Question:

Hi. We have a 14 week old rough collie (dog) and although we have managed to house train him and he is generally very bright, he nips and bites everything including us.We have tried ignoring him and shouting at him and pushing him away but nothing seems to do the trick. We understand he is teething and we supplied him with many toys to chew on. we are sad that we cannot seem to get cotrol of this and thinking a muzzle may be needed however we do not want to do this. Please can you give me some advice.

Many Thanks
Jonathan

ANSWER:

Hi Jonathan,

I have worked with a few herding dogs in my life and what you are describing seems to be a common problem. Anyone else have any similar experiences? Any herding dog pros out there that can offer some advice for Jonathan and his Rough Collie?

First off, shouting or pushing him away will only excite him – makes it all part of a big, fun game. There is the ‘yipe!’ method that sometimes works but it depends on the puppy. This method involves giving a loud ‘yipe!’ or ‘ow!’ whenever the puppy’s teeth touch your skin. In doggy language, this is how littermates teach each other how hard they can bite during play. However, I know one Australian Cattle Dog that would pause, look at you inquisitively, and then bite even harder and with greater relish! As I said, it depends on the puppy.

For very sensitive pups, ignoring problem behavior while praising good behavior can teach them manners. However, it is very hard to ignore a puppy set on biting you or your clothing. The very act of walking away makes a herding dog react by chasing you before clamping down on your heels! How is this teaching the pup anything?

What I find works best with most puppies is to give a firm ‘no!’ and take your hand away. Then offer him a toy with the other hand and, when he takes it, praise him for being a good puppy. This is a combination of reprimand, distraction, and reward that works well for the average pup.

What works for me with the insistent or frenzy biters was to use a spray bottle. I do not like using spray bottles for training as I find it can make a puppy head shy. However, nipping and biting is completely inappropriate and sometimes harsher methods are required to put a stop to this behavior.

Spray bottles do not hurt the pup, only startles them enough to distract them from biting and back onto listening to you. Once he stops biting, praise him to the ends of the earth and hand him a toy to bite on instead. If he tries to bite again, say ‘no!’ and show him the spray bottle. If he stops, wonderful! Praise him thoroughly. If he doesn’t stop, spray him again, preferably before he actually makes contact with your skin. When he pulls away again, praise him and give him a toy.

You will probably find that after a couple of sessions he no longer attempts to bite you when you have the spray bottle. Try to keep it or a small water pistol with you during play sessions or anytime he normally gets himself into a biting frenzy.
Once he has matured a bit more, you will find that the biting behavior stops unless he is really excited about something. At that point, however, he is old enough that ignoring him will work better or distracting him with obedience commands such as ‘sit’, ‘down’, and ‘stay’ will snap him out of his frenzy and back to being his reasonable self.

Does anyone else have any suggestions for Jonathan?

Good luck!

Question:

HI..me and my family just adopted a 2yr old cocker spanial. He has just been neutered but jeeps humping peoples legs. It is very hard to get him to stop. What is the best way to stop this and will he ever stop doing this???

Please help!
Thank you
Melissa

ANSWER:

Hi Melissa,

How frustrating! And I bet he is the life of every party…!
Humping is usually a learned behavior that we unfortunately and unintentionally encourage. Like children, often any attention is better then no attention for a dog and by our reacting to the humping, we are teaching our dogs that it is one way to garner a whole lot of negative attention.

There are two ways of retraining this behavior – one is stopping it before it happens and the other is called a body block.

Dogs tell us exactly what they are going to do before they ever do it. You probably already know what his movements, body language and facial expressions are when he is thinking of humping someone so put a stop to it before it happens. This derailing of his thought process is the most vital time for stopping an inappropriate behavior. It is also the easiest time. As he starts to sidle up to someone’s leg with the look of love in his eyes, say firmly ‘Fido, No!’ or give him an ‘eh, eh, eh!’ noise. If he stops, call him over to you and give him a treat. This is both retraining and distraction training – a great combination!

If he doesn’t stop, however, it is time for some major attitude adjustment in pure canine body language. Have the person walk into him or, if they are sitting, stand up and walk away while seeming to entirely ignore his actions.

