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Looking for Food

Annette's picture
Tue, 09/11/2007 - 00:10 — Annette

My 6 month old Borador (Border Collie X Lab) is responding reasonably well to training. When I am training I use the reward system however, I have found recently that my dog is biting (playfully) at my hand and I feel that this is because of the reward training. He knows that I keep food in my hand, so he looks for it. How can I stop this when I am not training. I find that he responds well to the reward system. It is during the normal day to day activities that he has begun snapping at my hand. I am not having any luck at present stopping him from jumping on people, can you recommend anything? Also at what age can I introduce another puppy or older dog as a companion for him.

thanks Annette

Comments

Tue, 09/11/2007 - 09:29 — Aidan
Aidan's picture

Doggy Zen

Hi Annette, ahh, you need "Doggy Zen". You can find it in the Training Levels found here.

Also, make sure you're not doing anything to reinforce this behavior. Giving food would be the obvious one, but shooing, growling, flapping your hands, youching or that sort of thing might reinforce it too. (Not suggesting that you do any of these things, but you catch my drift...)

Jumping on visitors is covered in the Secrets of Positive Training for Real Results e-course, with the same article also found in The Positive Petzine Collection book or e-book. It starts with teaching 'sit', which needs to be reliable with mild distractions.

I like to see about 18 months between pups. The reason for this is that most people, unless they are very experienced, will have trouble raising more than one pup at a time. I wish breeders wouldn't allow it. (On that topic, the statistics for litter mates raised in the same home are very grim)

What's more, an immature adolescent or adult will often do a very poor job of helping to raise a pup. Most dogs start to get a bit of wisdom by 18 months, but are still young enough to have fun.

Put as much time into training and socialising your pup as you can. Let him meet new people, go new places, and play with other stable, friendly dogs with good manners. Then soon enough, he'll be ready to help you raise another pup.

These are all broad generalisations, of course. Some pups do very well with each other with small age differences. Temperament and training have a lot to do with it. But my thinking is that in another 12 months you'll be more experienced and your pup will be more mature, and there is a lot of work raising just one pup (let alone two!)

By the way, all that time you are at work - your pup spends most of it sleeping. The trick is to provide mental workouts and playful exercise when you come home and include pup in your day to day activities when you are home.

While dogs do generally like some canine companionship, it's not always the case. Out of my multiple dog owning friends, most of their dogs don't always get along. My own dogs don't always get along, and I know both of my dogs would prefer to have me to themselves!

Regards,
Aidan
http://www.positivepetzine.com

Tue, 09/18/2007 - 09:23 — bluefilly

looking for food

I would reduce the food rewards, and only offer them intermittently. And you won't need them at all once the responses become automatic. Keep the dog guessing in the meantime as to whether he will get a treat or not each time.

You can offer other rewards - nice word ("good dog"), pat, or playtime with a toy (eg a tug toy, short game of fetch).

I use the words Uh Uh when my dog is doing something I dont want him to do. Try that or another harsh sound, or even a growl. Once your dog stops biting, reward with a pat, a Good Dog, and focus his attention elsewhere, or ask him to do something. You could also use the same technique for the jumping up.

Another technique for jumping up is to turn away from the dog, cross your arms and stand there, no eye contact. No reward for jumping up means no motivation to continue to do it. Dont pat your dog for no reason, but only as a reward for doing something you ask. A well known dog trainer here mentions that often. If your dog asks for attention, don't offer it. Ask him to sit, and then pat him. A sitting dog is also less likely to jump up.

I taught an annoying neighbours dog that the only way he would get a pat is if he sat. If he jumped up, he got nothing. He learned fast, and although he was young and hyperactive, and his bottom wriggled when he sat, he was at least sitting. Better than being knocked down by him.

Mon, 10/08/2007 - 07:05 — mearthone
mearthone's picture

Jumping/Biting/Nipping

Yes, definitely Doggie Zen, Training Levels, and Aidan's e-zine collection!

Have you tried dropping the treats on the floor, rather than giving them from your hand? How about targeting? (getting C/T for touching your hand NOT biting your hand :-)

As a retired breeder, I would not let two pups go to the same family at the same time. Also, if a family had another young dog, or was going to get one from another breeder at the same time, I wouldn't let them have one of my pups. Once I explained to the humans that 2 pups would have to be treated individually, which meant taking them to 2 separate training classes, 2 crates and only one dog out for training at a time, how 2 litter mates will tend to bond to each other rather than their human pack and wreck havoc, they understood.

Best of luck and Doggy Slobbers for being caring enough to ask the question!

Connie & the IslandZooCrew