cartman101
Active Member
well we didn't put her in the cage when he went out to eat, we came back within 90min and she was fine! No pee on the floors!
.....this might be it for her......
- Thread starter cartman101
- Start date
danedodger
Member
Yaaaaaay Cartman!!! :cheer:
Rhonda, it sounds like you've done a good job so far! I've seen lots of dogs at work with this same problem! Their owners almost always are embarassed or even scold their dog which is almost guaranteed to continue or worsen the problem. Your dog is just telling you in doggie language that you're the boss and she's not trying to challenge you in any way, shape, or form
Crouching down to her level rather than bending over her, like many people do, is a great start! :cheer: Bending over a dog is a more dominant posture which would make her more likely to submissively urinate. When you crouch down turning your body sideways to your dog rather than front facing to her will help a bit too. A sideways posture is a more "approachable" posture in doggie language and less "in your face" than the front facing.
Every case of this I've worked on just goes away over time when you put a lot of effort into really showing your dog that you're comfortable with your role as alpha and that she's doing a fine job in her role in your pack. Concentrate on ways to show her that you KNOW you're the boss, she doesn't have to keep TELLING you so LOUDLY
, but that you'll be a good boss (fair, positive, give her what she needs, etc.)! Teaching her obedience cues or even activities which build her confidence and create opportunities for you to show her that she's done a GREAT job and you're proud of her (shelties are often really great at agility!) are some really good ways of reinforcing gently that you know you're boss and she's making you happy with her. I'm also a strong advocate of the Nothing in Life is Free program for all dogs and have seen it work wonders on a huge variety of problem behaviors! Just put that (or NILIF) into any search engine to find out more but the basic gist of the program is your dog must give you something in return for anything you give. It can be as simple as her performing a sit before she gets her food bowl, for instance. This creates many opportunities for her to do something which you can give her something she wants in return for and reinforces the pack dynamic in a gentle, positive way.
Other than that just try to pinpoint more exactly what situations she does this in then try to change that circumstances of that situation a bit. If she gets really excited when you come home from work and submissively pees instead of returning her enthusiastic greeting keep it very low key instead. Don't look at her and at most give her a quiet "hi" to take the supercharged excited "OMG MOM"S HOME!!!!!!!" out of it.
It takes a little time but you said with what you're doing you're seeing some improvement so keep up the good work!!!! :cheer:
Bleh I've gotta run, work calls!! I'll be back to see if I can give you any tips on your "pawsy" boxer
Rhonda, it sounds like you've done a good job so far! I've seen lots of dogs at work with this same problem! Their owners almost always are embarassed or even scold their dog which is almost guaranteed to continue or worsen the problem. Your dog is just telling you in doggie language that you're the boss and she's not trying to challenge you in any way, shape, or form
Every case of this I've worked on just goes away over time when you put a lot of effort into really showing your dog that you're comfortable with your role as alpha and that she's doing a fine job in her role in your pack. Concentrate on ways to show her that you KNOW you're the boss, she doesn't have to keep TELLING you so LOUDLY
Other than that just try to pinpoint more exactly what situations she does this in then try to change that circumstances of that situation a bit. If she gets really excited when you come home from work and submissively pees instead of returning her enthusiastic greeting keep it very low key instead. Don't look at her and at most give her a quiet "hi" to take the supercharged excited "OMG MOM"S HOME!!!!!!!" out of it.
It takes a little time but you said with what you're doing you're seeing some improvement so keep up the good work!!!! :cheer:
Bleh I've gotta run, work calls!! I'll be back to see if I can give you any tips on your "pawsy" boxer
danedodger
Member
sorry not trying to hyjack this thread... u being a dog trainer have any ideas for breaking the habit of jumping on people when they enter the house... not in an agressive way just a playful boxer way... it's annoying and have tried water bottles can with marbles nothing works....
Well it's all your fault, yanno? You went a got a dog that LOVES to use it's paws!
Nope, you're doomed.
Nah, just kidding! You say "nothing works". I say something will absolutely without fail 100% work it's just a matter of finding it! :joy: Keep firmly in mind that every single dog is trainable!!! You just have to hit upon what works for that dog is all!
