Hi ever' body!

My mom is 'Poohbear' on here, and she hasn't gotten around to asking any questions about this yet , so I decided to take matter into my own hands ;P.

I'm sure you all know about our GSD, Rex. Well, he's developed this recent habit of . . . well, 'stomping' on our feet. That's the only way I can think of to describe it, anyway. We can just be standing there, and he'll bound up to us and slam his feet on the floor mere inches from ours, and slide the remaining space so that his paws push against us.

He's never done this as a younger puppy, and the only person he doesn't do this to is my dad [ but I figure that's just the whole 'alpha' association he's got going on with my dad ].

Any ideas as to what this is all about? It's not like we actively provoke this action; not like we incite playtime and he does it. We could be either standing there doing nothing, or playing with him, or what have you.

Now, I dunno about me mams, but I wouldn't mind seeing this behavior stop. However, it doesn't look like anything we do [ scolding and whatnot ] seems to help.

Any suggestions would be GREATLY appreciated

-Karasaurusrex

Hi Kara, Thank you sincerely for asking this question, I hope that we get great input because, yes, he is obnoxious about it.:roll:

He doesn't growl or bark or anything. He does this kinda . . . groaning sound? Something like that, anyway. Most of the time, I try to just ignore him, but he gets pretty adamant. My dad tends to . . . well, growl at him [ correct me if I'm wrong, ma ].

I've been told, ever since we got Rex, that I'm basically like a sister to him, so he thinks it's okay to test his boundaries with me, yadda yadda. And I know that in the grand scheme of the dog heirarchy [ alpha, beta, blahblahblah ], it's probably true, so he probably thinks, "Heck, I can just do this to her, but not to alpha-dad." But he does it to Mom, too. And she scolds him, and he'll stop for ten or twenty minutes, and then it's like he forgets.

Bleh. It doesn't really bug me, per se. I'd like to see it stop, yes, but in hindsight I can't help but think it's a little cute. It's just one of those niggling little things. And besides, Mom complains more about it than I do .

I personally kind of like it, except when I am just wearing socks, and his nails dig into my feet when he does the slide into your feet thing. But for Kara's sake we will try to stop it, at least when she is around!

My Gretta (also a GSD) does the same thing minus the slide and when she stomps, she arooooooooooooos at me as her front end goes down and her rear goes up. It's her way of telling me that she wants to play. I find it quite amusing and often accomodate her. She will also do this when she feels like conversing. We have this thing where I'll say "What? You say Timmy has fallen in the well again?" and she'll arooo and dance around. (There, I have really dated myself for those of you who remember Lassie and Timmy! LOL! ) This type of conversation can go on for 10 minutes or so before she's talked out. So funny! She is very vocal and demonstrative which is why I love the GS breed. They have great personalities. However, I'm not sure I'd love the slide thing. You could keep his toenails clipped shorter or be sure you have slippers on at all times! :lol: Just be careful not to squelch his natural "ham it up" GS genes.

Rex's "ham it up genes" could never be squelched!! His nails are short, but during the slide, it seems like he ? extends ? them? He also, gives a kind of groan or grunt, when he really wants attention during the stomping thing. I think its funny, but I am in the minority:-D

We do have the video feature on our camera, (thanks recently to our daughter in Ohio, she sent me a new camera!) I hope that Kara can figure out how to load it here, as I am still computer illiterate, most of the time. I know that she will have to put it under my username, as she can't upload yet. We will try to catch him in action, as it is not a command type thing, it is his way of saying, I am bored, lets play, VERY random!!:-D