Dog "challenging rank?" or just looking for attention

[LMH123]

Many of you may have read my previous post about my adopted Rott/German Shephard Percy. Percy is doing well and is acclimating, I am still looking for a good trainer and surprisingly most that I call do not even return my call! (Anyone know of any good trainers in the Newark, NJ area???)

Anyway, Percy has shown less and less aggression and we make sure if he has anything of high value we either let him be or will coax him away with a treat. While he sometimes growls he seems to be learning what is bad behavior. He is a work in progress, most importantly I will never give up on him!

One of his biggest problems is when there are guests or visitors, his excitement turns to jumping up and sometimes slight nipping. We know he is being playful but not everyone wants a 80 pound dog to nip at their hands, so although we loudly declare NO and sometimes have to confine him, I'd like to learn how to combat this. It seems he only does it when a) there are visitors or b) when he is with someone, and someone else from the house comes into the room. He will also try to get pillows, papers anything to rile us up and make him chase him or correct him.

Is this normal? Why is he "showing off" when new people come by acting up. When he is only with one of the owners he is very good and well behaved. Again, still waiting on trainers so any pre-emptive advice is more than welcome.

Thanks in advance!

[hokisteph5]

You could try putting a leash on him and work on getting him to sit/stand when people come in. Additionally, it's important for your guests to ignore his antics and not give him attention until he's behaving properly (according to your standards).

If he's food motivated I would reward for small things and work your way up to him being properly behaved. For example, if he starts by jumping up and then tries nipping, reward him when he doesn't jump. Then when he's not jumping, start also rewarding when he doesn't try to nip.

[jlaack]

Definitely have a leash on him every time there is a visitor to the house. I think in a previous thread about Percy we recommended he have a leash on him every minute he is out of his crate. Based on the above post you still need to be doing this. It will make correcting the jumping behavior easier and also corrections when he is getting into things he shouldn't be. You also need to instruct your guests that the dog receives no attention whatsoever (verbal, eye contact or physical) unless all four paws are on the ground. If he is receiving attention and a paw or two leaves the ground all attention stops. You can also try setting him up with dog people. When he jumps up give him a leash pop and tell him Percy OFF.

will coax him away with a treat. While he sometimes growls he seems to be learning what is bad behavior.

You need to be teaching him Percy Drop or Percy Leave It in conjuction with the trade off. It will be easier for him to learn these commands if you use them with the trade. Then in the future the command can be applied in other ways.

good trainer and surprisingly most that I call do not even return my call! (Anyone know of any good trainers in the Newark, NJ area???)

Start looking a little harder. He needs to be in obedience classes as much as you do. Try calling shelters, rescues, vet clinics, asking for a referral from people you see with well behaved dogs.

[Shelby427]

I agree with the above posts - I deal with this issue too. Hudson gets very excited when we have visitors over as well. He is leashed before anyone enters our house. He must sit by my feet while we have guests over. Guests are instructed not to talk to him, pet him or give him any sort of attention until he is sitting calmly by my feet. Nipping is a HUGE no no. I would be stopping this immediately - even if you think it's him 'playing' it's unacceptable. Neither of my dogs are allowed to do any of this. I try not to crate Hudson when we have people over because I want him to be social in the appropriate way with guests. Shelby is great around anyone, she's excited, but doesn't jump, she licks hands, then she's done. I hope Hudson can be like that some day.

[alfie07]

