actually isn’t trying to torment them, he is trying to play chase with them. But sometimes they don’t feel like running from him.
Notice how the dog bed is not even a safe haven for the dogs…he will take his toys up there to get them. As of now they are his best friends (which is why in his mind they deserve so much of his food).
He is also sporting the one and only piece of clothing I have made for him. The little football raglan shirt.
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