[DANIMDECKER]

Hey all. I have 3 issues. They all entail the same action, but in three different situations. I know each situation has probably got its own way to be handled so here goes:

Action: Jumping, pulling on leash, and nipping

Situation 1 - If you were to come to my home, my 30 lb puppy would greet you at the door happily and then start jumping on you. As you walk up our stairs to the living room, he would run ahead a couple of stairs then jump on you some more. You would get to the living room and sit on the sofa. He would jump the sofa arm and land in your lap. Now you would think that once you had been there for awhile he would give up. No. After about 15 minutes you would go to the kitchen to get a drink and he would follow, nipping at your feet, grabbing your legs with his paws and jumping to nip your hands. Don't know how to deal with this

Situation 2 - Same as 1 but he does it all the time to me, my husband, and son. If you are carrying anything he will jump at your hands and nip to try and take it. He will follow at your feet, nipping and grabbing. If you go to swat him on the nose, which I'm sorry to say I've done many times, he jumps back and then comes back at you like you're playing a game.

Situation 3 - On leash, if he sees a person or another dog, he begins pulling, barking, growling, whining, etc. He sound and acts very aggressive. However, once I ask the person if their dog is friendly or if we can say hello, he immediately runs over and...rolls over on his belly for the other dog or person. Very submissive which is what's so weird about his behavior beforehand. I know he will play with the other dog and generally be sweet but I have no idea how to get him to calmly walk over and greet people and dogs.

Sorry for the long post, but I'm at my wits end. I can't even clean the house without him nipping at my heels, and my son simply gets up to leave the room and is attacked. Any help please. He is actually very sweet and doesn't seem aggressive, but this particular activity he has come to enjoy is too much.

Oh, just in case someone here has a clue on this one: he also has a habit of taking your things and running off with them: Shoes, laundry, trash, toys. Big game for him. Any tips on nipping that in the bud would be wonderful too. It's like living with a strong destructive 2 year old~LOL

 

[NozOnyCalAur]

Great info in the sticky: The Bite Stops Here, about how to stop the nipping or mouthing. It does take several days, but it works and everyone needs to be on board with it. I had a devil of a time explaining to my 11 year old son how important it was to ignore the puppy when she mouthed his hands or feet. There is a sticky about Be A Tree. Use the Be A Tree method to stop the dog from pulling. If he pulls, stand still and look up until there is slack in the leash. It takes time.

As for the dog barking, growling, whining, I suggest working on a sit/stay, and using a smelly treat or toy to get the dog's attention back to yourself.

 

[Nil]

How much exercise and training is he getting daily? He sounds like a young, rambuctious, under stimulated puppy with no boundaries.

First, no hitting. That's just bad for everyone, especially because you are a role model and you don't want to teach your kids that hitting animals is acceptable. At least, I hope you don't want to teach that.

Jumping: Get a chicken breast and boil it or cook it with some garlic. Shred it up into tiny pieces. Or just get some other yummy treat, something good. If he jumps on you ignore him, look at the ceiling silently and turn around. Once all four paws hit the ground you say "Good boy!" and give him a piece of chicken. Repeat. Repeat. Repeat. Make everyone do this. If you don't have treats on you at some point and he jumps up then look at the ceiling, turn around, when all four hit the floor, say "Wow good job!" and run over to where there is food with him and hand him a piece. Be diligent. If he jumps up he gets nothing, no attention, no yelling, no hitting. Yelling and hitting are attention. He only gets rubs, pats, toys, food, etc. when he has all four feet on the floor. Do not let other people let him jump up. Some people think it’s cute and will encourage it but you politely say “No, we are teaching him he can’t jump up so please don’t encourage him”.

Nipping: Have a toy nearby. Keep one in your pocket, one in every room. If he nips you, you say “Ouch!” and all fun ends. You fold your arms, look at the ceiling, you stay still and uninteresting. No talking. After a moment you pull out a toy and let him play with you with an appropriate toy. If he nips and you ignore him and he keeps antagonizing you (biting your pants, shoes) then leave the room and shut the door behind you. Nipping means all fun ends. Come back in a minute and play with a toy or do some quick training.

