# 6 month old very strong will



## Broadbent (Jun 15, 2017)

I have a 6 month old female called Bella. We are very pleased with her progress on the whole, she is crate trained at night, not a barker, obeys certain commands, fairly good leash walker, recall with whistle excellent when no one around but not sure if I would trust her yet when there are distractions. Very social with other dogs and people maybe a little too much. My problem is we have probably spoilt her and given her so much affection she now thinks she is the boss. I did a one day course to learn how to groom her and will be following this up with a 2nd day but the trainer said to practise myself a little in between. I am finding this very difficult she will not stand still and will not let me near her face at all. I have brushed her daily without fail and she always allows me to do this. How do we establish authority as the boss before she takes over completely. Any suggestions gratefully received.


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## 2ndhandgal (Aug 29, 2011)

I find it useful to think less about boss and authority and more about mutual co-operation and manners so everyone gets on nicely together.

6 month old pups are livewires and find standing still hard as they are all action so you need to work in her comfort level and reward her for standing for you. The more you do this the more she will learn it is in her interests to co-operate and things will improve. 

Touching faces with grooming tools takes a lot of trust so build up very slowly and again reward her for all the steps, so start with very gently stroking the hair on her face and rewarding and progress from there.

Good luck - and can we have some photos?


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