Now here’s an alarming fact: Every interaction you have with your dog results in his learning something, whether you intentionally meant to train him or not! In a young dog, this is especially significant, since he has less of a history with you and so each interaction has a greater impact. So what are the most common unintentionally trained bad behaviors?! See if these sound familiar…
The Rude Greeter
Your dog is a social butterfly. He just loves jumping up to give kisses, and, while some people greet him with open arms, others push him away. And the trouble is he’s getting more exuberant with each passing day.
So how did he learn that? It’s a natural behavior for dogs to sniff faces as part of their greeting ritual, but the problem is that it’s not part of our greeting ritual. The behavior is then encouraged by those people who enjoy bouncy dogs and give them lots of love and pets while they’re leaping up on them. Strangely enough, though, even those people who don’t like a jumping dog often contribute to the problem by pushing them off with their hands. Touch is very reinforcing and so even touch used in an attempt to push away the dog will likely encourage the behavior.
And how do you fix it? For starters, you need to use some management techniques to get the ball rolling in the right direction. With your dog on leash, step on his leash at a distance from him where he can sit or stand comfortably but where he cannot jump up. Recruit a friend to help you with the exercise. Have your friend stand 10 feet or so away with some treats in his hand and have him play with the treats a bit in order to keep your dog focused on the game. Now here’s the key: Wait for your dog to offer a sit. Don’t ask for it. Dogs tend to learn better when they do their own problem-solving. When we give them the answer, they seem to need us to keep giving them the answer time and time again. So wait for a sit and, this first time, that wait could take quite a while! As soon as your dog’s butt hits the ground, your friend should start to walk slowly toward you. If your dog stands up, your friend should immediately start to back away. When pup sits again, your friend proceeds forward. While your friend may feel like a human yoyo, your dog is being taught impulse control – that the things he wants in life will only be granted to him for polite behavior. A valuable life lesson!
On Tuesday, there will be a follow-up article dealing with the Interrupter Pup. So give a peek back!
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