Pulling: Allowing your dog to go crazy seeing another dog then rewarding him for that by letting him meet that other dog is completely backwards. He just got rewarded for going crazy because he got to meet that other dog. Teach "Look at that" to try and get his attention back to you. Teaching him its ok to look but not ok to lunge, bark, pull, etc. Teach him to walk on a loose leash. Keep treats on you on your walks. Constantly ask yourself, "is he pulling?". If yes, then walk in the opposite direction. Is the leash slack? REWARD!

This may be helpful (her other videos are good too): Loose Leash Walking

Does he know sit and stay? Go to mat? These are really beneficial tings to teach a dog and are things that may save his life one day. I would suggest taking up clicker training and doing it for 5 min 3x a day. It’s great because he will learn useful life skills, you will get to bond better with him in a positive way, he will learn to listen to you, and you will be mentally working that mind of his so he gets into less trouble.

 

[DANIMDECKER]

Thanks so much for the advise. Your absolutely right about spanking. It's not something I want to do. When it does happen it's because he biting my feet or something and you know, your instinct is to swat it away. I will definitely read the links and also try the chicken. One question for Nil: I was doing clicker training and it was working but only if I had the clicker in my hand. If I give a command without the clicker he won't do it. It's now to the point where he will NOT come unless there's a clicker or a treat. How do I fix that. By the way, I really mean he won't do it. Just to get him to go outside to potty, I have to rattle the doorknob and open and close the door. Otherwise he will NOT come. Any suggestions? Was I doing it wrong? Thanks.

 

[volito]

Some great advise given keep everything in your toolbox until you find what works but give each one a chance it takes time . As for clicker sounds like dog and clicker where classically conditions dog associated click treat which is good but dog needs to know that it's behavior or action created the click. You say sit dog sits and as soon as behind hits floor you click reward. It's like taking a picture of what you want "capturing the action or behavior" this way dog knows its his behavior that is creating the click.

As for coming home and any initial greetings when you come into room with dog always ignore the dog no talk eye contact until dog calms down do this for a week or two to teach dog coming and goIng is no big deal. Only give attention when dog is calm and went on his own way. You can also teach dog to get a toy when you come home then dog will get toy in his mouth everytime you come home and just do the happy dance waiting for you to initate contact.

Some more to add to tool box

 

[Nil]

I’m not sure how you use the clicker or how you taught it, but I agree with Volito in that you somehow trained the dog that the behavior/action isn’t what created that click. Here is a video going over it. Is this what you taught him?
Clicker Training Intro

As for the coming when called you need to teach him come means come. This is another of Kikopup’s videos about training a recall: Training a Recall

Keep in mind there are a lot of great positive trainers on YouTube but I mainly reference Kikopup just because she explains the things she does and how to do it with multiple dog temperaments. But if you Google or YouTube these things they should come up. Just be aware of any trainers that use force or compulsion or fear. You can train a dog like that, but I don’t necessarily agree with those methods. Up to you and what you feel comfortable with though.


Also, management. You need to control this dog’s environment so he can’t choose to misbehave. For example, if he is tearing through the house grabbing stuff and running around, he is being rewarded because he gets the satisfaction of burning off energy, having fun, getting chased, etc. Put a leash on him and tie the other end of the leash around your belt. This way you are forced to watch him at all times. He can’t run away when you say come, he can’t steal stuff, etc. You are there to distract him with a toy or use a piece of chicken to get him to do a quick sit. When you aren’t there or can’t watch him then put him in a crate or x-pen. Otherwise you need to be on top of him and his behavior. You need to reward with food or play when he does right and ignore/manage/train away the things he does wrong.

A “go to mat” command would be useful for him to learn too. If you are carrying groceries in you can just say “go to mat” and he will find his bed and lie down and wait to be released. This might take some time but you can start and he should have it within the week if you have been working at it every day 3-4 times a day in short 4-5 min sessions. Start slow and small. Go To Mat


One the same token, these things to help calm him down won’t work if he isn’t getting the physical and mental exercise he needs. He can’t “got to mat” for 3 hours if he hasn’t been outside at all during the day. You need to allow him to burn off excess energy. Grab some treats and some fun toys (buy a new toy, something fun that he will only get when he is with you outside!) and take a long line outside. Put him on the long line (preferably with a harness just in case he hits the end of the line). Let him sniff and wander around. When he starts looking bored call his name and make some kissy sounds, start walking away, when he runs to catch up say “Yaaay! Pup-pup-puppy!” and give him a bit of chicken or that new toy to play with and tug with it a little. You’re allowing him to burn off some energy, sniff around, and do some fun recall type training. Keep it simple and short and really fun. Buy some food toys to feed some of his meal in. They help to make the dog think, makes their meals last more than 4 seconds, and allows him to burn off a little more energy rolling around a ball or toy to get food out.


