# Feet Attack and Pant Leg Woes



## ivyagogo (Sep 11, 2007)

I can barely walk through my house without Gryff latching himself onto my pant legs or sit at the table without my socks being pulled off my feet! It's driving me crazy. Any tips?


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## Thumper (Feb 18, 2007)

Yeah.....Gucci used to do that when she was 'hungry'...drove me batty. Spray some bitter apple on your jeans/socks...if that doesnt' work "YELP" and act like it 'hurts'. lol

I did both of those things and she quit, it only took a few days to stop that awful habit. I also moved up her breakfast time to 7 am, that helped.

Kara


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## JanB (Oct 26, 2007)

REALLY looking forward to replies on this topic! Tessa does this too and has ripped holes in a pair of (thankfully) old "bum around the house pants".

In her case it isn't hunger, it's an invitation to play. Although I did read in a training book that it could be a dominance thing.

I did the "yelping" and it doesn't faze her!!


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## mintchip (Apr 19, 2007)

Squirt bottle?????


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## Jane (Jun 2, 2007)

How old is Gryff? If he is a puppy, he should outgrow it with consistent-ish "No's"...Scout will still do that to me and try to bite my rear end when he's feeling playful. I just turn around and tell him No and put him in a sit. If he continues, I pick him up and carry him around for a bit until the idea passes through and out his little furry brain  

The squirt bottle can work well for the hard-to-crack cases :biggrin1:


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## Thumper (Feb 18, 2007)

Oh, yes..

If the squirt bottle doesn't work, put some coins in a aluminum soda can and SHAKE it real loud. That's how I stopped Gucci from eating my sewing patterns.

I can lay the paper out ALL over the floor and she will NOT touch it. Any other paper is 'free game' though. She definately knows the difference.

She hated that can! lol Hated it!

Kara


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## ivyagogo (Sep 11, 2007)

I'll have to try that. It drives me nuts. Ilike to pace when I'm on the phone and he just won't leave me alone.


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## JanB (Oct 26, 2007)

Oh, yes, the shaker can! My friend has a Golden and all she has to do is say "do you want me to get the shaker can?" and she stops the mischief immediately


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## Thumper (Feb 18, 2007)

It must hurt their ears? Or just be an AWFUL or scary sound because she got upset at the sight of a soda can for a few months! lol, I haven't had to use the can in awhile, but she's gettting SO whiny lately about playing, I need to get her to stop that.

Kara


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## Lynn (Jan 2, 2007)

Missy is doing the same thing with me....I have two pair of pants with holes in them now. 

I am really trying to break her of this, but she is a persistent little girl. I am trying to be consistant with her saying "Missy, NO- Leave IT." That is a command we learned in puppy class with Casper. It is working....a little.:biggrin1: 

I don't remember Casper doing this.....Missy is more assertive in wanting to get my attention I think.


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## suzyfrtz (Nov 12, 2007)

Somewhere I read that this pant-leg attack is simply their herding instinct. I read on-line about a woman with several Havs who wanted to see if the "chicken herder" legend about Havs was true. She tried her Havs out with ducks and yes, the Havs herded them, or at least, "pushed" them around the yard. 

Caz really loves to go after my plush bathrobe. NO BITE! does the trick for him.


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## JanB (Oct 26, 2007)

Suzy, really? I didn't know Havs had a herding instinct. Tessa loves my bathrobe too  My Sheltie used to herd my kids but only if they were running through the room. She'd "nip" their heels. We had to warn kids who came over to visit. She never hurt them but she just couldn't help herself, it was so inbred in her nature. As the kids got older and ran less she'd herd the birds, butterflies, deer, and any other wildlife that had the misfortune of crossing our yard


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## irnfit (Nov 21, 2006)

My two herd my 3 cats. They chase them around the house until the cats run down the basement.


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## suzyfrtz (Nov 12, 2007)

I read in several places that Havs have the herding instinct. Supposedly, after the Cuban Revolution, when they were no longer pets of the elite, the farmers put them to work herding chickens. I found a nice history of the Havs. on this site:

www.havanese.org/hcaHistory.htm

I don't know the author but it is a very informative site.


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## Guest (Dec 8, 2007)

Thumperlove said:


> Oh, yes..
> 
> If the squirt bottle doesn't work, put some coins in a aluminum soda can and SHAKE it real loud. That's how I stopped Gucci from eating my sewing patterns.
> 
> ...


Ohhh, the PENNY CAN!!! That works great!


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## Guest (Dec 8, 2007)

suzyfrtz said:


> Somewhere I read that this pant-leg attack is simply their herding instinct. I read on-line about a woman with several Havs who wanted to see if the "chicken herder" legend about Havs was true. She tried her Havs out with ducks and yes, the Havs herded them, or at least, "pushed" them around the yard.
> 
> Caz really loves to go after my plush bathrobe. NO BITE! does the trick for him.