Picture the alpha wolf coming home tired from a long day at work. What happens? All the young wolves and pups run up to him, licking his mouth and letting him know how happy they are to have him back in the fold. He walks right through them to go lay down in his King Wolf spot and relax.

In dog training lingo, we call that a body block and it is something only the top dogs do to reestablish their position amongst the pack. We use it on dogs that jump up on people, we use it for dominant dogs that use their body to block our way, and we use on dog aggressive dogs to physically block their view of another dog. In short, it works for humping because it is a language they already know without giving them the attention they are attempting to elicit.

To speed up his retraining process, give your doggy friends a call and ask for their help in training your dog in exchange for a cup of tea, a beer, dinner – whatever bribe they require. Before they arrive, explain to them what is going to happen and what their reaction must be in order to help retrain

Have them go through the process several times until your dog no longer attempts to hump their leg. Then have another friend come over and then another friend. Eventually he will learn his place in the pack and no longer bother to even try to hump anyone.

Good luck and remember to tell new guests as they come over what it is they are supposed to do just in case he decides to test the boundaries again!

Ann

Lisa sent in a three part question last week about her 5 month old, high energy Labrador asking for help. Her third question is about car rides!

Lisa wrote:
My third problem is the CAR!! He hates the car, I have him in a harness with a doggie seat belt I bought from ohmydog and well he is not real fond of the backseat. I think it is being restricted that he doesn’t like. any thoughts?
Other than that Levi is the sweatiest puppy ever.

Hi Lisa,

Although many dogs love car rides, it can take a bit of time for a young dog to adjust to the motion and overwhelming stimulation! Think about the amount of visual, audible and scent stimulation that is pounding in on your young dog and how fast his brain is trying to register it all. Then there is the restriction of the seat belt – another new sensation. All of this is putting your pup into a state of complete overwhelm and who can blame them?

My first suggestion would be to crate him on car rides until he learns to calm down in the car. Crates give a dog the feeling of security and do help to limit how much stimulation they absorb. They also keep both him and your car safe until he is finished teething!

Crate training is easy if done properly. Click here for more information. Most dogs adjust to it quickly.

You will probably find that as soon as you take away some of the stimulation overload he is suffering from right now, he will adjust to car rides quickly. If not, email me again and I will send you some info on how to turn it around for him. Make sure that when you take him out in the car there is a fun stop or two along the way. Dogs love to be with their humans and car rides are a wonderful bonding time.

When he is two, reintroduce him to the seatbelt. By then car rides will be fun and he will have calmed down a smidge or two!

Take care,
Ann

Lisa wrote in a three part question about her five month old Labrador Levi:

“My second problem is he will not stop jumping up at you, I think he thinks you have a treat for him, What is a good way to stop the jumping. I have tried turning away but he just jumps on your butt, and I have tried kneeing him, (I don’t like that one ) but even that don’t work he just comes back for more like it is a game, any suggestion at all will be appreciated.”

Hi Lisa,

Dogs jump on us to show dominance and because they have gotten away with it in the past. In many cases, we have actually encouraged the behavior when they were little by petting them when they put their front paws on us – why wouldn’t they continue the behavior as an a naughty teenager?

The best thing is to walk into him when he jumps. Keep it simple and do not make it aggressive or playful otherwise he will do the same thing that he does when you knee him (I don’t like that one either – very old school training method although it does work on some dogs). It takes a bit to get used to doing as it feels wrong or like you are going to step on his toes but it works.

It is a form of body block and if you watch dogs or wolves interact, you will see that the alpha dog or wolf is never asked to move by a member of the pack. Instead, the dominant dog will either turn into the other dog, shoulder check him, or block his path completely. It is up to the subservient dog to walk around or move for the alpha. By walking into your dog, you are showing yourself as alpha because it is up to him to move for you. Simple doggy psychology.

Remember to tell visitors to do the same thing or put him in a down/stay until he is calm as the last thing you need is your grandmother or your two year old niece to be the ones he jumps on next!

See you Thursday, Lisa, for part three of the Case of the Crazy Lab!

