9 Months old, we still can't find solution for behavior.

I love my Corgi SO much. Everytime he looks at me it makes me smile - but there are two things that he's been doing since we got him, and we seem to have no solution.

1. Barking (Talking back)
When we tell him to get in the crate and doesn't want to, when we look at him and say "NO!", or when we just stare at him, Ollie will go on a barking tirade. Barking at us - it is obvious that he's being defiant. I would like to ignore him, but we live in an apartment, so that's not an option. We don't know what to do.

2. Biting (At wife's shirt and pants)
My wife can rarely walk anywhere in the apartment without the dog trying to either nip at her pant legs or jump up and bite the bottom of the shirt. He doesn't do this to me, and I don't know what I do that is so much different than my wife. I realize that Corgi will be Corgis, but Ollie has put holes in at least 4 pairs of pants, and ruined about 3 shirts (My wife will probably say that it's a lot more than that).

He's also infamous at jumping all over anyone who walks in the door, ourselves included.

ANY suggestions or comments will be valued. We have to deal with this EVERY DAY. I've upped his daily walk time to 45 minutes, and it hasn't changed a thing. We're lost.

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Kerry's idea about finding him a job is great. The two best things we did with Jack when he was a teenager were:

1) Got him a slightly larger ball that he could push around with his nose and chase madly up and down; he likes it so much better than fetching (as it appeals to his herding instinct).

2) I started teaching him the names of his toys. When he was bored, I could then say "Jack, are you bored? Get your rings? Where are your rings?" and send him for them. Now when he is looking to play, instead of barking at us he goes and gets a toy and just shows up with it. Much more pleasant.

As far as treat training, the thing is it's ok to use a treat to show them what you mean, but then you need to move away from using it all the time. It's called "intermittent reward" and the idea is the dog never knows when he will get a reward and when he won't; he no longer expects to be rewarded every time. I never use rewards for Jack for basic manners corrections. If I need him to sit, move over, leave it alone, whatever that is just house manners. He DID learn to do those things with treats (or at least most of them) but does not continue to get them every time he performs.

You need to combine treats with gentle corrections. At this stage with how he is behaving, I would just try leaving a leash on him continually when he is in the house and you can keep a careful eye on him (to avoid his hanging himself).

That way, if you ask a command he knows and he does not perform it, you can immediately grab the end of the leash and ask again, more firmly.
Excellent suggestions Beth and Kerry! Another thing I would add is "ignoring." For example, our Moira is one to talk back. She is a STUBBORN little creature. When she talks back, I turn away and put my back to her. Once she stops, I turn back around. Once she figures out that talking back gets her no attention, she quits.
We definitely do that - some times he stops barking, and other times he starts jumping on us.
BTW, when I say "interimittent reward", that only refers to treats or toys. Verbal praise should always be given when the dog does as asked.
We have similar problems- Potus is 10 months and very smart- smart enough that he's very independent. He constantly jumps up and attacks my mum's shirt and pants, not so much with me or my brother. (although he does occasionally). Potus also still has a biting problem- NOTHING has worked and we've tried it all: No bite, squealing, water bottle, everything. It just gets him even more hyped up. We're hoping he might settle with age but I am looking to getting him into more adult training classes (though he can do tricks, but like Ollie he only really does it if he thinks there is a treat coming his way.

I'd love to know how you get on with Ollie and find out what helps you. Good luck and I hope it helps a little that there are others out there fighting a similar battle.
Well, I can't say I'm GLAD to hear that you have a similar problem; although it does make me feel better - sometimes I think that It's my fault he's acting that way. I really do try, though - I just wish I knew what he was thinking!
Our Tenby loves to talk back. I know this sounds crazy but if he wants to talk to us about a situation and he is in the house he is required to use his inside voice. That includes little soft woofs, moaning and groaning. He might discuss the situation for 10 minutes. Outside he is allowed to bark loudly, but not enought to be a yappy dog in the neighborhood. He is a rescue and came to us at 6 months. His first 6 months had been so terribly we weren't sure he would every learn to have positive communication with humans. So the fact that he talks back.....all the time is music to our ears.
Ollie has conversation tones - like moaing and squeaking. He even has what we refer to as a "Honk". Unfortunately, he DOES NOT hesitate to use his big bark. That bark seriously feels like it pierces your brain - it's awful.
squirt gun. we had the same issues up until 2 months ago...minus the barking in the crate. But the biting we had. Maggie is now 9 months. We squirted her with a small squirt gun once while she was biting and growling...playing...but still it wasn't nice. We only had to squirt her now and for a few weeks after that...we just had to point to the squirt gun on the table and she would stop. Now, we don't even have to use it. I recommend it. We also treat her for good behavior and praise her for good behavior as well. Dont give up, some thing will work!
Ollie loves water so much. He loves the spray bottle, but it's been awhile since we tried it. We may need to give it another shot.
Squirt bottle. It worked for us when we had to get Domino to stop talking back to us. Now, we don't have to actually squirt her, she sees the bottle and knows she's done wrong. We usually got her in the butt, not in the face or anything.
He was recently barking at me while I was doing the dishes...needless to say, I made full use of the spray hose. Haha - he gotrREALLY wet. He didn't really seem to mind, though - he'd shut up for a few seconds, then go right back to it. I might try the squirt bottle again, though - my wife would need to carry it with her whenever she got up.

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