Does your dog bark at the doorbell? Or get anxious in the car? Or won’t stop pulling on the lead? At Country Living, we know how a pet’s irrational fear, unusual behaviour, or bad habit can affect an owner’s life – so we are excited to launch our brand new dog column, My Dog Dilemma, in collaboration with the experts at the PDSA.
Every week, a vet will answer your dog dilemmas, sharing tips, tricks, and advice to help you and other fellow owners.
Keep reading for our first dog dilemma, submitted by Louise from Essex.
The problem…
My name is Louise and I have a working Golden Retriever, called Mango, who is now two years old. She won’t stop jumping up at people. When I say jumping, I don’t mean being on her hind legs so her paws are on your chest. It’s more like jumping seven feet in the air. She can kiss my dad on the top of his head with ease. When people have met her, they have often said, “I’ve never seen a dog jump like that.” It’s almost as though her legs are metal springs and she can catapult.
It’s been a really difficult problem to curb. We’ve spoken to other dog owners and a personal dog trainer but nothing really has worked. We’ve tried asking people to turn around and ignore her, telling her off, bribing her with treats to stay with four paws on the floor. She knows it’s bad behaviour. She doesn’t do it to me or [my partner] Elliot. Well… she used to. I came home from work once and she was so excited to see me that she leapt up and hit my eye socket so I had a semi-black eye. A literal injury of love.
The advice…
Hello Louise, like Mango, lots of dogs tend to jump as a way of asking for affection and attention. The best way to try and combat Mango’s jumping is by teaching her to redirect this demand for attention. It sounds like you’ve had a good go at trying to teach Mango that this isn’t behaviour that gets rewarded, but consistency is definitely key – trying different ways to stop the behaviour may start to be confusing for her. Ignoring dogs when they jump up can often work as a starter point, but it sounds like Mango is incredibly excited when she sees people, so she may actually be getting frustrated when she doesn’t receive the attention that she wants.
We want to teach her behaviour that keeps her calm, such as lying down on a mat with a chew toy, when people come through the door. Initially, practice this in a calm, controlled environment, giving her calm attention when she is lying down quietly — a chew toy will help with this. Practice frequently, rewarding her for staying on the mat. While she is learning, try to keep her away from the front door so she doesn’t slip back into her jumping-up habits. Teaching Mango to lay down and stay on the mat, is also known as the ‘settle’ command.
As she understands and becomes consistent with this behavior, gradually introduce more distractions. Begin by having one person come through the door, calmly and quietly, while Mango stays on her mat. If she stays calm and remains on the mat, reward her with praise and treats. If she gets up or becomes too excited, gently guide her back to the mat and encourage her to lie down again. It might require some patience whilst Mango is learning but try your best to remain calm and positive with her.
Over time, with consistent practice and positive reinforcement, Mango will learn that lying down on the mat and chewing her toy is a rewarding behavior when people enter the house. If you feel as though you may need some extra help training Mango, we’d recommend consulting an ABTC-registered trainer.
Answered by PDSA Vet Nurse Gemma Renwick
If you would like to have your query answered, please email us at dogs@countryliving.co.uk and tell us a bit about you, your dog (with age and breed), and your problem. Please go into as much detail as possible.
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