Fellow Dog Owners......I need some assistance please

  • Thread starter Thread starter shannyk
  • Start date Start date
Status
Not open for further replies.
Thanks everyone for the replies:)

I should clarify for poor Leo’s sake:o I think I made him out to be a monster:o

He’s not a problem dog at all. He has been a breeze to train in basic obedience. He is well versed in sit, stay, down, off, give paw, roll over, sit pretty, go get it, bring it, come, leave it, go to your room (crate) and go to your bed. I crate trained him from the day I brought him home, he sleeps just fine all night no whining or barking EVER in the crate, and he rings his bell like a charm to go out and potty in his ‘spot’. He’s is walked 3x daily 30 each, and he plays outside with the kids basically until dark every night, so he does get plenty of exercise, and we do set up obstacles and hide things for him in the yard. I’m very confident that he is adequately exercised and stimulated.

The ONLY problem he has is this jumping when people come over. It’s like all he has learned about off sit and stay go out the window because the excitement just takes over.

Everyone had great suggestions, and I am going to look into a better obedience class tomorrow. I am going to instruct everyone who comes in here tomorrow about the knee thing and arm them with treats, so we will see how fast he takes to that. There is no $$ for a trainer to come to my house though…what they charge is ridiculous especially considering he’s well trained except for this one issue. I’m also going to call my friend that I got him from since he really knows his stuff when it comes to GSP’s and still owns Leo’s parents and two of his litter mates. Actually, I think I’ll take Leo over there to play this weekend:thumbsup:

I think the field trial suggestion is a great one too thanks:) I should have thought of that. I wonder if AKC heads up any doggie activities or agility type competitions for non showing PB dogs. I should look. That would be a great thing for DD to get involved with too.👍
 
Well, what I’ve done has worked for our Shiba Inu,
Click to expand...
Awwwwwwww I’m jealous now. I LOVE Shiba Inu’s they’re just so adorable!!! How are they with kids?
 
shannyk said:
The ONLY problem he has is this jumping when people come over. It’s like all he has learned about off sit and stay go out the window because the excitement just takes over.
Click to expand...
I think one thing to consider is training to turn off ANY kind of excitable behavior, (not just the jumping.)

That seems to be one of the things the dog whisperer is big on: being able to keep your dog from getting into an overly excited state because that’s usually when they stop listening to you.
 
I have had big dogs in the past… Dobbies, Rottie mix, and a 160lb Great Dane that thought he was a lap dog!! My successful and very persistant training went like this.

– Raising the knee idea… yes.

– Coins in a shakecan… yes.

– Obedience classes… yes… with mixed results.

– Gently touching the dogs back feet with your feet when they jump up… yes… very effective. They think something is behind them and get down immediately and eventually learn not to jump at all.

The best one… worked instanly with the Great Dane.

A type of harness that goes around the back legs and runs up the belly and attaches to his collar. When they try to jump up and extend their neck, the harness pulls on the back legs and does not allow them to “stand-up”. If you can’t find it at a Petsmart type store there should be someplace on-line that has speciality items. Hope this helps.

Paul
 
You can squeeze the front paws when they jump, not hard enough to really hurt them, but enough to make it uncomfortable for them. This works really well with a lot of dogs.
 
since your dog is so well trained maybe you can just consult whoever you did obiedience with. sounds like you are doing a good job with your dog. Have you considered either Rally-o or fly ball with your dog? It is a fun thing you can do with your family. Rally-0 is like an obsticle course type game you play with other dogs and fly ball is another sport they can participate in. I dont know many people who can say thier dog can do what yours does.
 
eliza3b said:
I’ve had two very energetic Boxers over the past 15 years. Here’s what worked for us:
  1. Exercise your dog every day, rain or shine. Walk them at least a half an hour a day. Find a dog park and run your dog. Your breed needs a lot of exercise by nature. Denying them this outlet is like denying your children school.
  2. Get a coffee can and fill it with lots of change. When the door opens and he jumps shake it in his ear and tell him NO. Do this as much as you can until he gets it. This is a problem that will only get worse if you don’t train him NOW.
  3. If all else fails, call your vet and get a recommendation for a good dog trainer. Invest in your dog. It will only make your life more managable.
Click to expand...
I agree with these. I just want to stress, say NO like you mean it, not a cute sweet no, and not a screaming NO!!! Just a controlled FIRM NO
 
shannyk,

In your original post, I noticed you mentioned the sort of collars you’ve used with your dog. Stay away from the choker; it only collapses on their trachea, and could actually cause damage down the road. A standard collar doesn’t serve a whole a lot in training, either. And, I guess, some people have had luck with the head collar, but it didn’t do anything for my German Shepherd.

