Jumping, Lead Pulling And Excitement Issues

[tanstaff]

Ok well the issue is that around me and most times other people my dog is super obedient; sit, stay, come, leave, your general commands. However as soon as someone else arrives, and it is usually certain people, he goes absolutely insane. He runs at people and jumps onto them which really gets my blood boiling and he cannot for the life of him sit still. I can still tell him to sit but he keeps moving his bum as if its on fire. This is usually followed by a lot of yelping and such. I mean i know he is excited but it is way to much and i do not want him jumping on anyone at all.

Not only this but when i take him out he is good until we get near say a cafe or something and he starts to pull which i hate as he is very strong and it is embarrassing. The other thing i noticed is that when its just me and him he will respond to a firm no and in a way realise what he has done wrong but when he is excited it is like he is ignoring me and will usually try and play by pouncing and barking. Cheeky bugger!!

Please help!!

[Salukifan]

1. Put your dog on lead when guests arrive. That way you can control his behaviour and he can't reach guests.

2. Do you attend a regular dog training class? If not, I suggest you start - these are the kinds of behaviours a good pet dog training class (or private lessons) can focus on.

[tanstaff]

I took him to obedient school for a while though i didn't continue it as it focused more on commands then behavior.

I cant put him on the lead but will this teach him or just restrain him?

[Salukifan]

I took him to obedient school for a while though i didn't continue it as it focused more on commands then behavior.

I cant put him on the lead but will this teach him or just restrain him?

It will restrain him... and allow you to control his behaviour while you modify it. In the interim, your guests won't be wearing him.

Can you explain a bit more what you mean by focussing on 'commands' rather than behaviour. If your dog will hold a 'sit' while guests arrive and while they pat him, that's his UNWANTED behaviour modified.

If your dog REALLY knew "sit", "stay" and "walk on a loose lead" , all of the issues you describe in your first post would be under control.

"No" doesn't tell your dog what you want. I really doubt your dog realises what he's done wrong. All he'll know is that you are unhappy with him. I think its generally easier to replace unwanted behaviour with desired behaviour than to simply tell them "no".

I would suggest your dog needs more self control, a few more boundaries and a bit more respect for you and obedience training will help with all of that.

Edited March 13, 2012 by Telida Whippets

[**Super_Dogs**]

I took him to obedient school for a while though i didn't continue it as it focused more on commands then behavior.

Obedience schools do focus on commands related to formal obedience and yes these commands may seem like it has any real purpose - but I think you are missing the other valuable things obedience class provides that does shape behaviour.

- How to focus and work with distractions

- Practice meeting new dogs and people

- Developing consistency in your training method

- You dogs understanding that they always must do what you ask - not when they choose to

In my opinions training in your yard is not enough - especially with an excitable dogs. I have trained many dogs and know what I am doing but I always still take my puppies and dogs to a training class. Teaching your dog to do something in your yard is one thing, but getting them to do this in an environment with distractions is another. If you cannot get to a training class you need to practice in different environments. Start in a location with a small amount of distraction and activity and work up to a location with alot of distractions and activity. You need you dog to be able to focus on you no matter what is going on.

[tanstaff]

this i know but without knowing what the school i took him to offered i would probably keep conclusions to a minimum. All we concentrated on was walking and turning, and my dog was consistently distracted, falling behind and the trainers offered no help. I was there for a while and i put up with it but by the end of it i felt it was not a good training program and i am entitled to my opinion i guess. I did search for other schools but they were a little further than i would have like and i didn't get back into it unfortunately as i had planned. Yes a proper obedience school and or a personal trainer will most likely solve the problem, i know this, however this is not what i am asking. I want to hear from people who train from home and have a few suggestions about how to handle these issues and what methods used in doing so. Buddy1, i agree with you completely this is why i took him to school in the first place even though i felt home training was best. A lot of the excitement i feel is with age but what throws me is that it is only certain people who excite him the most.