Hi to everyone, I have been reading every single post - questions and answers - for a while now, and must say that this is a fantastic forum. Every query I have ever had is on this forum somewhere!
I have a 9 month old Rottie called Alfie. He is great in every way except his excitability when ever someone comes to the house. House breaking was a breeze, he is good on a lead, his basic training is up to speed, he has plenty of exercise, his growth is good and monitered by the family vet every 6 weeks - all in all I am very happy with him and he is a happy dog. Except for his relentless attention seeking from visitors to the house. Now, I can go out for a couple of hours and when I get back he doesn't even move off his bed! When my hubby and daughter come home from work you would think he hadn't seen them for a week! I am doing the putting him on a lead when we have visitors exercise, and when that doesn't work I have to put him outside, but then he will throw himself at the door over and over again. I can have a visitor in my house for hours but for as long as they are there, Alfie will not calm down at all. Can anybody offer any further advice?
One more bit of insight in to Alfie's behaviour - although he doesn't get excited when he sees me - at all - he is always looking for my approval. For example, he won't obey any command that my husband gives him if I am in the same room until he has looked at me first. If he gets eye contact with me, he will NOT do a damn thing, unless it comes from me! I will just say that I am Alfies main carer - I feed, train, play, and exercise him. My husband works a 70 hour week and tries to spend quality time with him whenever he can.
He is not our first rottie, we have been the proud owners of 2 other Rotties in the past, but neither of them were as excitable as Alfie.
ANY advice will be very much appreciated.
Sharon

[warrior1]

LMH123, look into St. Huberts. They are are a wonderful orginization. They have training and have an excellent reputation. You can google them and get onto their website. They are out of Madison, NJ, which is within 30 minutes of you. They offer basic classes in Clinton, I believe. Check it out and good luck.

[jlaack]

I am doing the putting him on a lead when we have visitors exercise, and when that doesn't work I have to put him outside,

If this doesn't work than you aren't correcting him. Try having him to lengthy downs. Start of asking for a down for one minute. If he gets up replace him. Increase to 3 minutes, 5 minutes, keep adding time (for up to 30 minutes). Use this when you have company over till he settles down. If he helds his down and appears calmer than let him greet (still on leash). If he doesn't settle down than I would recommend the same as I did to the OP: instruct visitors no voice to the dog, no eye contact, no physical attention and return him to the down.

We started doing this with our dog and it works incredibly well if it is enforced.

[RottsNScotts]

The "secret" to all of this is that you have to be more stubborn than the dog is! If he is on leash, it is physically not possible for him to "win" as he can be restrained from approaching the visitor and, should you stand on the leash near his collar when he is told to down, he isn't going to get up very far before you can correct him either.

Just remember to acknowledge and reward his successes!

[sledhead35]

first of all, i am encouraged by what i see on this forum. im new to the site and its good to see people helping each other out like this. just a quick thought about training tho. i hear a lot about treats, and that is great. our 3 1/2 year old female, nitro, will do anything for a treat. but i have found it is better, when possible, to reward the dog with affection and praise. from my experience this results in more consistant behaviour, plus we all know how much our rotties love encouragement!

[fostermom]

We fostered an adolescent male rotti who would jump/mouth...a trainer who worked with him told me to not react to him (any response reinforces the behavior). I was told to fold my hands at my chest so they weren't targets for him, stand still and look at the ceiling, NOT him..behavior only continues as long as it is being reinforced so he eventually stopped...I was also told to work on an appropriate behavior (like "sit" or targeting my hand where he touches my hand with his nose and is rewarded for that)...then when he was approaching, I'd tell him to sit or offer my hand for him to target, thereby giving him an alternate, acceptable behavior. If he'd get too over the top, I would turn my back on him or leave the room, but not yell, push him down or look at him (dogs HATE to be ignored so their behavior isn't being reinforced). To state the obvious, dogs don't come automatically knowing the behavior you want...so you need to offer them an acceptable behavior to do. When he would do the sit or touch my hand (instead of jumping up on me), he was given a HUGE reward...excited happy voice "what a WONDERFUL boy", treats!!! It's not easy to ignore an exited rotti jumping/mouthing you, and I did question the trainers wisdom, but by the time he adopted, two months later, his new family commented how well behaved he was!
As a word of warning, he may escalate the behavior before he stops doing it (extinction burst)...ie, the old behavior isn't working any more so he tries harder.