These are some of the things I would start with. Basically, to sum up, reward when he does good things, ignore/manage when he does undesirable things, spend more time training, and get him plenty of outdoor exercise (not forced running though. No jogging/biking at his age. Let him start/stop when he wants - that is why a long line is nice to give him some freedom while you are still under control)

Edit: For the treat thing, start fading (only start fading if he is reliably obeying your command with a treat in your hand). Don't make it hard though. For example, have treats in your hand and say "sit", when he sits, treat. Do this 5 more times. On the 6th time say "sit" without a treat in your hand, if he sits, treat. If not, lure with your empty hand, when he sits, treat. Eventually he will learn that "I will still get paid even if the treat isn't there right now". After he is reliably sitting without food in your hand put some food in a bowl on a table. Come back to that area and call him over. Say "sit" and if he sits quickly grab a treat from the bowl and give it to him. If he doesn't sit then lure him with your empty hand and when he sits treat him. If he blows you off completely and walks away, you went too far too fast. Go back to food in your hand. Back to no food in your hand. Then try doing it with food on the table.

Does that make sense?

 

[xxxxdogdragoness]

How much exercise and training is he getting daily? He sounds like a young, rambuctious, under stimulated puppy with no boundaries.

First, no hitting. That's just bad for everyone, especially because you are a role model and you don't want to teach your kids that hitting animals is acceptable. At least, I hope you don't want to teach that.

Jumping: Get a chicken breast and boil it or cook it with some garlic. Shred it up into tiny pieces. Or just get some other yummy treat, something good. If he jumps on you ignore him, look at the ceiling silently and turn around. Once all four paws hit the ground you say "Good boy!" and give him a piece of chicken. Repeat. Repeat. Repeat. Make everyone do this. If you don't have treats on you at some point and he jumps up then look at the ceiling, turn around, when all four hit the floor, say "Wow good job!" and run over to where there is food with him and hand him a piece. Be diligent. If he jumps up he gets nothing, no attention, no yelling, no hitting. Yelling and hitting are attention. He only gets rubs, pats, toys, food, etc. when he has all four feet on the floor. Do not let other people let him jump up. Some people think it’s cute and will encourage it but you politely say “No, we are teaching him he can’t jump up so please don’t encourage him”.

Nipping: Have a toy nearby. Keep one in your pocket, one in every room. If he nips you, you say “Ouch!” and all fun ends. You fold your arms, look at the ceiling, you stay still and uninteresting. No talking. After a moment you pull out a toy and let him play with you with an appropriate toy. If he nips and you ignore him and he keeps antagonizing you (biting your pants, shoes) then leave the room and shut the door behind you. Nipping means all fun ends. Come back in a minute and play with a toy or do some quick training.

Pulling: Allowing your dog to go crazy seeing another dog then rewarding him for that by letting him meet that other dog is completely backwards. He just got rewarded for going crazy because he got to meet that other dog. Teach "Look at that" to try and get his attention back to you. Teaching him its ok to look but not ok to lunge, bark, pull, etc. Teach him to walk on a loose leash. Keep treats on you on your walks. Constantly ask yourself, "is he pulling?". If yes, then walk in the opposite direction. Is the leash slack? REWARD!

This may be helpful (her other videos are good too): Loose Leash Walking

Does he know sit and stay? Go to mat? These are really beneficial tings to teach a dog and are things that may save his life one day. I would suggest taking up clicker training and doing it for 5 min 3x a day. It’s great because he will learn useful life skills, you will get to bond better with him in a positive way, he will learn to listen to you, and you will be mentally working that mind of his so he gets into less trouble.

This is good advice right here, I can attest that these methods work not only on my own dogs but on my OH's friends 6 mon old pup as well .