Adrienne

With growling upon being touched, especially in a household with children, it's important to really thread with caution. Hugging and kissing should be avoided for safety. This because dogs do not understand hugs and kisses in the same way us humans do. Dogs belong to a category of animals who unlike primates, do not use hugging among each other. Unlike humans, dogs do not carry their offspring in their arms. Actually, placing paws on faces, shoulders or backs is considered rude behavior that's sometimes somewhat tolerated from puppies (who haven't yet developed canine social etiquette) or during play following special meta-signals that emphasize that the pawing behavior is part of play and not to be taken seriously. What does a hug feel to a dog? Let's put ourselves in their shoes. For starters, when a dog is being hugged, he is taken away the option to leave, so this may cause him to feel trapped and defensive. Add on top of that that the face is placed close to his, we place our arms around him and sometimes even squeeze, a whole stimulus package that can make dogs negatively react. Among dogs hugging is not a natural behavior. How dogs react to human hugs may vary between one dog and another. Some dogs may have learned to associate being hugged with attention, treats and sweet talking, others may just benevolently tolerate them, and some others may actually dread them, turning into the canine version of ticking time bombs who may eventually explode at some time (that means they'll eventually bite). Kisses are also not very well understood by dogs. When a dog is kissed, it means bringing our faces very close to theirs, something that not all dogs are comfortable with. Dogs don't kiss and bringing the mouth near them only resembles an intent to bite. Kids often feel tempted to hug and kiss dogs and this is a factor as to why children are also the most common victims of dog bites. Because children may not recognize early warning signs that a dog is about to bite, they are particularly vulnerable. A growl is an early warning sign, it's a dog 'using his words" and informing that he may next decide to bite. Important is to never suppress warning signs by scolding the dog. Here is why: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/growling-never-suppressed-dogs/ Here is a read about early signs of aggression and Kendal Shepherd's ladder of aggression: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/dogs-dont-bite-blue/ I believe that since your dog is still very young, he would benefit from some behavior modification exercises using desensitization and counterconditioning done under the guidance of a behavior professional using force-free behavior modification methods, however in the meanwhile, it's important to put everyone's safety first. Ensure you children refrain from hugging and kissing or moving your dog in certain uncomfortable ways. Avoid people from petting your pup if he doesn't seem happy being handled. Watch your dog's body language and aim to keep your dog under threshold. The more your dog feels uncomfortable around children/people, the more he'll tense up when around them when instead we want to pave the path towards creating lots of positive associations to the point of obtaining a conditioned emotional response. The behavior professional will also likely be able to conduct an assessment to determine whether your dog is a good candidate for becoming a service dog. I hope this helps! Best, Adrienne Disclaimer: behavior modification comes with risks. If your puppy or dog shows signs of potential aggression (lunging, barking, growling, snapping, biting) for safety, please consult with a dog behavior professional (DACVB, CAAB or dog trainer specializing in aggression) who uses force-free behavior modification techniques for direct in-person guidance. Articles, videos and general info found in the forums or course (or any online source) are not meant to replace in-person training/instruction. By using this course and forum, you are waiving any liability claims or other type of claims related to any dogs' behavior against you or others.

Hello and welcome to the forums, How wonderful that your golden has a calm temperament and you are planning on training him to be a service dog! I will be tackling the two issues you are facing in two different posts. So let's start with the jumping. It sounds like he is doing pretty well greeting others but, sometimes he still manages to jump on occasion. It would be important being very observant and finding out why some specific people seem to evoke the jumping behavior. It seems like though you have already identified this, when you state that he struggles more with people who are too excited or lean down to pet him. I have found that dealing with this type of problem requires management, low-level exposures and the collaboration of the people you are exposing him to. So here are some general tips/guidelines: -Avoid Physical Methods This is just a general note, since there are websites (and even some dog trainers) still advocating physical and outdated methods. When dealing with dog behavior problems, it's important to avoid any physical or intimidation-based methods. Pushing a dog away, grabbing his paw to unbalance him or using the knee to block/move him away may increase a dog's arousal. Using the hands or legs can therefore make a dog more hyper as he perceives it as an interactive game and a form of attention (dogs find all kinds of attention reinforcing, even if it's of the negative type). On top of this, correcting a dog physically risks potentially leading to a dog who bites defensively which is a much greater and labor-intensive problem than dealing with a dog who is simply jumping. -Prevent Rehearsal of the Problem Behavior Just as actors rehearsing a play get better and better in performing the more they practice, dogs get particularly good at acting overly excited the more they get to practice the hyper jumping when greeting behavior. The age-old saying "practice makes perfect" applies to dogs as well. Therefore, try your best to prevent your dog from rehearsing the overly excited jumping behavior as much as you can. Management is imperative and goes a long way in these cases. For example, if you have guests who make him hyper when they enter the door, keep your dog on leash at a distance from your guests or behind a pet gate or baby gate. If your dog jumps on certain people he meets on walks, don't stop to talk to them or at least stay at distance from these people so that your dog doesn't feel compelled to jump. In other words, avoid putting your dog into overwhelming situations that you know have caused jumping behaviors in the past. "When in doubt, leave it out," just simply avoid exposing your dog to overwhelming situations. So the main goal of management is to prevent rehearsal of the problem behavior. It can be used for those times when you do not have time to train or when you are in the early stages of training. -Create Systematic Set Ups Dogs who get overly excited