Question:

I have a 5 month chocolate lab puppy that I have had since he was 6 weeks old. , I have just learned about this great website Ohmydogsupplies… well Oh my dog will not stop biting on the leash when I put it on him, he bites, tugs, pulls, flips around, all the way to the street, then he stops and walks like a perfect puppy. How can I stop him from biting the leash.. I have tried no bite sprays, I have tried harnesses verses a leash on his collar. Help !!! My neighbors think my dog is vicious! He really is not but when he sees that leash , watch out CRAZY dog appears!! My Sister has his bother and he does the same thing, is it genetic, I truly don’t remember my other two dogs doing this.. Help me!! I am desperate, I will do anything, if it helps !!

Lisa

ANSWER:

Hi Lisa,
Sounds like you have your hands full! I am going to break your question into three parts so come back over the next few days for the full answer!

Leash misbehavior in young pups is common but it is easy to stop with the right training.

My first suggestion would be to wear him out a bit before the walk – play fetch with him for a few minutes in the backyard or anything that will let him expel that first burst of energy before you put him on a leash.

Next, do not give in to his silliness. Make him sit/stay while you put the leash on and do not start to walk until he is calm. Use quiet, calming tones that encourage him to be calm. If he starts to jump around, just stand there until he is calm. Once he does calm down though, give him a huge ‘good boy’ and start your walk. If he steps out nicely, keep walking but if he starts being a crazy pup, stop and stand still until calms down again. Repeat. It may take you thirty minutes to get down the driveway the first time but once he knows the only way he is going to get out onto the sidewalk where all the new smells are is by behaving, he will quickly come around!

Come back Monday for Part Two of the Case of the Crazy Lab!

I don’t know about other dog owners, but there are times when I am walking my dog on leash and do not want her to walk, even if I am. An example would be walking down a slippery slope or wet stairs and I do not want any pressure on the leash that may pull me off my feet.

‘Stop’ could be used just as easily as ‘wait’, it is just a matter of personal preference but ‘wait’ is a more natural term that can be used in tons of different ways where ‘stop’ is a panic word. ‘Wait’ as the human brain understands it can be applied to more circumstances, say for example if you want your dog to wait before eating their dinner, taking a treat or picking up a toy.

Why is ‘wait’ different then ‘stay’? Stay is normally used after another command. First you get your dog into a ‘sit’ and then you say ‘stay’ and they know to not move from the sitting position. ‘Wait’ is a command all on its own that has them just pause in whatever position or activity they are currently doing. So, if they are walking, they stop. If they are standing, they continue standing. There is no putting them into a position first.

The ‘wait’ or ‘stop’ command also worked wonderfully when she was off lead. If we were on a trail and she was getting a little to far in front of me, one command and she would pause until I told her to walk on. She loved people but was an intimidating looking German Shepherd so as she approached strangers ahead of me, I could have her wait until I was beside her, alleviating the stress on the other person.

‘Wait’ also works well with ‘down’ in some cases such as when she would be chasing a squirrel or someone’s cat.

Training my dog to stop walking and ‘wait’ became even more useful as she aged. Sable was notorious for forgetting she needed a hand into the car or up the stairs and would try to get in on her own before I was even at the car. This was never pretty. Using ‘wait’ as she neared the car or stairs or anywhere I thought I might need to assist her saved her a few bumps and bruises through her final years.

To train ‘wait’, start using it when out for a walk. Have your dog ‘heel’ beside you and as you walk along, put some pressure on her collar so she cannot walk while saying ‘Fifi, wait’ in a soft, warning tone. Hold her for a second, then release the pressure and say ‘okay!’ or whatever her release word is while stepping off again. Give her a treat. Walk a few more paces and repeat, always using the pressure on the leash to force her to stop. After a few repetitions, lessen the pressure on the leash but be prepared to give her a mild correction if she does not stop moving. When she stops, reward her immediately with a treat. Pause. Then give her release word and step off again.

She will figure this out quickly.

Next, try her food dish at mealtime. Put your hand on her collar while you put her dish on the floor and saying ‘Fifi, wait’. Give her release command and let go of her collar at the same time. No need to reward, she has her dinner – a huge reward!