The only collar that I recommend for training purposes is the prong collar. Now I know it looks medieval, but it is much safer than the choker, and much more effective than a regular collar. But you do have to learn how to put it on, use it, and take it off. Here’s a good instructional on it: leerburg.com/fit-prong.htm

When you have this collar on the dog, fitted properly, it provides a good pinch. It doesn’t collapse on their trachea.

In your situation, if your dog attempts to jump on another person, and you have the prong collar on him, tell him “no” and give him a good check with the collar. Now he may squeal -mine does- but only because it catches him off guard.

I do also recommend the “knee in the chest” option, and also the lightly stepping on the back paws technique.

Good luck, and as others have said, praise the heck outta him when he does good.
 
You mentioned in a previous post that you had successfully taught your dog many other commands. This should give you much hope that your dog will eventually learn to not jump. Your dog is still very young and immature. He is also a breed that can be over excitable (hyper, if you will). He will learn over time not to jump, when he is mature enough to control his excitement.

I think the knee in the chest with a ‘no jump’ command is the best method for training a large dog not to jump.

You mentioned an aversion, on your part, to over using the dogs crate. Please remember, your dog has no concept of time. He does not have the ability to reason as a human does. Dogs are den animals by nature. Their crates, if used properly, should become their refuge.

When you have visitors, put your dog in his crate while you greet your visitors. Wait 10 or 15 minutes and then let the dog out of the crate. Put a leash on him and take him in to greet the visitors. He will know the visitors are there and much of the initial excitement will have wore off after the ‘time out’. Once he has greeted the visitors remove the leash. Excitement over.
 
I have mixed feelings on the idea of securing the dog in a crate when a visitor comes to the house. Maybe this stems from living in a city with a high crime rate, and the fact that I got a German Shepherd not only for my family’s enjoyment, but also as a means of security.

I would not want my dog to get the impression that every time a stranger comes to the door, she is to be removed from the situation. In the awful event that an unwelcomed stranger gets into the house, even with us home, I want her to be able to use her protective instincts without question.

Again, I’m probably blowing this out of proportion, but where I live, I need all the security I can get, and I don’t want my German Shepherd being so unfamiliar with a person crossing over the threshold that she retreats out of habit.

I think the much better option is to have the dog trained to listen to verbal commands even in times of anxiousness and excitement.
 
A type of harness that goes around the back legs and runs up the belly and attaches to his collar. When they try to jump up and extend their neck, the harness pulls on the back legs and does not allow them to “stand-up”. If you can’t find it at a Petsmart type store there should be someplace on-line that has speciality items. Hope this helps.
Click to expand...
Wow I’ve never heard of these thank you.

Tried the coffee can thing just a little while ago when therapist came. He was totally un-phased by it.🤷 I told her to do the knee thing and he did think twice for a minute about jumping, but then got over it. I’m sure it has to be done consistently many times to be really effective. This morning I was so busy doing a million things I ended up telling him to go to his ‘room’ so the therapist could walk in and do her thing. That’s part of the problem too…whenever people are coming in its always at a time when I’m super busy and distracted.

So since he’s good with the ‘go to your bed’ and ‘stay’ commands, I was thinking of teaching him to go to his bed when the doorbell rings and stay while person enters, maybe having them bring him a treat so the greeting is on people’s terms not Leo’s terms.

Does anyone approve of this idea?

Everyone here has such great ideas.👍 I am avidly reading and taking in the sage advice. It’s also nice to hear that I’m not doing so badly in the training department. Sometimes I wonder! Thank you!🙂
 
The only collar that I recommend for training purposes is the prong collar. Now I know it looks medieval, but it is much safer than the choker, and much more effective than a regular collar. But you do have to learn how to put it on, use it, and take it off. Here’s a good instructional on it: leerburg.com/fit-prong.htm
Click to expand...
When you have this collar on the dog, fitted properly, it provides a good pinch. It doesn’t collapse on their trachea.