Telida, to clarify my issue more i would say that he does listen when guests are around. I can tell him to sit and stay, or go back to his kennel however it is when they call him over to play that he will usually go from sitting to sprinting with a big leap at the end. I meant to say 'can' not 'can't' put him on the lead, and i explained what i meant about commands as opposed to behavior earlier on but essentially i felt as though it was about everyone copying the trainers moves, however no attention was payed to those dogs who were distracted. I can honestly say i could not get my dog to focus. He was fine with the other dogs but he would continuously pull in the other direction trying to chew on the grass, this has since changed. I guess what i am trying to say is that he doesn't know that he can play a little rough sometimes in terms of jumping and trying to sit on guests feet or lean on them whilst they are standing. Though i must be clear that this is only when he is called to play and if he gets rough i will have to stand in and ask him to go back to his kennel in which case he listens. As for public walking yes this is a problem and i will have to try and mix him more.

Hope this makes more sense

Thanks for the help

[sheena]

What tricks do you do with him??? Do you do any clicker/treat training with him??. Do you know how to "shape" his behavour using a clicker??? Have you heard of the LAT Game (Look At That) Game. Do a search on this forum & quite a bit will come up about it. You can't expect an instructor to work miricles with your dog when they have so many other students. You go to training, so you can then go home & practice at home, in the park, down the street, wherever. Too many people take their dogs to training once in a while, or every week, then forget about it again till next time, without doing their homework, then blame the instructor or the school Take a look at LAT & get into shaping.

[**Super_Dogs**]

Sounds like you need to work on focus. The key to focus is to build value for you!!

I agree with Sheena's receommendation. Clicker training, LAT, Tricks and shaping.

The great thing about teaching tricks as it builds value for you as you will be providing rewards. Rewards can be treats or games or both - whatever you dog likes. A really easy one to start with that has high reward intake is hand touches.

As you cannot get to a training class, don't forget to practice in different locations.

[megan_]

When he does focus on you - even for a second - what do you do? How do you reward him to let him know that focus = good?

Have you tried the Triangle of Temptation (ToT) posted on the top of training?

I also hold out a treat with my arm extended out to my side. Dog looks at treat. You say and do nothing. Dog gets frustrated and looks at you with WTF? expression. The instant the dog looks at you "yes" and then give a treat from your other hand (treats in pocket/on counter etc). The dog will quickly learn that looking at you earns the treat, not looking at other things.

I'm in the process of training my two to run to their crates when the door bells go (they do this on command with "crate time!" but I want it to be automatic). They know once they're in, they have to wait to be released. Maybe try training something similar (using baby, baby steps)? In the meantime, keeping on a leash or in a crate is a good idea.

With respect to the school, a lot of schools around are very old fashioed and don't train with motivation in mind. Find somewhere that sees your dog's enthusiasm and outgoing nature as a bonus and harnesses it!

ETA: LAT is fantastic too! I have a reactive dog that was in a park full of kids yesterday and she remained calm and focused on me (before anyone jumps, she was a safe distance away from the kidlets at all times). I trained it without a clicker - just "who's that" and shoved a treat in her mouth.

Edited March 13, 2012 by megan_

[Red Fox]

I cant put him on the lead but will this teach him or just restrain him?

Depends. You can use a leash to restrain the dog and create opposition reflex (ie you pull back he pulls forward) OR you can use the leash to control the dog whilst teaching an alternate behaviour - dog lunges > dog gets corrected > dog is calm > dog gets rewarded.

Either way, dog does not get to jump all over guests.

this i know but without knowing what the school i took him to offered i would probably keep conclusions to a minimum. All we concentrated on was walking and turning, and my dog was consistently distracted, falling behind and the trainers offered no help. I was there for a while and i put up with it but by the end of it i felt it was not a good training program and i am entitled to my opinion i guess. I did search for other schools but they were a little further than i would have like and i didn't get back into it unfortunately as i had planned. Yes a proper obedience school and or a personal trainer will most likely solve the problem, i know this, however this is not what i am asking. I want to hear from people who train from home and have a few suggestions about how to handle these issues and what methods used in doing so. Buddy1, i agree with you completely this is why i took him to school in the first place even though i felt home training was best. A lot of the excitement i feel is with age but what throws me is that it is only certain people who excite him the most.