Start using it at other times as well. Play on the floor with her with a toy. Toss it a few feet in front of her and, while saying ‘Fifi, wait’, put your hand on her collar so she cannot go after the toy. Wait a few minutes and release her as usual.

The more ways you learn to use the command, the more uses you will find for it. It was probably one of my most used commands because it had so many applications and was a very natural term to use, at least for me.

Good luck and let me know how your dogs are doing with all these new commands we are teaching!

Ann

At this point, most of the training you have been doing has been probably been done in the kitchen or living room. Before moving your training sessions out of doors and into the real world of squirrels, cats, honking cars, and general chaos, try adding a few distractions to the controlled surrounding of your house.

Once your dog has a command figured out and is nailing it easily each and every time, add one of the following and see how he does:

Bouncing a ball
Squeaking a squeaky toy
Throwing a ball or toy
Dance, do jumping jacks, run in place (I like the Charleston for this particular distraction)
Have someone else dance, do jumping jacks, etc
Sing a song
Put the radio on
Run around the room
Turn the TV on loud
Run water
Eat food
Have a friend come over with her dog and have him playing near your dog
Go into another room and play ‘peek a boo’ around the corner at him
Lay on your back on the floor and continue to give various commands

You get the picture! Act goofy, have others act goofy around him, toss treats at or near him, and generally do whatever you can in an attempt to get a reaction out of him.

You can expect some regression when you try these distractions. Don’t worry, that is normal and why we are doing this in the safety of your own home. Keep working him to get him to listening to you even under odd or unusual circumstances. This sets him up for success and really makes him think it all through.

Once he is back to nailing his commands even under extreme chaos in your home, take him outside to the backyard and start all over again. Next move to the front yard and then to the park.

Eventually, you want him to do his commands no matter what is going on around him – the world could be ending and he would still hold his ‘stay’! I take my dog to banks, in front of busy grocery stores, dog-friendly hardware stores, festivals, and coffee shops and put them through their paces. People will usually stop and begin to watch, especially if your dog is one of the animated obedience performers. This is great when they do, it adds to the distraction!

This is no guarantee that he will listen to you when you yell ‘down’ as he runs into the street after a squirrel. However, the more distraction work you do, the greater the likelihood that he will not break his ‘stay’ to chase the squirrel and next week we will discuss another command that may stop him mid-chase!

It has been a month now since you started working with your dog on the ‘stay’ command. By now he should have it down to a fine art but how do you know? Have you dropped the leash and walked away ten steps before returning? Have you dropped the leash and walked a 360 degree circle around your dog? Have you dropped the leash and gone to stand behind your dog for a minute? This is a tough one as they like to keep an eye on you. The rules are that as long as they do not break their ‘sit’ or ‘down’, they can turn to keep you in sight. However, if they start to left their bottom or stand up, a gentle ‘eh, eh, eh’ is required to remind them that they are still in a firm ‘stay’.

They have passed all those tests with flying colors? Now for the tough one! Another ‘proofing’ for the stay command is a gentle tug. Put you dog in a ‘sti/stay’ and then step out to the end of the leash facing your dog. Now, gently pull on the leash. Your dog should stay in their ‘sit/stay’ even if you are pulling on the leash. If his butt starts to lift, remind him he is in a ‘stay’ while releasing the pressure on the leash. Put him through a few more normal ‘stays’ and then try the pull again. He should remain sitting until you release him from his ‘stay’ and command him to walk with you.

Keep working on his ‘stay’ until he passes this proofing test consistently

Teaching your dog to heel can be a nightmare if you do not train him from the start or in the proper order. I tried for years to teach my first dog, a Whippet/Border Collie cross, to heel without first understanding the breed or understanding the motivation behind ‘heeling’ for the dog.

How many times to you see someone being towed down the road by their dog while periodically pulling on the leash and saying ‘No! Fido, heel!”. This was me many years ago and (surprise-surprise) that dog never learned to heel.

