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I have never shared a home with such a selfish, moody and sulky animal in my life! I love our dear furry Zeb - he's a very cute and loving dog...when he's getting his own way. Any time that his will is challenged he turns into a sulky brat of a thing and he even pitches fits like a 2-year old child!!

I never knew that an animal had the capacity to be so emotional! This is coming as a big shock to me. I've always had dogs and cats and I've always doted on them and loved them to bits. But the dogs had always been cheerful and seemed to be eager to please. They would have sulky moments - like when I had to leave them home or they got scolded for stealing food etc but I've never had a dog that absoultely HATED obeying any command, even the small "sit" command!

Zeb has absolutely no desire to please. It's very strange.

Even a simple, "Sit down" turns into a five minute battle of the wills EVERY SINGLE TIME. Both me and Erlend are totally flabbergasted by this. Over and over again one of us will say in a firm voice while pointing at the floor, "Sit down." And over and over again Zeb stands there glowering and refuses to budge. So finally I have to bring out The Water Bottle of Power and his furry butt quickly perches on the floor as soon as he sees it.

However, as he sits there he hangs his head and glowers at me in an undeniable sulk! Where is the joy and companionship in this kind of behavior - and end result?

I end up frustrated and quite resentful towards this animal that wont even do a simple "sit" or "lay down" without turning it into a fight of the wills that ends in resentful obedience and hours of glowering and sulking! (I'm not kidding about the hours part.)

Zeb is so intent on having his way that the second his will is denied he pitches a loud high-pitched whiney barking fit! This fit ceases only when The Water Bottle of Power arrives on the scene. And then, more sulking.

Erlend does not run into as many battles of the will with our dog as I do. Zeb basically follows Erlend around 300 acres of farm and is always busy and never has much of a chance to get into (or cause) trouble.

But with me Zeb has ample oppurtunity to need to obey me in order to avoid trouble. For one thing he LOVES to jump up on people when they first come into the house. And he absolutely MUST be all around the coffee table bounding with joy and waving his huge fluffy tail until coffee cups start flying and the biscuits end up on the floor. He makes himself sick on stolen cat food, steals chicken bones, chases the cats and the sheep, tries to sneak off the farm so he can chase chickens, jumps in visitors' cars, jumps on visitors' cars...you get the drift! All the normal dog stuff. I have to be much more demanding of Zeb's obedience simply because the house is much smaller then 300 acres - and there's more "quiet time" for Zeb to fill with adventures that usually lead to trouble. This doesn't bother me one bit - but the dog's bad additude baffles me! I have never had such a resentful sulky dog in my life.

Once Zeb is denied his will he acctually focuses on this event and does not let go and "move on." Hence, the sulking. Even if I try to distract him with some cheerful play time or some happy petting he refuses to forget about what he wanted to have or do. Here is a good example:

When I am in the sheep byre Zeb is content to pace up and down the long passageway oggling the cats who always have themselves comfortably stationed in the higher dog-free zones. They glower from their lofty heights while Zeb stares up at them and drools. This "cat TV" keeps Zeb wonderfully amused while I feed the sheep. He lives for his Cat TV time and dances with anticipation whenever we head towards the sheep byre!

When the two lambs were born Zeb snarled at them and harassed them until the yow became a nervous wreck. So I scolded him away from the pen. Instead of returning to the cat oggling Zeb proceeded to follow me around the byre screeching and wailing at me because he couldn't bother the lambs! I couldn't believe it!! This is the kind of stuff a spoiled 2-year-old child would pull! And here was a DOG harassing me and trying to bully me into letting him have his way!

He continued this behavior every single time I took him into the byre and no amount of scolding could make him stop pitching his fit. Even Erlend, whom Zeb adores, could not get Zeb to stop his fit pitching. He'd be a mere foot away from me screeching and wailing about those lambs all while he had an entire byre full of cats to stare at! And once we return to the house he'd flop down in his basket and sulk at me for a good hour.

(I know the difference between a collie being neurotic about sheep and a dog being a spoiled brat about not getting his way.)

It's gotten to the point where I cannot bring him with me because he pitches a fit every single time for the entire time I'm in the byre. Which totally stinks because I always enjoy having him with me.

Another area where his selfish behavior causes problems is when it comes to giving him attention. If we give him a good dose of pats and scratches throughout the day he pitches a major fit when it is time for him to go to his sleeping place at night. As soon as we shut the door he barks and screeches and I have to bring out The Water Bottle of Power.

But if we only give him a bare miminal of pets and scratches he goes to bed just fine and is very peaceful and content.

This really stinks because we both love this dog and love to pet him and give him attention! And he loves the attention as well.

Zeb is a mystery to me. I've never known a more friendly dog that is also such a spoiled brat!