# Do dogs have "off" days?



## Cotonlove (Jan 29, 2012)

My dog is almost a year and a half now. She will go weeks being so good and then she has a horrible day ....like today! She acts like she has never heard the word "off", she barks at everything, pulls on her leash like crazy and just generally is being a twit. Right now she is sound asleep but I was just wondering.....is this normal????:frusty:


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## CptJack (Jun 3, 2012)

I am pretty sure everything alive has off days, sometimes. You're fine.


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## HollowHeaven (Feb 5, 2012)

No creature is perfect.


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## voodookitten (Nov 25, 2012)

Normal. Today my girl chased the cats, chewed up a phone cord, hassled a rooster after being told to leave it (turd) - just generally annoyed the crap out of me by doing everything she knows not to do and never normally does. Shes had more than enough exercise today both mental and physical so I have given her a HUGE bone and hoe that she will rack off and snap out of it later or tomorrow. And you know what? She always does.

Just dont react to it - yeah I know, I have smacked her in the side of the head at least 30 times inside my head virtually today LOL but ignored in IRL ))))


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## Spazmelda (Jan 27, 2013)

I'd bet than any animal with some degree of higher reasoning and emotions can have bad days. 

I know the dog that lives next door to us seems to. 9 times out of 10 she is as happy as a puppy when I bring my dog over to play, but that 1 time she's not she snaps a growls and basically lets Lenny know that she's not happy he's there and does not want to play. Otherwise she's as sweet and playful as can be. Who knows what the difference is? Maybe she just wakes up on the wrong side of the bed. 

My dog is hardly ever grumpy, but some days he is more rambunctious and crazy. On those days he will nip and tear around the house, pull on the leash, and just generally be a PITA. Then he'll be back to his normal self the next day.


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## Hambonez (Mar 17, 2012)

There are definitely days when I'm glad I taught Hamilton so many commands so that I can sell him to the circus. He's just naughty sometimes. Some days I know because he needs more exercise (like if it's rained days in a row -- he doesn't play great inside and there's only so much training I can do in a day), some days there's just a bee in his butt and nothing I do is good enough for him. Fortunately it isn't every day.


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## sharpei (Mar 15, 2013)

dogs definitely have off days. I have seen dogs that normally focus so well in class just completely disregard the session as if they don't have a clue whats going on around them. dogs that normally can hold a stay through the peanutbutter test (roll an open jar of peanut butter past them as a temptation) break a stay to go sniff a bag of cat litter randomly. as well as dogs that have never had anything resembling a bad interaction with another dog just decide they don't want attention from a dog they already know.

so yeah dont panic just like you or me we all have our good days, our normal days, and our off days.


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## Amaryllis (Dec 28, 2011)

I know I do!

Kabota does, too. I've trained him to ignore rabbits and cats while on walks, but some days, he just has to try to go after all the critters. The next day, he's normal again.


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## Abbylynn (Jul 7, 2011)

I firmly believe they do! Lol!


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## MrsBoats (May 20, 2010)

Oh yes...I have had days where I would have loved to stick my dog(s) on the side of the road with a FREE sign around their necks.  LOL

No worries...they have off days as do we.


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## lisahi (Jun 19, 2011)

I think they do.

Coco will have "grumpy" days where she just doesn't want to deal with my other dog, Lucky (who, admittedly, can be a bit annoying). Today is one of those days. Then Coco will have "I forgot all my training and good behavior" days where she'll run around the house grabbing pillows and whipping them about, chewing on the couch, play-attacking Lucky by jumping on him full force, and stealing the remote/my shoes/anything within reach and running around the house hoping I'll chase her.


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## DJEtzel (Dec 28, 2009)

Oh yeah. The last night of a CGC class that I was teaching was a few days ago... One of the students was usually super well behaved; one of the best in her class... But this last class (during the CGC mock test) she was terrible and was really having an off day. I had a helper be my "neutral stranger" for meetings and supervised separation, and he gave the most negative feedback to her, which was only true from that class. Normally she walked great on a leash and didn't jump or get distracted, but from everything he saw... she ranked nowhere near the top!

So yes, dogs definitely have off days!


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## Rowdy (Sep 2, 2007)

Oh absolutely. Occasionally one or both of my dogs will randomly go deaf. They cannot hear even one command, much less follow it. The next day they will amazingly have regained their hearing.


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## Cotonlove (Jan 29, 2012)

LOL!!!! You all have made MY day with your stories!!! Today she has slept nearly the entire day, has been good as gold. Now I am thinking she was just acting like a tired toddler yesterday! So glad to be able to vent to you folks who understand!
Thank you!!!


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## MusherChic (Nov 6, 2010)

I definitely think so. I know my sled dogs have days where they just don't feel like being sled dog. 

I just wish my super hyper dogs would have "off" days and take a break from being their usual ADHD squirrel-hopped-up-on-Redbull selves and sit still for 5 minutes...like on bath day. -_-

Ah well, one can dream... XD lol


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## sassafras (Jun 22, 2010)

Oh heck yes.


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## KBLover (Sep 9, 2008)

Cotonlove said:


> My dog is almost a year and a half now. She will go weeks being so good and then she has a horrible day ....like today! She acts like she has never heard the word "off", she barks at everything, pulls on her leash like crazy and just generally is being a twit. Right now she is sound asleep but I was just wondering.....is this normal????:frusty:


Yes. 

No organic living thing is static from day-to-day. I'm a believer in biorhythms or just "on" and "off" days. I also believe dogs have moods and mood swings. Sometimes, Wally is flying around ready to pounce and play and sometimes he's a lazy bum LOL. Sometimes, he on point with his shaping, and sometimes I feel like we're going back to the basics. Sometimes, he's determined to throw ANYTHING on the ground, no matter what. Sometimes, he things sitting is the answer to life and he'll just do it and 50 different positions and ways. It happens.


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## GoodDog! (Mar 30, 2013)

Yes, and sometimes it can seem like they have "Off days" more than "On days" . It could be that your dog is trying to get your attention. If that's the case you have to be careful not to create a conditioned response to where your dog learns that if she behaves badly, you give her attention.


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