Yes, breed type does enter into how well and how quickly a dog learns to heel. That poor dog had mixed up instincts in every way: she never knew whether to chase things or herd them, she had the visual reaction of a sighthound but the hypnotizing eye of the Border Collie, all mixed with the coach potato attitude of the Whippet and the energy levels of the herding dog. How many mixed messages went through her brain on an average day? And now that I know better, I am amazed that she was as good of a dog as she was getting mixed up with an owner who did not understand her drives.

Always consider what breed your dog is and think about the bigger picture on how their natural instinct will affect their ability to learn a command. All breeds can learn every canine command (if they are physically able to at least) but what changes is the enthusiasm they may have for the job, the way you train the command, how long it will take to learn a command, and what techniques you may need to use to get them to understand what it is you want them to do.

What about teaching a Siberian Husky to heel? Their whole role in life is to pull things and now you want your pup to walk nicely beside you on a loose lead? You can do it, you might just need to be more patient then the average dog owner and understand that you need to make their reward for heeling far more valuable then the reward for pulling on the leash – food is a factor here!

In comparison, the Clumber Spaniel is bred to be a companion for the gentleman hunter. Heeling comes more easily for this breed as they are not bred to pull, but rather to amble along with their person while he may, or may not, shoot something. Sporting dogs in general are eager to please their owner and do not require as much bribery to learn a new command.

Your dog now knows ‘Sit’, ‘Down’, ‘Stay’ and on September 18th, you learned how to train the ‘look’ command. We are now going to implement all of this into walking nicely on a leash and heeling sessions in an attempt to make it all easier.

Start with your dog on your left in the ‘Sit’ position. Step off with your right foot and say ‘Fido, walk’ in a happy voice. Fido should walk along with you, possibly surging ahead depending on his enthusiasm. Give him an ‘eh, eh, eh’ noise and then a ‘Fido, look!’, holding a piece of food near your eye. Praise him with a ‘good, Fido, good look’ and the food when he stops pulling and looks up at you. The action of looking you in the eye while walking automatically puts him into a ‘heel’ position, pacing your speed perfectly. Hold another piece of food near your eye. When he is in a solid ‘heel’, tell him ‘good boy, good heel!’ and reward him with more food.

Continue this, letting him know when he is walking nicely with a ‘good boy’ and a reward and giving him an ‘eh, eh, eh’ when he misbehaves. Once he knows to look at you while walking on a leash, start implementing the turns and stops from last week. Soon he will be the best walking dog on the block!

Question:

I have a 1yr old Aussie who is generally very sweet and friendly. However, he’s aggressive around lawnmowers. I broke him of the habit around my lawnmower by distracting him with food. Now he’s fine around it even without food. I thought the problem was solved but recently he while we were on a walk, as we went by someone standing near a lawnmower that was off, he nipped him. I should have been more aware of the potential problem but this is clearly unacceptable behavior. How do I correct it?

Thanks… Ann

ANSWER:

Hi Ann,

Excellent question! I love unique questions like this one, questions that really make me stop and think. This is also one of those times where I am going to ask for input from our wonderful readers – has anyone had a similar situation? And if so, how did you stop it?

You are right in the need to be more diligent, obviously. Now you know he has the potential to bite someone near a lawnmower (thank goodness it was only a nip!), it makes sense to keep an eye out for would be targets.

To overcome the problem, however, is going to take a little bit of help from your friends. You are going to need to expose him to lawnmowers other then your own in controlled situations. The only way I can think of to do that is to ask friends if you can come over, bring your dog, and everyone hang out in their backyard near the lawnmower. You must gradually get him used to first the machine, then your friend near the mower, then turning it on, etc while distracting him with food and correcting any problem behavior.

An hour at each of a few friend’s houses will quickly help him get over his aggression to some strange lawnmowers but there will probably always be some that make him react. Taking him to parks when the greens keepers are doing their job may condition him louder, industrial mowers and a spin through the garden section of your neighborhood Lowe’s will help him adjust to what probably amounts to his worst nightmare – row upon row of gleaming lawnmowers. Make sure the Lowe’s allows dogs inside – most do but not all, it is dependent on the owner’s preference it seems.

Good luck and let us know how it goes – this is an interesting problem and I bet you are not the only one dealing with a similar situation!

Ann