Dog Days

October 17, 2007 12:39 PM

Dog Whispering 101: I'm dog sitting this week and I want to tame the beast. Sit. Down. Read

For the next 6 days I am dog sitting a neighbor's dog. The dog will primarily be staying at his usual house with the possibility of bringing him over to my house for a visit.

He is a one-year old 100% beagle. He knows sit and stay fairly well (but still needs practice).

My neighbors have been considering getting rid of the dog because he always jumps up and scrambles around, scaring the life out of their little 4-year old boy. He also chews pretty much everything in their yard (sprinkler heads, hoses, etc.).

I have full rein of the dog while I'm dog sitting and would like to teach him some manners, focusing primarily on having him not jump up.

I have my own children (one being a boy exactly the same age as the neighbor's boy), so I hope to introduce the dog to them at some point and let them join in the process.

I have about 6 days (a little less) to train him not to jump up on people. Am I asking too much? How do I go about training him? Is this time frame reasonable to instill this behavior? I need basic training ideas. I do have a clicker, for what it's worth - is it worth anything?

posted by Sassyfras to pets & animals (20 comments total)

I don't know what a clicker is, but I'd recommend getting some small training treats and using positive reinforcement. Only give a treat when the dog does what you want him to. Don't be afraid to touch the dog--when training puppies you often have to combine voice commands with gentle touches to get get them to sit down or lie down. Don't expect miracles in six days--it takes a lot of work!
posted by mattbucher at 12:46 PM on October 17, 2007

I have seen overviews of clicker training and personally I don't see the point - you use treats a lot anyway and that's where the real reinforcement comes from. Low-cal dog treats for training are where it's at.

"Don't jump on people"... that's a different question. That's about extinguishing behaviour as opposed to training something new. I'd suggest working on sit and stay for the six days with treats. Then at least when he jumps up you can tell him to sit. Also, teach him "leave it".
posted by GuyZero at 12:53 PM on October 17, 2007

Six days is too short for a clicker. You'll use up half your time building the association if he doesn't have it already. Go straight to the treats.

You'll still have to be super focused and working on him quite a bit. Remember dogs get training weary, so be reasonable with what you expect.
posted by Gucky at 12:56 PM on October 17, 2007

Positive reinforcement ... Liver Biscotti, the small-piece kind, in a baggie with you all the time. Forget the clicker.
posted by anadem at 12:59 PM on October 17, 2007

The Dog Whisperer's whole thing is about being the calm, assertive pack leader--and I'd agree that you need to signal to the dogs that you are in control and that they are to obey/follow your lead. Keep that in your head, you are the pack leader to an animal.

This gets really controversial and I wouldn't be surprised to see people pop into this thread later arguing about the outmoded need for "alpha-rollovers" and arcane scientific studies disproving everything Cesar Milan does.
posted by mattbucher at 12:59 PM on October 17, 2007

A hungry dog will always listen to the person with food. And as for the chewing stuff, the dog probably isn't getting nearly enough exercise. A tired dog is a good dog.
posted by miss lynnster at 1:20 PM on October 17, 2007 [1 favorite]

I've used a combination of dog whisperer techniques and clicker training with my dog, who's a rambunctious

The first thing is to find out what the dog likes, food-wise -- I use cooked sausage with mine. My girlfriend uses chicken lunch meat with hers.

Now, the thing about dominance is that you don't yell, kick, scream, or hurt. If you do use something that encompasses pain or punishment, it has to be explicit and fast. Example: The beagle jumps up, and you immediately grab it by the ear and neck and it lands on it's back. You immediately let it up as soon as it stops squirming. The same exact thing needs to happen every time the dog jumps. This introduces a moment of pause before the dog jumps up on someone because it was corrected out of it last time. You can use clicker training or some other form of positive training to exploit this crack in the door and give the dog something that's socially acceptable to do, such as sitting and looking up.

You can combine the above tactic of telling the dog that it's not to do that physically with the 'set-up' tactic. If the dog jumps on someone when they come in the door, then have a friend come over. When the dog jumps, correct it. The second time, correct it, and give it the correct behaviour and click it. Then reinforce it occasionally over the next week. Repetition, DAILY, with a reward, is how dogs learn.

Clicker training is VERY successful... but it has to be maintained and it takes reinforcement. Most trainers usually say to take a week with each step of clicker training, but I've found it can go faster if the dog's motivated with a decent amount of treats, if the training is done well, and if the trainer is skilled. But the behaviour will repeat itself if the owners do not get that dog into an obedience class, and start exercising it more! A tired dog is a good dog. Tired dogs don't chew furniture! You need to start stashing beagle-sized Kongs all over the house with good stuff smeared inside them -- a tad of peanut butter works. The dog then learns that if it sniffs around it will probably find something that not only is fun to chew on, but tastes really REALLY good.