In your situation, if your dog attempts to jump on another person, and you have the prong collar on him, tell him “no” and give him a good check with the collar. Now he may squeal -mine does- but only because it catches him off guard.

Ditto for Leo, the head collar was useless. The choker did nothing either. Funny you should mention the pinch collar. I just watched a Dog Whisperer last night where he was using a pinch collar. I was a bit surprised because it looks so…like you said medieval. But the way he described how it works it makes sense. I’ll pick one up and see if it helps:thumbsup:
 
shannyk said:
Ditto for Leo, the head collar was useless. The choker did nothing either. Funny you should mention the pinch collar. I just watched a Dog Whisperer last night where he was using a pinch collar. I was a bit surprised because it looks so…like you said medieval. But the way he described how it works it makes sense. I’ll pick one up and see if it helps:thumbsup:
Click to expand...
You won’t believe how much it helps. And just to ease your own inhibitions, when you go to the store (if you haven’t already), put the collar around your arm and check yourself with it. That’s what it will feel like to the dog…a pinch.

When I was enlightened with the truth concerning the choke collar, I made it my mission to clue everyone else in about it that I talk to.

The prong collar is also the most perfect tool for walking dogs that like to pull their owner. They learn very fast that “pull” equals “pinch.”
 
Another thing to consider is contacting a GSP Rescue. They should be able to give you a lot of breed specific advice and perhaps get you in contact with a local volunteer.

It’s outside of their “mission”, but typically rescues have a ‘hot list’ of issues when people call up wanting to give up their dog for reason X,Y or Z. Thus, they may have some pointers about Pointers and their behavior.
 
shannyk said:
Ditto for Leo, the head collar was useless. The choker did nothing either. Funny you should mention the pinch collar. I just watched a Dog Whisperer last night where he was using a pinch collar. I was a bit surprised because it looks so…like you said medieval. But the way he described how it works it makes sense. I’ll pick one up and see if it helps:thumbsup:
Click to expand...
What is a dog whisperer? I thought it was a joke when you mentioned it earlier shanny! Got a little ouija board there?!!
 
NO ouija boards here (don’t you know me better than that:p ).

This is the Dog Whisperer He’s a guy named Caesar Millan. He a dog behaviorist/dog psychology expert with a show on National Geographic channel. He runs his own a dog psychology center in LA.He’s called the Dog Whisperer because he doesn’t use ‘training’ with verbal commands etc., but uses the pack leader role as a tool for owners to control unwanted behaviors in their dogs.

He’s really quite amazing with dogs of any and every variety with any problem imaginable.

Update Update Newsflash!!!

This morning with Leo went very well! I tied a bag of treats to my front door knob, with instructions for the therapist to take one when entering. As soon as the door bell rang, I told Leo to go to his bed, which he did, but he got up a couple of times (unusual) due to his over excitement. He eventually stayed there and I opened the door for the therapist. When he saw her he got up off his bed and went to jump, but she looked away from him and put her hands down and out at him (the off signal) and he stayed down:eek: then sat, and she gave him the treat. It worked well!. I know he should have stayed on his bed:o until I told him to get up but I’ll take this as a start anyway…
 
shannyk said:
Update Update Newsflash!!!

This morning with Leo went very well! I tied a bag of treats to my front door knob, with instructions for the therapist to take one when entering. As soon as the door bell rang, I told Leo to go to his bed, which he did, but he got up a couple of times (unusual) due to his over excitement. He eventually stayed there and I opened the door for the therapist. When he saw her he got up off his bed and went to jump, but she looked away from him and put her hands down and out at him (the off signal) and he stayed down:eek: then sat, and she gave him the treat. It worked well!. I know he should have stayed on his bed:o until I told him to get up but I’ll take this as a start anyway…
Click to expand...
This is awesome. You have a good therapist who is willing to work with your dog too ;). I have a customer who has one of those mini-collies (can’t remember what they are called right now) who is a “jumper”, she just gets so excited. Well her husband is very ill and has both a PT and Home visit nurse come to see them, the nurse works with the dog so she won’t jump but the PT lets the dog jump all over her (or maybe it is the reverse) but any way, the dog needs to learn not to jump for the sake of her husband whose balance is some what off and is easily knocked over by the dog so she needs to learn to not do it (this dog is small enough that the hand out thing works and sit, stay lots of praise works too).

Brenda V.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top