Suzy :wave:

Do you think that also they may be treating you like you're the momma dog?


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## Leeann (Feb 28, 2007)

Iguess I got lucky with this one. Riley started to do this but is always so eager to please so when ever I say "no" he would stop. Now Monte is a different story, he loved to grab my pant legs but whenever I would say no Riley would come running, grab him by the neck and growl. Riley truly enjoys correcting and teaching Monte the rules of the house.


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## Thumper (Feb 18, 2007)

Leeann, that is TOO cute! LOL

Kara


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## JanB (Oct 26, 2007)

Leeann said:


> Iguess I got lucky with this one. Riley started to do this but is always so eager to please so when ever I say "no" he would stop. Now Monte is a different story, he loved to grab my pant legs but whenever I would say no Riley would come running, grab him by the neck and growl. Riley truly enjoys correcting and teaching Monte the rules of the house.


Leeann, Can I borrow Riley for a while? We need some discipline here, lol!


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## juliav (Nov 21, 2006)

Bugsy used to love the pant leg game!!! All the above methods work really great. The only thing I didn't see mentioned that worked really well for us, was redirecting him. The minute he would grab my pant leg, I would give him a firm no and immedietely give him his toy (like a ball) and throw it. Worked every time!


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## Paige (Sep 12, 2006)

Leeann said:


> Iguess I got lucky with this one. Riley started to do this but is always so eager to please so when ever I say "no" he would stop. Now Monte is a different story, he loved to grab my pant legs but whenever I would say no Riley would come running, grab him by the neck and growl. Riley truly enjoys correcting and teaching Monte the rules of the house.


Leeann, I always found the older ones would always discipline the younger ones in my gang. It was very interesting to watch and helpful.


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## Thumper (Feb 18, 2007)

I bet Gucci would be a good "police-dog" to a new pup! LOL, Hmm..I'll have to mention that to my DH.

And on the HERDING...I believe that! After seeing Gucci chase the turkeys and chickens at the farm last week...she ran SO hard, its a shame I didn't get it on video, by the time I thought to..she was POOPED, big time.

Kara


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## juliav (Nov 21, 2006)

Gucci the herder, now if that doesn't ruin her "princess" image!!!!


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## Cheryl (Mar 17, 2007)

Brutus was horrible at this as a pup. We actually had to put him in "tiem outs"--60-90 minutes in the bathroom a couple times/day to break the habit. For him it was related to playing also. Thankfully it did end.


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## Thumper (Feb 18, 2007)

juliav said:


> Gucci the herder, now if that doesn't ruin her "princess" image!!!!


LOL! Underneath that tiara is a doggie dog. ound: She's still a priss, but some things she just CANNOT resist....I suppose chasing a turkey is one of them...

Every now and then, she does something to remind me she is a canine. hah. Now, If I can just get her to walk on wet grass...I will have accomplised something grand! She is the most high maintenance/drama queen dog I've ever seen.

Kara


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## casperkeep (May 16, 2007)

That is too cute of little Miss Gucci.....she looks like she was having fun!!!!! Jillee went through the whole biting stage as well tried all but the can method....maybe I will try that for the poo poo eating!!! She is better now....only does it when she wants to eat and have attention or play!!!!


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## suzyfrtz (Nov 12, 2007)

Kara - what a great photo! What fun Gucci was having - but not so sure about the turkey!! LOL -- Suzy


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## maryam187 (Jul 18, 2007)

Pablo does that a lot and a firm NO doesn't help much, nor does sit, down or redirecting him immediately to another toy. It SOMETIMES helps to scoop him up and calm him down, but watch out for your boobs! LOL He's a true Cuban macho and isn't scared to grab them without invitation! I usually have to put him in his ex-pen for time-out. I think we'll try the can trick soon though!


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## Krimmyk (Dec 7, 2006)

ivyagogo said:


> I can barely walk through my house without Gryff latching himself onto my pant legs or sit at the table without my socks being pulled off my feet! It's driving me crazy. Any tips?


Sully's sole goal outside is to police dog take down Logan. I think it's payback for the barking and acting like a dog Lo does inside. Now that there is snow, Sully is having even more fun doing it. No one else does he do this too, not even the neighbor kiddos.


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## Guest (Dec 9, 2007)

maryam187 said:


> Pablo does that a lot and a firm NO doesn't help much, nor does sit, down or redirecting him immediately to another toy. It SOMETIMES helps to scoop him up and calm him down, but watch out for your boobs! LOL He's a true Cuban macho and isn't scared to grab them without invitation! I usually have to put him in his ex-pen for time-out. I think we'll try the can trick soon though!


