Some behavior questions...

[Ariel]

So, my new dog has a couple of issues I'm working to train her out of. The worst of them being jumping and 'pawing' But I'm not sure sure how to get her to stop either. I have read some on stopping her from jumping, so I've been trying that, but any tips are appreciated. However, I have no idea how to stop her from pawing at me.

Also, she's terrified of being in the car! I'm not sure how to desensitize her to it. Do I just, put her in the car for a few minutes at a time, and give he treats? Extending the time and eventually driving around with her? I'm just not to sure. I plan to go the library tomorrow to pick up some training books and I'll be looking online as well, but if anyone can give some advice or point me in the direction of a good book or site, that'd be great.

 

[DrJ]

Seems everybody and their dog is having issues with the dog lately. lol.

As far as jumping or pawing goes, say "no". And only say it once. If she continues, turn around and ignore her. Turn your back to her and maybe pretend to be doing something else that pleases you. This will show her that jumping and pawing for attention results in LESS attention and doesn't please you. When she starts behaving, reward her with some attention. But be prepared to revoke that attention if she starts up the jumping and pawing again.

Your idea for the car sounds like a good one. I've never had a dog scared of the car, so I can't really help you out there. Sorry.

 

[AprilH]

If you do the ignore thing (which works great if done right), your dog needs to be hooked up to something so that you can step away from her and she doesn't just jump on your back when you turn around. Tell her to sit, then step into her space and if she jumps, say no and step back. Repeat until she stays sitting, then pet her. Of course, if she jumps again say no and back away. It's amazing how quickly they can learn not to jump.

If she paws at you randomly, you can tell her no and walk away, or even put her in a time out if needed (close her in a separate room, etc). It sounds silly, I know, but it works. The idea is to never give her attention for doing something she shouldn't do. Hopefully then she can learn more appropriate ways of getting your attention. The most important thing will be consistency. It'll be hard at first, but you can't let her get away with it sometimes and not others.

For the car, I would start short and make it as pleasant of an experience as you can. What you said sounds like a good start.

 

[Teal]

You got a new dog?! I've missed so much... lol

But anywho... As for jumping, I agree with those that have posted. When she starts to jump, turn your back to her or walk away. Very few dogs will jump on your back, unless they are completely out of manners (it's not proper dog etiquette at all to jump on the back of an animal you aren't trying to eat). Ignore her completely - even saying "no" at first is too much attention. As she starts to learn that you ignore her when she jumps, you can start incorporating "No jumping!" into it as well, until eventually she either stops trying to jump up or you can fend off the behaviour with just a voice command.

As for pawing at you... turn it into a command! Having a dog that wants to use their paws and/or mouths can be really handy, and a great way to teach your dog some really fun tricks.

 

[Ariel]

Thanks for the advice everyone! She's already starting to get that jumping leads to being ignored. She still doesn't have it totally down, partly because my family isn't so good at being consistent with it.

I actually thought about trying to turn the pawing into a trick, I just wasn't sure if that was a good idea, or possible, but I might just have to try it.

Jairi, ya, I got a new dog. She's a pit bull though she may have a little of something else mixed into her, not really sure. She was surrendered to the clinic I work at because the owners could pay for her treatment (she had parvo). So once she was all better I adopted her. She's a great dog, I absolutely love her, she's so full of energy and so people driven and eager to please.

She's also very very smart!!! Literally the only command she new when I got her only a week ago was Sit, but she's already picking up down, stay, and come very quickly!!!

This is her, her name is Junebug, she's 2yrs.

 

[DrJ]

She's also very very smart!!! Literally the only command she new when I got her only a week ago was Sit, but she's already picking up down, stay, and come very quickly!!!

You know, it is very important that a dog be able to differentiate between "come" and "come very quickly". lol!

She's a cute one. Congratulations!

Have fun continuing on with her training.

 

[Ariel]

lol, there's supposed to be a comma there.

Thanks, I love her, and I'm having so much fun working with her, though I wish my parents would at least try to keep up with training her against jumping and pawing. :wall: Oh well, that will all become a lot easier when I move out.