[alfie07]

Thank you so much for all your great advice. I am persevering with putting Alfie on a lead when I have visitors, and putting in an extended down till he calms down. Hopefully it will work!
Fostermom: Your last sentence makes perfect sense! The more I do ignore Alfies jumping up etc, he has been getting worse - and I did wonder why... So, to start with, the more I ignore him the worse he may get until one day he 'clicks'? One of my other Rotties used to ignore people who didn't immediately fuss him - as if to say 'I'm ignoring you coz you are ignoring me'!
In every other way Alfie is super and as he is only 9 mths old I am sure that with patience and perseverence I can overcome this.
Thank you all so much - nice to know you are all there for advice. x

[Scottyrm3s]

Originally Posted by jlaack

Definitely have a leash on him every time there is a visitor to the house. I think in a previous thread about Percy we recommended he have a leash on him every minute he is out of his crate. Based on the above post you still need to be doing this. It will make correcting the jumping behavior easier and also corrections when he is getting into things he shouldn't be. You also need to instruct your guests that the dog receives no attention whatsoever (verbal, eye contact or physical) unless all four paws are on the ground. If he is receiving attention and a paw or two leaves the ground all attention stops. You can also try setting him up with dog people. When he jumps up give him a leash pop and tell him Percy OFF.

You need to be teaching him Percy Drop or Percy Leave It in conjuction with the trade off. It will be easier for him to learn these commands if you use them with the trade. Then in the future the command can be applied in other ways.

Start looking a little harder. He needs to be in obedience classes as much as you do. Try calling shelters, rescues, vet clinics, asking for a referral from people you see with well behaved dogs.

I totally agree but I would NOT use the name while correcting. It brings a negative conatation to their name.....youDo not want the Dog relateits name with a correction.

[Scottyrm3s]

Originally Posted by jlaack

If this doesn't work than you aren't correcting him. Try having him to lengthy downs. Start of asking for a down for one minute. If he gets up replace him. Increase to 3 minutes, 5 minutes, keep adding time (for up to 30 minutes). Use this when you have company over till he settles down. If he helds his down and appears calmer than let him greet (still on leash). If he doesn't settle down than I would recommend the same as I did to the OP: instruct visitors no voice to the dog, no eye contact, no physical attention and return him to the down.

We started doing this with our dog and it works incredibly well if it is enforced.

I Agree, I wonder what kind of collar they are using for the corrections..

[Gunsey'sMom]

As a word of warning, he may escalate the behavior before he stops doing it (extinction burst)...ie, the old behavior isn't working any more so he tries harder.

Fostermom makes an excellent point here. And often times this is where it is the most frustrating and easy to throw in the towel. But this is the most important time to stick with it. WHen you have him on the leash be watching for the sign that he is about to jump- if you are to the point where he will follow a verbal AH AH, give him a verbal correction such as that at the first sign- such as that and then reward him for accomplishing the desired behavior- four on the floor. The more times you can rewrad for the right behavior- the more you are reinforcing what you want- instead of just doling out corrections for waht you dont want.

I wouldnt expect too much too soon either. You arent going to be able to get minute and 5 minute downs out of a dog who you are trying to accomplish no jumping with- so focus on first things first- and thats perfectly fine. Then move on or you just set yourself and dog up for frustration and failure.

[jlaack]

Try having him to lengthy downs. Start of asking for a down for one minute. If he gets up replace him. Increase to 3 minutes, 5 minutes, keep adding time (for up to 30 minutes). Use this when you have company over till he settles down. If he helds his down and appears calmer than let him greet (still on leash). If he doesn't settle down than I would recommend the same as I did to the OP: instruct visitors no voice to the dog, no eye contact, no physical attention and return him to the down.
We started doing this with our dog and it works incredibly well if it is enforced.
I Agree, I wonder what kind of collar they are using for the corrections..

I actually do this on a flat collar... We practiced several times a day w/o distractions before we moved this into our response every time someone comes to the door. It is a not a quick fix however doesn't happen after two guests. But things are to the point know that when people come to the door Magnus puts himself into a down until he is released--meaning he now knows an appropriate and alternative behavior that isn't compatible with charging the door or jumping on houseguests.