In five to ten minute periods, "Load" the clicker by teaching the dog that a click means a treat is coming immediately afterwards. You know the clicker works when After that, you can start using the clicker to 'capture' behaviour. But after every click, even an accidental one, you MUST give it a treat. Clicker training is too complex to get into here, and you should peruse a library book on the subject to get the full picture.

Honestly, over the long term, I'm not sure how successful you'll be. It sounds like the actual owners aren't cut out to be dog owners, and should probably cut their losses and give you the Beagle. Dog training isn't so much about training the dog, it's about training the owner how to treat the dog, who's just an animal and has hard-wired behaviours that it follows or learns unless someone replaces those behaviours with proper 'human' behaviours. Don't blame the dog, blame the humans.
posted by SpecialK at 1:28 PM on October 17, 2007

We hired a dog trainer for our rambunctious dog and she now no longer jumps on anyone. If you want to give our trainer's technique a try: whenever the dog jumps, turn around and cross your arms. Don't say anything, or react in any way until the dog has stopped jumping. Without any reaction, the dog learns that this doesn't get him/her any attention, and eventually stops.
posted by Shebear at 1:32 PM on October 17, 2007 [1 favorite]

Oh, and only train in 5-10 minute periods if you do choose to pursue intensive training. Then take an hour break and put the dog in his kennel or out in the yard or go for a walk. Don't train the dog when it's too tired, it should be hungry and energetic.
posted by SpecialK at 1:33 PM on October 17, 2007

You know that if this works they're going to try to unload the dog on you!
posted by nax at 1:35 PM on October 17, 2007

For short dogs, jumping up is too easily learned. They jump up, and people reach down and give them the bestest thing in the world!!!, i.e., attention. They don't jump up, and they get not as much attention, because people don't come down to them as easily.

So, it's almost impossible to crack that habit. It will return if only one out of ten people isn't strict and reliable about not encouraging it. So, I sadly suggest that it's a doomed endeavor. Sorry.

To do your best, go down to him -- that should be the only way he gets attention. Always always always make a stern noise and knock him down if his feet leave the floor, and immediately stop playing with him for a full minute. Jumping up should be the least fun thing that he can do, and you have to make it so.

Good luck.
posted by cmiller at 1:46 PM on October 17, 2007

Try teaching him the command "up" - stand up on his back legs and put his front legs on your body or in your hands. (yes, that's jumping but now he know what it is.) Also, don't tell him not to jump, tell him what he should do (probably sit).

So, when you think he is going to jump, tell him to sit (and treat if he does) and stay (and treat some more). And then for the real reward, the person that he wanted to jump on come down to his level and pet and him. If he does jump, tell him "No - that's up, I want you to SIT" When he does sit, be very enthusiastic. If he is too wound up to listen, then person that he is trying to jump on should cross their arms and turn their back to him - no reward for jumping unless it is on cue.

We also have the command "off" (which means get down off that person or that counter) but when it is a really exciting person just telling him off isn't enough - I have to give something to do (sit).

One bonus is that sometimes it is fun to invite the dog to jump up on me - since it is on command it doesn't confuse him. I will also use "up" to invite him to look out the front window with me so we can see if there is anything really worth barking at outside. (As you can guess, the answer is NO, but if I pay attention and then tell them there is nothing to worry about he seems to listen. I think he feels he has done his job by warning me and now he will let the boss (me) worry about it.)
posted by metahawk at 2:53 PM on October 17, 2007

One method is to drag a short leash and stand on it *before* the dog jumps. Self-correction. A method we used with our first dog was roundabout, but more fun. When she'd jump, I'd grab her paws and sort of 'dance' with her, gently but firmly backing her up. All the while chattering happily to her. She'd start to pull her paws away but I'd continue to dance with her for maybe ten seconds more. We did this every single time, maybe a hundred times. (Small dogs really like to jump, as noted previously.) After a while, she would approach and I would see the front paws come an inch off the ground and then slam back to the floor, as she realized she was approaching a friendly but crazy person. Once she stopped jumping on me and my wife, the behavior was pretty much extinguished for a few years, until we got our third dog and let all discipline fall apart.
posted by cairnish at 3:45 PM on October 17, 2007

I have seen overviews of clicker training and personally I don't see the point - you use treats a lot anyway and that's where the real reinforcement comes from.