Telida, to clarify my issue more i would say that he does listen when guests are around. I can tell him to sit and stay, or go back to his kennel however it is when they call him over to play that he will usually go from sitting to sprinting with a big leap at the end. I meant to say 'can' not 'can't' put him on the lead, and i explained what i meant about commands as opposed to behavior earlier on but essentially i felt as though it was about everyone copying the trainers moves, however no attention was payed to those dogs who were distracted. I can honestly say i could not get my dog to focus. He was fine with the other dogs but he would continuously pull in the other direction trying to chew on the grass, this has since changed. I guess what i am trying to say is that he doesn't know that he can play a little rough sometimes in terms of jumping and trying to sit on guests feet or lean on them whilst they are standing. Though i must be clear that this is only when he is called to play and if he gets rough i will have to stand in and ask him to go back to his kennel in which case he listens. As for public walking yes this is a problem and i will have to try and mix him more.

Hope this makes more sense

Thanks for the help

Personally I'd be crating the dog when those 'certain people' came over. Sounds like your guests could do with a little training too. Try asking them to ignore the dog completely and see what happens. ;)

[Salukifan]

Personally I'd be crating the dog when those 'certain people' came over. Sounds like your guests could do with a little training too. Try asking them to ignore the dog completely and see what happens. ;)

Yep, sounds like your guests need some training too. :laugh:

Perhaps a few private lessons, focussing on what YOU want to work on, would be the go.

I'm sure someone here can recommend a good trainer in your area.

[tanstaff]

Sheena i haven't and i am certainly not blaming the instructor. I realise that class size is a factor when it comes to individual support however this is the case at this certain school and i didnt like it. Nothing personal just reality, you definitely get what you pay for. There was no expectations i just felt that it wasn't working for both of us. School was only an hour every sunday so the onus was on me to try my best for at least 10 minutes a day. I feel as if we're jumping to conclusions again and subtracting from the purpose of this discussion. Thank you for your advice on LAT i will definitely look into it.

Dog does not get to jump on guests i agree 100% what sort of things can i do when this happens to single out this behavior and show him that it is wrong?

Thanks for the other suggestions they are much appreciated i will research them and give them a shot.

[Nekhbet]

If you're near Geelong I have a behavioral school ;)

[Weasels]

Rather than showing your dog that what he's doing is wrong you need to show your dog the behaviour you want instead. A very basic example of how it works is say for example your dog runs to the front door and barks every time someone rings the doorbell, instead of saying "no" or however you let your dog know you don't like what he's doing, teach him to go to his bed and lay down quietly when the doorbell rings. He can't do both of those things at the same time so he will do the behaviour you've taught instead of the one you don't like. If your dog leaps on people when they excitedly call him over to play you need to work on teaching him how to approach people calmly and teach your guests to be calm when they call him. You can't expect a young dog to react calmly and sensibly to someone who is excited in tone or action and essentially egging him on.

Depending on your doorbell set-up, one option is to get a couple of cheap bunnings doorbells and set one up outside, and set the second one to the same frequency and leave it somewhere you walk past a lot. Then randomly set off the doorbell but ignore the dog when it starts up. Once the dog is a bit less crazy about the chime, you can start making it the cue to go to mat/crate/do handstands/whatever.

Then slowly add distraction, starting with someone who has just left the room coming back in, then a new but familiar person, then 2 ppl, a stranger etc. Plus you can add duration :)

[tanstaff]

Ok awesome, ive read a bit about positive reinforcement and i do see its benefits however i fail to understand how one can link the desired behaviour with the negative behaviour. Ok so my main problem is jumping when called over. Now if he was to jump on someone instead of telling him no and showing him im serious with my tone, which works at the time but it does not stop him from doing it the next time, what should i do? Call him over to play? How does he make the connection between the bad behaviour and the playing will he not just think of it as more fun?

[Kavik]

What about teaching him to sit when he gets to the person who calls him? That way he learns what to do to get what he wants (come when called, sit) and he keeps all feet on the floor and doesn't jump on people. (by the way, that is what is required in obedience classes). And sit every time before he gets patted, no pats if he is overexcited and jumping. This is where having him on lead helps (so you can prevent him from visiting if he is overexcited and can get him to sit, and prevent him from jumping), and you need to explain to people what you are trying to do, otherwise (from experience) people will let him jump up and razz him up when patting him. Tell people to only pat him when you say so, when he is sitting, to pat him calmly and low enough so that he is not going to want to jump.

