Teaching Self Control

[Rottierule]

I was wondering What are some ways to teach self control for example:People come over he is hoping dancing round every now n then jumping up on people not as bad as he was After the person has been here for a while he settles down but most the time works right back up again he is 7 months old I make him sit while holding onto his collar to try and calm him down but he whimpers whines and shakes round like he is a lil ball bouncing off the wall So any help on ways to teach him self control a lil? :D

[BostonRott]

You can do several things:

a) for the specific situation you mentioned, work on a very solid sit with him. When he maintains the sit, the visitor may come greet him. If he breaks (you have him on leash for this), they walk away, he must sit again. When he's calm, they re-approach. Start this with someone familiar with dogs, this particular puppy, and who has been coached on how this is to work.

b) teach "capping" or containment of drive. We use it in SchH all the time, and the agility people are starting to pick up on it. Start with food, get the dog to sit hold the food near the nose (4-6".....or whatever works so that the dog will maintain but not break). If the dog jumps, food disappears, you turn away. No corrections. Get dog all excited about food, let him chase it in your hand, wave it about, then "sit!" Hold the food, wait for dog to maintain the sit, then DROP the food to the dog (don't move your hand to the dog, drop the food). As the dog catches on quickly, start looking for signs that the dog is focused: nub/tail stops wagging, dog stops panting/closes mouth, and/or breathing slows. Think of an animal who is stalking........they are wound up tight, but controlled and focused.......no twitching, no squeeking/yelping, no panting.......all that wasted energy would scare off a prey animal.

Once the dog begins to understand working in drive, or basically, being excited but staying under control, then working in situations like you mentioned will become a lot easier.

[Rottierule]

Well I have a prong collar that I have gotten for him and he seems to act really good when its on Really now that i think about it Reno only acts really *spazzy* around my cousin the rest of the time he is pretty much a lil bit worked up at first then calms down But with my cousin on the other hand its Non stop He isn't a big dog person and does not want to pet him or be around him alot unless he calms down maybe its just a cry for attention in a way but each time he does this my cousin doesn't want anything to do with him that much more lol Also I have been kinda doing the *capping* Without knowing it but will try it more

[Judi W]

so which is it? Does the dog generally go out of control easily or is it just that he pesters this particular person who does not like dogs? If the later, put him up when that person is there.

[Rottierule]

Well he still acts out if its someone new he has never seen before The same as he does with my cousin

[Storm]

By forming some sort of "incentive" associated with the arrival of people this will divert the dog's "attention". With this in mind you can allow the dog to reach a moment of "self containment" then then reinforce this behavior by rewarding it. From your side and your visitor's side they will have to be very consistent and neutral so as not to reinforce or even stimulate any other behaviors. If you are not consistent in this it is unfair to the dog and you can't expect any results.