Most dogs jump up on people out of excitement, to initiate play, or just because they want to get up to your face to greet you properly in doggie style (remember, sub dogs in a pack lick at the jaw of a superior member of the pack to greet them!). Part of it in this case is probably genetics too because boxers (and danes who have some boxer blood way back in their ancestry) really do love to use their paws! Occassionally a dog will jump up as a dominance test. I trained a wolf mix who did this, very dangerous! He was the sweetest brute but heaven help you if you failed his little jumping up test by falling!!! This reason isn't at all common though and I'd place money on the reasons listed before in your dog's case. Oh and did I forget to mention? Another reason dogs do this is because we train them to do it!!!!! Yep!! As puppies they're cute and cuddley and we encourage them to put paws on us to get in our laps or put their front paws up to get puppy smootches and enjoy that puppy breath...suddenly they get bigger, it's not acceptable or cute to us anymore, and the dog can't understand why the rules have suddenly changed. Or what is normally a person's reaction to a big loveable goof jumping up on them? Give em a pat, "nice dog, good dog", and push them off. Whoops!! Fido just got rewarded for jumping up!! Behavior has function = IOW, if any animal finds a behavior pleasureable or advantagous in some way they are more likely to repeat it - the more often it is repeated and the animal keeps finding it pleasureable or advantagous the MORE likely they are to repeat it! Sometimes even if we don't "reward" the jumping up it still gets a reaction to us and sometimes, to some dogs, even a negative reaction is better than no reaction.
Remember these dog good behavior basics and remind any visitors or people you meet on the streets:
Crouch down to his level so he doesn't have to jump up to greet people.
NO rough housing and don't allow the jumping up for any reason (like you have old clothes on one day and tell yourself "ah, it can't hurt this once")! This is being consistent. If it's not ok even if it's just in one circumstance don't EVER allow it.
Make sure your dog has enough social time with the family.
Make sure your dog gets enough exercise. A pleasantly tired out dog is so much easier to handle.
Give your dog enough mental stimulation. Dogs need more than just to exercise their bodies! They need little puzzles and things to stimulate their minds and enrich their lives. It can be something as simple as stuffing treats into a Kong or something similar so that your dog has to figure out how to get the goodies out or as complex as teaching him tricks, flyball, etc.
Well it's all your fault, yanno? You went a got a dog that LOVES to use it's paws!
Nah, just kidding! You say "nothing works". I say something will absolutely without fail 100% work it's just a matter of finding it! :joy: Keep firmly in mind that every single dog is trainable!!! You just have to hit upon what works for that dog is all!
Most dogs jump up on people out of excitement, to initiate play, or just because they want to get up to your face to greet you properly in doggie style (remember, sub dogs in a pack lick at the jaw of a superior member of the pack to greet them!). Part of it in this case is probably genetics too because boxers (and danes who have some boxer blood way back in their ancestry) really do love to use their paws! Occassionally a dog will jump up as a dominance test. I trained a wolf mix who did this, very dangerous! He was the sweetest brute but heaven help you if you failed his little jumping up test by falling!!! This reason isn't at all common though and I'd place money on the reasons listed before in your dog's case. Oh and did I forget to mention? Another reason dogs do this is because we train them to do it!!!!! Yep!! As puppies they're cute and cuddley and we encourage them to put paws on us to get in our laps or put their front paws up to get puppy smootches and enjoy that puppy breath...suddenly they get bigger, it's not acceptable or cute to us anymore, and the dog can't understand why the rules have suddenly changed. Or what is normally a person's reaction to a big loveable goof jumping up on them? Give em a pat, "nice dog, good dog", and push them off. Whoops!! Fido just got rewarded for jumping up!! Behavior has function = IOW, if any animal finds a behavior pleasureable or advantagous in some way they are more likely to repeat it - the more often it is repeated and the animal keeps finding it pleasureable or advantagous the MORE likely they are to repeat it! Sometimes even if we don't "reward" the jumping up it still gets a reaction to us and sometimes, to some dogs, even a negative reaction is better than no reaction.