Edited March 14, 2012 by Kavik

[megan_]

This is where time witha trainer 1:1 can help. The thing with positive re-inforcement is that you need to get in BEFORE he jumps on anyone, which is where the lead and taking teeny tiny steps helps. This is where "Look at That" is really powerful. I have a fear aggressive dog that can be around people and not react if we play "Look at that". Once a dog is beyond the threshold (eg jumping) it is too late to then try and contain things (of course you must correct him, but he's still getting the fun of jumping on someone and it sounds like that is outweighing the correction).

I'm teaching my two an alternative behaviour, My boy is great and doesn't jump on people but my girl is fear aggressive and territorial - she goes in her crate when people visit. She takes queues from him so I'm teaching them both to go to their crates when visitors come over.

To give you an idea of what I'm doing with my two:

Desired outcome: Doorbell rings, dogs run to crates straight away, they don't come out until I release them.

What my dogs already know: When I say "crate time" they run to their crates straight away. They also know their release word ("play). If your dog doesn't know these things then you teach these first.

What happens when people come over and we haven't got the training 100% yet? I say "crate time" they go to their crates and I lock the naughty one in! This way, they aren't getting rewarded for naughty behavious when people come over (at the moment, your boy is being rewarded by jumping on people. It is a lot of fun!).

How I'm training it:

i) I got a doorbell from bunnings and removed my current one (so that people have to knock for the moment). I have the doorbell inside. I ring it, say crate time, they run to their crates, reward, reward, reward, release. Yay! They think this is the best game ever. I keep it light and fun. When we've got this down pat I'll move to step 2.

ii) I'll try ringing the doorbell and not saying "crate time". If they run to their crates, they have got the connection that door bell = run to crate. If they do this there will be lots and lots of rewards, good dogs, omg-you're-so-smart, big party time. If not, we go back to step 1. We'll play this game lots of times.

iii) Then I'll get someone who is very neutral and listens to my instructions. I'll get them to ring the doorbell, but not come in. If they run to their crates, rewards etc. If not, we go back to Step 2, no big deal. Repeat playing this lots of times, remember it is a game and must be fun for your dog. This game will be better than jumping on people.

iv) Then we'll have someone enter the house! If they run to their crates I'll reward them with an entire meal. I'll release them once the person has left (I think). Then only release them when the person is there.

This might seem like a lot of work but we're really talking about 1-2 mins per day over a few weeks/maybe months. It also teaches your dog self control and helps wear him out.

[tanstaff]

That is very interesting stuff, i took him to a gated park today to let him off the lead and try some training techniques however i had a lot of trouble with distraction. It was loose lead walking the entire way to the park without any pulling or sniffing. Arrived at the gate, sit-stay proceeding to walk in about 20 meters before calling him in. He ran straight in after his ball which i had thrown but he did not stop, ignoring the ball and sniffing/eating grass. At this stage it was very hard to call him back as he would ignore me until i was right beside him. Why does he ignore me in this setting? He will not stop sniffing and eating the grass... odd.

[Kavik]

That is very interesting stuff, i took him to a gated park today to let him off the lead and try some training techniques however i had a lot of trouble with distraction. It was loose lead walking the entire way to the park without any pulling or sniffing. Arrived at the gate, sit-stay proceeding to walk in about 20 meters before calling him in. He ran straight in after his ball which i had thrown but he did not stop, ignoring the ball and sniffing/eating grass. At this stage it was very hard to call him back as he would ignore me until i was right beside him. Why does he ignore me in this setting? He will not stop sniffing and eating the grass... odd.

Because the park is a very interesting/distracting environment :) you may need to work up to keeping his attention with lots of distractions.

[Weasels]

What Kavik said - you can't see it but the park is a wonderland of new and exciting smells! Some dogs have trouble hearing and smelling at the same time :D Investing in a long line should help.

E: by analogy, it's a bit like asking someone to study for an exam in a shopping mall. It can be done, but you'll need to lower your expectations of how much you'll get done. And the more you've covered the material at home, the easier it gets under distraction :)

Edited March 14, 2012 by Weasels