25 replies to this topic

[Rua]

Bell has a head halter but tbh..didn't do much. It helped her learn not to pull while walking but with jumping up was just a matter of preempting and either avert or hand on head. Consistency and keeping commands simple yet different ie off means off people/objects, down means lie down. OES will always be the baby type no matter how old they get.

As for the counter surfing, Bell did outgrow that habit although she will take things left on coffee table if unattended. Just have to keep counter clear till she figures it out.

A BC will learn something within a hour to a day but an OES will take a lot longer. Pick 1 habit to focus on at a time and just keep at till they get it. Then work on next habit while occasionally reinforcing learned ones.

My Bell is coming up on 7 and she still acts like a puppy..they never grow up. :-)

[rushdoggie]

In my opinion, the dog is over stimulated at this point and that is why these approaches do not work. Turning your back is meaningless as the dog will just continue to jump on your back. I worked with a relatives 90lb husky mix that literally left deep claw scratches all over me from his jumping.

Ouch and I agree with your post for the most part, but truly, part of the reason to remove interaction by ignoring the dog and turning away is that you are removing the stimulation. Eventually, the dog *will* stop jumping and if you can then interact they will figure out over time it doesn't work. Especially for a super friendly bouncy dog who really does want your attention.

Getting your v=back clawed sounds like no fun though. You need a Kevlar jacket.

[waffles]

Ouch and I agree with your post for the most part, but truly, part of the reason to remove interaction by ignoring the dog and turning away is that you are removing the stimulation. Eventually, the dog *will* stop jumping and if you can then interact they will figure out over time it doesn't work. Especially for a super friendly bouncy dog who really does want your attention.

Getting your v=back clawed sounds like no fun though. You need a Kevlar jacket.

I don't fully get what you said but I think you are saying that ignoring and turning away are going to work with these dogs? The dog I worked with, this was definitely not the case. I mean literally, the dog spent about 30min. digging at my flesh, jumping at my face, head butting me, all the while I stood against a wall "ignoring it". That tactic was clearly not safe for me (I am only 95lbs and they have children who come over as well) or the rest of my family. The dog had to learn to approach people who entered his house in a calm way. For this dog (and obviously I am giving advice based on the one dog I worked with that had such a severe problem) ignoring was dangerous and the dog was not learning anything. The dog was also mouthy-grabbing my arms with his teeth and his claws. It only took a couple days of short training-setting up the situation where we walked in, and he was not allowed to approach us unless calm and was rewarded for being calm. The main problem for this dog was being overly excited to see new people walk into his house. This method worked for this one dog and he is fine now with people coming into their house. I merely suggested it might work for this dog since a lot of people can't comprehend just how bad it can be-trust me, I never met a dog like this. My first instinct was to turn my back and ignore.

Edit: We decided to do the exercise with the dog on a leash since he was fine approaching people outside while leashed but not inside.

[rushdoggie]

I don't fully get what you said but I think you are saying that ignoring and turning away are going to work with these dogs?

In most cases, yes. You posted earlier that removing attention wouldn't work because the dog is overstimulated, and my point was that removing attention can help that.

Of course no training plan works 100% with every dog, and it sounds like you dealt with a dog for whom that was the case, and what you did worked well, especially if he had reached the point where he was biting at your arms deliberately. I am not disagreeing with your training plan (in fact I think its fantastic), just the statement that the "turning away and removal of your attention" will not work with any dog thats overstimulated.

IME, for most dogs, I have found it will work. Its just a less formal version of what you did (rather than walking away, and doing the on leash thing, the human removed themselves emotionally from the interaction). And yes, this actually included a super hyper OES that belonged to an ex boyfriend (who he refused to train, partly why he is a ex), and whole lot of big dogs who I have fostered or helped train over the years. And it works because the dog is jumping up for attention, and when they don't get it they will eventually quit jumping up and you can teach them (over time) that the way to get attention is to do *insert whatever behavior you prefer here* instead of jumping up. And it doesn't require 2 people, or any kind of thought out set up.


And the dog in the OP sounds like a goofy happy dog who genuinely wants the attention.

[dsmbc]

Rush doggie and Cynthia have given you good advice. I would only add this, Work lots of fun games for the sit until it is super fun for her to do, practice the sit when someone comes in, etc. Like Cynthia said and turn your back when she jumps. With my pup, he will sit immediately if someone turns their back, starting to not jump now. I would also have a chat with the owners and show them how to do this and be very clear with them that if they want this to change they have to be 100% consistent. They can never touch her, pet her or push her off when she jumps, just silently turn, also, keep her on a leash at all times until she learns, will help prevent her from doing it to someone else.

[Tommy Coyote]

I think I'm giving up. Her owners can decide what to do. I'm getting absolutely nowhere with this dog. And I am getting hurt. I'm sore all over and have blood running down my arms. She just thinks I'm the best tuggy toy that ever walked through the door. She is just too big for me to handle. I'm not big enough or strong enough.

A nephew that is staying at the house told me yesterday that she only does this to women.

Lord, if I ever hint that I might want to get an OES will someone please just slap me upside the head.

People say border collies are hard to handle. My dogs are angels compared to this dog. Really makes me appreciate them. Even when they are bad they aren't very bad.

Trying to take care of a dog like this one just takes all the fun out of dog ownership.