Ouch, Maryam...Isn't he still a puppy??? You could end up with a boob piercing..then you'd be asking for rings for Christmas ound:


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## maryam187 (Jul 18, 2007)

Diane, :laugh: I always ask my DH: do you want a nice piercing? Pablo's real good at it! :biggrin1: He's still a puppy (12weeks tomorrow), but I don't allow him to bite us, only biting allowed is when he's chewing GENTLY on my hands/fingers so he learns the difference. But he gets overwhelmed and just turns into a pitbull at times :croc:


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## Leeann (Feb 28, 2007)

You guys are a hoot, we went from biting pant legs to boobs. Maybe I should rent Riley out?? Naah I would miss him to much. It does go to show the the second one is sooo much easier and I bet #3 will be even easier.


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## Guest (Dec 10, 2007)

maryam187 said:


> Diane, :laugh: I always ask my DH: do you want a nice piercing? Pablo's real good at it! :biggrin1: He's still a puppy (12weeks tomorrow), but I don't allow him to bite us, only biting allowed is when he's chewing GENTLY on my hands/fingers so he learns the difference. But he gets overwhelmed and just turns into a pitbull at times :croc:


Maryam..One of my dog trainers told me to rap the puppy on his nose with a finger and say "don't bite" when you want him to stop biting (not hard though) Then they learn to associate the word with the action.

He also said that if the puppy nips when hand feeding him a piece of something to use the back of your hand to bump his nose and say "easy".

I don't know if this will work on every dog..but it has for me on 3 Aussies, one Yorkie and 2 Hav's..


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## maryam187 (Jul 18, 2007)

Diane, that all sounds nice, but I think someone needs to show me how to touch that knows without him opening his mouth to eat my entire hand, LOL. I'm a first-time dog owner and am sure I am unknowingly giving him wrong signals that encourage him. So far a short time-out has helped and I hope he'll just get over that puppy-nipping phase soon...sigh...


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## Guest (Dec 10, 2007)

..they are quick little buggers, aren't they :biggrin1:


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## maryam187 (Jul 18, 2007)

Diane, LOL, they really are 'quick little buggers' but it makes ME feel like a 'slow big bugger' ound:


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## Guest (Dec 10, 2007)

Well, I'm on my 7th dog, Maryam. and at one point I thought it wise to go to puppy classes, then a personal trainer. It was quite helpful.


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## maryam187 (Jul 18, 2007)

Yep, that's why we're starting puppy class in January so WE can learn how to train the puppet. Can't wait!


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## ivyagogo (Sep 11, 2007)

Gryff has treated both my nipples and my husbands as chew toys at least once. He knows better than to do that again!


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## irnfit (Nov 21, 2006)

Shelby has two things she does that I am trying to break her out of.
One is the hand biting. She thinks I am her mommy and she wants to play with me the way she plays with Kodi - that is latching on to my hand and pulling me. It's not really a bite. She just is trying to show me who is boss. I have had to resort to a light flick of the finger to her nose to make her stop. She is getting better.

She also has a habit that if I don't respond quick enough to her jumping on me, like when I first walk in the door, she will jump straight up in the air and grab my hand or bite my leg. She want to be picked up. So, I try to get her to settle down, sit, and then she gets picked up. We are working on these things.


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## Atomickittyn (Aug 25, 2007)

mintchip said:


> Squirt bottle?????


Yoyo actually liked the squirt bottle and would get hyper when we sprayed him. Now the bitter apple stuff is the best.


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## Lynn (Jan 2, 2007)

Atomickittyn said:


> Yoyo actually liked the squirt bottle and would get hyper when we sprayed him. Now the bitter apple stuff is the best.


 have a funny one with the squirt bottle, someone told me to try it for Casper's barking when he was young....so I did. I thought it was so funny, Casper was dripping wet and still barking!

But...back to nipping on back of legs. I posted earlier Missy was doing it also, she has now stopped. I find everything with a puppy is a stage and if you get the NO message across to them they stop. I say a really firm NO, becasue it hurt....she does mind really well, though.


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## Guest (Dec 16, 2007)

maryam187 said:


> Yep, that's why we're starting puppy class in January so WE can learn how to train the puppet. Can't wait!


Maryam...You are SO going to enjoy puppy class...One of the best lessons is the socialization part! I learned early on to expose my dogs to people, children, other dogs, different sounds and even traffic. Of course there are safety factors to be learned with each aspect, but they are all very rewarding! :whoo:


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## worplesdon (6 mo ago)

ivyagogo said:


> I can barely walk through my house without Gryff latching himself onto my pant legs or sit at the table without my socks being pulled off my feet! It's driving me crazy. Any tips?


He'll grow out of it. He's just being playful. Talk to him. Tell him no without yelling. They're really intelligent and will understand over time. Patience!


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## Melissa Brill (Feb 22, 2017)

worplesdon said:


> He'll grow out of it. He's just being playful. Talk to him. Tell him no without yelling. They're really intelligent and will understand over time. Patience!


The OP was from 2007


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