Remember these dog good behavior basics and remind any visitors or people you meet on the streets:
Crouch down to his level so he doesn't have to jump up to greet people.
NO rough housing and don't allow the jumping up for any reason (like you have old clothes on one day and tell yourself "ah, it can't hurt this once")! This is being consistent. If it's not ok even if it's just in one circumstance don't EVER allow it.
Make sure your dog has enough social time with the family.
Make sure your dog gets enough exercise. A pleasantly tired out dog is so much easier to handle.
Give your dog enough mental stimulation. Dogs need more than just to exercise their bodies! They need little puzzles and things to stimulate their minds and enrich their lives. It can be something as simple as stuffing treats into a Kong or something similar so that your dog has to figure out how to get the goodies out or as complex as teaching him tricks, flyball, etc.
danedodger
Member
To help solve the problem:
1. Initiate the Nothing in Life is Free program (did I mention that I REALLY love this program?????
)
2. Have you ever watched a dog herd sheep? Most people think it's as simple as the dog runs at the sheep and so, of course, the sheep run away but it's actually much more subtle and amazing (to me anyway!) See a herd of sheep will have a kind of invisible zone around them that I call their "comfort zone". A good herding dog is a canny judge of that zone and knows just how to use it to manipulate the sheep, how hard to push, where to push, when to lay off... He will nudge into that zone slightly knowing that the sheep will move away to maintain the distance of their comfort zone. The more he pushes the more they move away. That's called "controlling space". You can control your dog's comfort zone to the same effect many times! If you're alert and know your dog well enough to read some of his body language you can see just a split moment before he jumps up what he's about to do (if you don't know his body language enough to recognize this moment study him and learn). In that split second train yourself to take a sudden step forward while bending a bit at the waist to kind of loom over him with your hands at waist level palms out in a kind of "stop" signal. This stops many dogs right in their tracks! Then quickly ask for a "sit" (he does know "sit" right? If not teach him). When he sits he's a) not jumping up and b) you now have an opportunity to give him praise, love, and attention that he's looking for for doing the right thing!
3. Never give him any kind of attention, good bad or indifferent, as long as his paws are on a person! Fold your hands in back of you, stare up at the ceiling, turn around, and walk away.
It takes some time and effort on your part (and make sure everyone who comes around your dog knows how to do these things too) but I've never seen a dog yet who didn't eventually learn that jumping up gets him nothing while behaving brings good things!
1. Initiate the Nothing in Life is Free program (did I mention that I REALLY love this program?????
2. Have you ever watched a dog herd sheep? Most people think it's as simple as the dog runs at the sheep and so, of course, the sheep run away but it's actually much more subtle and amazing (to me anyway!) See a herd of sheep will have a kind of invisible zone around them that I call their "comfort zone". A good herding dog is a canny judge of that zone and knows just how to use it to manipulate the sheep, how hard to push, where to push, when to lay off... He will nudge into that zone slightly knowing that the sheep will move away to maintain the distance of their comfort zone. The more he pushes the more they move away. That's called "controlling space". You can control your dog's comfort zone to the same effect many times! If you're alert and know your dog well enough to read some of his body language you can see just a split moment before he jumps up what he's about to do (if you don't know his body language enough to recognize this moment study him and learn). In that split second train yourself to take a sudden step forward while bending a bit at the waist to kind of loom over him with your hands at waist level palms out in a kind of "stop" signal. This stops many dogs right in their tracks! Then quickly ask for a "sit" (he does know "sit" right? If not teach him). When he sits he's a) not jumping up and b) you now have an opportunity to give him praise, love, and attention that he's looking for for doing the right thing!
3. Never give him any kind of attention, good bad or indifferent, as long as his paws are on a person! Fold your hands in back of you, stare up at the ceiling, turn around, and walk away.
It takes some time and effort on your part (and make sure everyone who comes around your dog knows how to do these things too) but I've never seen a dog yet who didn't eventually learn that jumping up gets him nothing while behaving brings good things!