Piggy update

[ShellyF]

Following on from my thread ‘Piggy says no’ I am resorting to the pigs to deal with Merlin’s nipping to instigate chase. 

There are some great ideas on here and they include ‘straight into the crate with no words or actions’. Maybe due to my lack of nimbleness I cannot get him into the crate quick enough (even with him trailing a leash) so any grab for him just seems like a game to him.

Another great idea was to isolate myself. Tricky with an open plan house but I did shut myself in the pantry this morning several times. It’s always nice to look at my preserves haha!

We are trying very hard to train an alternative behaviour so that he learns what we want him to do instead. He’s really good at a ‘lie down’ . But what to do after that? If I walk off he starts off again. If I say ‘let’s get a toy instead’ then i’m training him to nip to start off this process. 

I suspect my whole energy is wrong because I am anticipating trouble. I know patience and repetition is needed but the last couple of days he’s upped the game on his end. It’s more frequent and nips are now bites that hurt (no broken skin but even so!). 

This morning I backed into the bedroom after his lie down and grabbed a pig that was guarding the pyjamas. I then walked out of the bedroom with the pig in front of me saying firmly ‘back away from the pig’. He did and that was that. 

Cheeky bugger let me sit and relax with my coffee then clearly twigged that there was no pig on the pyjamas and booked it to the bedroom to steal them! It’s hard not to see the funny side sometimes. 

Am I wrong to resort to the pigs again? We don’t have issues outside of the house so I could just keep a pig in my pocket at home and stop his nonsense. I’m sure once he gets out of the habit he’ll be fine. 

I should add that he does get walks and training and play and rest with us every day. This all got worse a few weeks ago when weather kept us in the house more than usual and so ‘indoor play’ got more frequent. So i’d like to get a workable plan before our real nasty winter sets in! 

[Rush Fan]

51 minutes ago, ShellyF said:

 

I suspect my whole energy is wrong because I am anticipating trouble. I know patience and repetition is needed but the last couple of days he’s upped the game on his end. It’s more frequent and nips are now bites that hurt (no broken skin but even so!)

 Do you react in an exaggerated manner when he does this? I react with an accentuate "OW!!!" and act like my hand is injured. And also respond with "No bite" Mancer still wants to nip sometimes when we are playing, but now when I foresee it coming I can say "no bite" and she refrains. Merlin is still young so it may take some time to train it out of him if course, but as always persistence and consistency are the key. Also, if he responds well to "lie down" as you say, maybe you can just do that every time he starts this little game? 

[Rush Fan]

1 hour ago, ShellyF said:

Cheeky bugger let me sit and relax with my coffee then clearly twigged that there was no pig on the pyjamas and booked it to the bedroom to steal them! It’s hard not to see the funny side sometimes. 

Yes it's hard to reprimand them when you're laughing isn't it? When Mancer is doing wrong and hears me walking into the room she runs and hides behind the couch. So I walk into the room I just see one of my socks or something in the middle of the floor, and then suddenly I see her head poke out cautiously from behind the couch, and all I can do is chuckle. 

[ShellyF]

1 hour ago, Rush Fan said:

 Do you react in an exaggerated manner when he does this? I react with an accentuate "OW!!!" and act like my hand is injured. And also respond with "No bite" Mancer still wants to nip sometimes when we are playing, but now when I foresee it coming I can say "no bite" and she refrains. Merlin is still young so it may take some time to train it out of him if course, but as always persistence and consistency are the key. Also, if he responds well to "lie down" as you say, maybe you can just do that every time he starts this little game? 

 

1 hour ago, Rush Fan said:

Yes it's hard to reprimand them when you're laughing isn't it? When Mancer is doing wrong and hears me walking into the room she runs and hides behind the couch. So I walk into the room I just see one of my socks or something in the middle of the floor, and then suddenly I see her head poke out cautiously from behind the couch, and all I can do is chuckle. 

Too funny! She sounds cute

Thanks for the reminder to say ‘ow’. We did this when we taught bite inhibition but clearly he needs a reminder haha! 

[Flora & Molly]

I think you could use the pig to train him out of this. I don't see anything wrong with that. You could use a command like "back away" and eventually fade out the pig. ("Back away from the pig" might be a bit silly to say without holding the pig later haha)

They are so smart and it can sometimes be so difficult if they enjoy something. As an example: I'm trying to teach my dog how to speak, as I live in a dodgy neighborhood and I thought it could come in handy at night. The only way to get her to bark is when playing fetch. Unfortunately she now sometimes barks like a maniac whenever I want to throw a ball or stick when she feels I'm too slow, even without the " speak" command and doesn't understand the command away from the ball. So I guess it is back to the drawing board...

Long story short: we all have moments like these at some point  I hope you find something that works. 

[ShellyF]

Thanks