ask for permission

1043 Views 5 Replies 3 Participants Last post by lmm9607, Apr 28, 2009

lmm9607

Discussion Starter · Apr 27, 2009

hi everyone. i would like to train my puppy to ask for permission before jumping on the couch, bed, etc... i do not oppose the dog being on the couch or bed, but i do not want her to automatically do this behavior. ideally, i would like for her to sit when she wants to jump up on something.

can anyone suggest a method to make this happen? also, i would like for her to stop jumping on kitchen cabinets, chairs, etc... and would like to start that training as well. frankly, i have been asking her to sit before jumping on the couch, and it seems to be working ok, but what should i do when she already has her paws up on the couch? my method is as follows: she approaches the couch and puts her paws up, i say sit and she does, then i say up and bring her up on the couch. today i started giving her the sit command when i see her paws on the couch, and give her a treat for doing it. then, i say "up" and simply pet her, but not let her on the couch. then, sit again and treat. is this a good idea? and how should i approach it when i DON'T want her on the couch at all, and she comes and sits for me, asking to jump? i hate to see her just staring at me waiting for the up command

i am clicker training her, and she's a really fast learner, but i feel like i should start her on this one before she can physically be able to fully jump up on the couch. further, i am looking for positive reinforcement methods, as it's how i've been training her with amazing results. thanks everyone!

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Dog Tracks

· #2 · Apr 27, 2009

In regards to the furniture, think of the problem this way: Where do I want her? It's a lot easier for a dog to think in terms what we want, rather than what we don't want.

My solution to the same problem was to put a pillow-bad in the family room just for Mabel. It's just classical condidtioning: Whenever she got on the pillow, she got a treat. After a few days I added the word "Pillow" when giving her the treat. By the end of the week all I had to say was "pillow" and she'd run to her pillow-bed.

Her pillow bed is her "default" spot. She has to be there whenever we're eating, when people come to the door (three barks then on her pillow), when we don't want her under foot, etc.

This way, when you don't want your dog on the sofa, you just say "pillow" (or whatever cue-word you want) and she knows what you want. I suspect that when you pat the sofa with your hand and say "Jump up!", she'll know you're inviting her on the sofa.

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Dog Tracks

· #5 · Apr 27, 2009

lmm9607 said:
this is a peculiar situation for me, because i've been training her to do just that, and it worked great. however, she now thinks that everytime she goes to the bed, i'm going to treat. as a result, she gets upset when i don't give her one. i'm wondering if this will go away with conditioning, or am i teaching her to beg? she's learned that when she goes down into a settle position (down with head down) i treat. but now it's turned into a begging situation, even though i do pet/praise also to vary it up. maybe i'm just being impatient? or going about this the wrong way? thanks. awesome to know that worked for you. i've started that too. thanks so much.

I think the general rule of thumb (at least what worked for us) was to substitute praise/pet for the treat, but then randomly give her a treat. I'd guess that we treat once every 10 or 15 times. Keeps her guessing and motivated that "this might be the time!" But what's probably happening is more "force of habit". She's gotten so used to going to her pillow that she doesn't really think about it anymore...or expect a treat for it. Yeah, right NOT.

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