Not sure what "overviews" these were, but judging from the above statement (which echoes similar misunderstandings about clicker training I've heard over the years), they didn't do a very good job of explaining clicker training to you. Clicker training is operant conditioning, it's based on well-studied behavioural science, and it's proven to work (plus, unlike punishment-based training, it has no negative side effects, if you accidentally train-in a behaviour you don't want, you just train it out again). Treats ARE the reinforcement, the click is an event marker, not a reinforcer, the click just makes it easier (for both trainer and dog) to forge a link between the desired behaviour and the reward.

The click allows you to be precise at marking the exact behaviour you want (and which will be rewarded), and it tells the dog that the behaviour they were performing when they heard the click earned them a reward. Dogs pick it up fast (most learn the association in just a few minutes) if you do it properly (you do not need to "charge" the clicker as described above, this was originally thought to be necessary, but we now know it's not really necessary for most dogs), you just need to start clicking and rewarding behaviours you want, it's a game to them.

That said, dog training is all about consistency, and I do not see much point in training this dog for a week with an eye to improving his odds of staying in his home since there will be no consistency after you leave (the owners clearly aren't involved dog owners), and in some ways this may be unfair to the dog, since the behaviours you train are unlikely to continue to be rewarded after you leave. By all means train him (and please clicker train, get Karen Pryor's "Don't Shoot The Dog" for a good explanation of the theory and method and/or Melissa Alexander's "Click For Joy" for very good, straightforward step-by-step instructions), but do it for your own experience, and for some fun for the dog.
posted by biscotti at 4:36 PM on October 17, 2007

Just an aside — at one year old, this dog is still very young. As such, he's still exhibiting some puppy-like behaviors — hyperactivity, chewing, exploring and testing the limits of what he can get away with. My dog didn't outgrow this phase until about 3 or 4. I hope you can somehow convince your neighbors not to give up on him yet — dogs, just like children, take a lot of patience and persistence.
posted by Brittanie at 5:40 PM on October 17, 2007

It takes me about 30 minutes to teach a dog not to jump, and then it has to be reinforced again and again and again and again. After that, the dog doesn't jump on me and usually not while I'm around. No guarantees if I'm not there tho... No great secret here - I come in, the dog comes to greet me and jumps. I instantly respond with a firm down command and then a "sit" command; the immediate reward is petting and verbal affection, treats are good too; be sure to use treats the dog really likes. If the dog is too obnoxious, I send it to its bed and don't release it until it is calm. Once it demonstrates calm, I pet it and greet it as a reward. Be careful of rewarding too soon. INSIST on the behavior you want.

Another example: my dog used to bark when I went into a store or restaurant and left her tied up out front. At first I felt bad and woudl come pet her. Quickly I realized a. I was REWARDing her for the behavior b. It was going to get worse (and did). So I changed my behavior. Everytime she barked, I came out out and made her lie down. Then I left - no treat, no attention, just a disciplinary command. Barking mostly stopped. Now if I'm in a store and I look out and she is about to bark I give her the look I give her when I'm annoyed and point my finger down and she looks away and pretends she doesn't see me (so she doesn't have to lie down) ... and best of all, she doesn't bark.

Oh, and Brittany is right. This is still a puppy. He will calm down and mature at about 3 -4 years.
posted by zia at 6:35 PM on October 17, 2007 [1 favorite]

One more thing; I've never gotten into the clicker, but I snap my fingers as I give my commands and it works great.
posted by zia at 6:35 PM on October 17, 2007

He's underexercised and understimulated mentally. Your training may help for a short while, but this dog needs a new home. I'd look at beagle rescue societies in your area for when they inevitably give up on him.
posted by BrotherCaine at 1:10 AM on October 18, 2007

One thing to be careful of is how clearly you word your commands... because if you say things like "No - that's up, I want you to SIT," it will be confusing to the dog because they'll only hear "No. Up. Sit." Similarly when you say things like "No, be a good dog!" it gives mixed signals because they recognize "No. Good dog!" I learned this issue the hard way and fortunately my dog's trainer called me on it.

Also, if he's chewing sprinklers & stuff, give him something better to chew. Try giving him a kong filled with stuff that will take him time to get through. My dog is addicted to peanut butter now, and it's become a great training tool. She will do ANYTHING for a kong filled with peanut butter. I had to cut back on how much I stuff in the kong & how often I give it to her though because she loves it so much it started making her a little chubby for a bit there.
posted by miss lynnster at 2:52 AM on October 18, 2007

lynnster is right — when I was training my dog I read somewhere that you should never use the word "No" to train with, since it's used too frequently in everyday conversation and it can be confusing for the dog. The material I read suggested using something like a harsh "Uh-uh," or like the sound on a game show when someone gets the wrong answer.

This is a much closer sound to the reprimand a mother dog would give her pups (if you really exaggerate it sounds very harsh and arresting) and is not so commonly used as the word "No."
posted by Brittanie at 4:12 AM on October 18, 2007