during greetings to the point of jumping benefit from a plan that involves desensitization. Desensitization is a behavior modification technique that entails presenting stimuli or situations to the dog in such a way that they don't evoke the problem behavior. You can read more about this behavior mod method here: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/desensitization/ The dog is therefore carefully exposed to less intense situations, which increases the chance that the dog remains under threshold and in a better "learning state." Here is a read on dog thresholds: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/threshold-levels/ The goal is therefore to use of baby steps, breaking down tasks into smaller, easier to assimilate ­components and then practicing in more ­manageable chunks as things get better. In the case of a dog jumping when greeting, this would mean exposing the dog to people at a distance that doesn't evoke the overly excited behavior so that the dog remains in a calmer state and is more capable of learning how to better cope with his emotions. Systematic set-ups can therefore be organized with a few volunteers. You can enlist the help of some friends to meet casually on walks at a distance. Friends should be instructed to not talk to your dog or look at him and to maintain a certain distance. They should only talk to you and make contact with you and keep the encounter short. Friends can be also invited over to do the same. No talking or making eye contact with the dog, while your dog is on leash at a distance or behind a baby gate. Such setups are very important because here's the thing: just as rehearsing hyper behaviors makes them stronger, it’s equally true that rehearsing calmer, less hyper behavior makes these stronger too, which in this case, is exactly what we want! -Train an Alternate Behavior to Focus On Once your have found that sweet spot where your dog acts calmer while o leash at a distance, it's time to put his brain to use. Arm yourself with the tastiest high-value treats (keep them in a bowl by the door when receiving guests or in your pocket or treat bag when on walks) and offer these contingent upon the dog practicing a desirable behavior that your dog was previously trained to a fluent level (like a solid sit or down). If he is too hyper on leash, keep him behind a pet gate for the first few minutes until your guests are seated and he is an a calmer state. Then let him out on leash, ask him to perform a few behaviors, reward them and then place him back behind the pet gate with something to keep him busy and happy for some time. If you are walking your dog, practice several steps of attention heeling (dog walking as he looks up at you as explained here: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/brain-training/obedience-101/heeling-attention-heeling/ Do this as you walk by them at a distance, and lavishly praise and reward him every few steps. When you stop to talk with these friends at a distance, you can ask your dog to sit at a distance, reinforce that and then ask him to do a couple of tricks and then drop a few treats every now as you chit-chat or let him tug with a toy for a bit and then leave explaining to your friend that your dog is in training and you need to resume your walk. Keeping the encounters brief and fun will help your dog succeed and lower the chances that your dog may revert to his old jumping antics. Don't give a chance for a setback to blur a nice progress! -Be a Splitter Not a Lumper "Be a splitter, not a lumper," is a common saying among dog trainers. This simply means, breaking tasks into smaller steps rather than going for big chunks. Make things easy-peasy for your dog. So start practicing by exposing to people at a distance who ignore your dog, then work at closer distances (those that don' evoke jumping), then start adding some slight challenges, like people who look at your dog, people who talk to your dog. Remember this very important rule: if your dog jumps at any time, take it as a sign that you have progressed too fast and he wasn't ready for that level of distraction. You will therefore need to take a few steps back and expose to less overwhelming forms, and gradually build up from there. For example, if your dog did well not jumping on people who ignored him, and also did well with people who looked at him, but now tried to jump on the first person who tried to talk to him saying "Hello!"in an excited, loud tone, go back a few steps and practice with this same person ignoring him, then looking at him, and then saying "hello" from a distance in a calmer, lower tone, then closer in a less calm voice, until you can build up gradually to your dog not jumping on the person saying "hello!" in the original excited, loud tone. If your dog struggles with jumping when greetings guests, break the behavior in smaller components. For instance, with your dog on leash train you dog to sit by the door, then progress to sit with the door open, then with a volunteer taking one step through door, then with the volunteer entering, then entering with an excited voice etc etc. All the pieces need to be broken down and if your dog jumps, find out what triggered the jump, take a few steps back and add further intermediate steps as needed to reach that level of intensity with your dog sitting calmly. Make sure to use high-value treats to reward calm, desirable behaviors such as not jumping, ignoring the person or even better sitting. If your dog isn't very fond of being touched, I would skip having people touch him/pet him for now. We need to thread with caution here because some dogs may jump to stop certain interactions or to deliver a muzzle punch which is meant to increase distance rather than decrease it. -Enroll in Canine Good Citizen Course If you have the chance in the near future (COVID 19 permitting) enroll your dog in a canine good citizen course that prepares you and your dog for the canine good citizen test. This is a great first step for service dogs. In this course, your dog will learn many great impulse control skills such as to accept the presence of a friendly stranger (with whom you shake hands) without jumping. The training at subthreshold levels is very important. Your dog in a better thinking-state and therefore learns to stay calm. -Avoid Uncollaborative People You may find that training dogs not to jump involves training people as well. During training, you will want people to ignore your dog. If your tries to jump or your dog jumps, your helpers should stop approaching or even turn their back if the dog persists. If possible, stay away from people who won't follow your directions. Some people will want to give loads of fuss even when dogs jump up on them. They may tell you that it's OK for them if your dog jumps on them and some may even question your training. Avoid these people until your dog is better under control. -Encourage Calm Activities Dogs who are prone to getting overly excited by certain people benefit from learning how great it feels to feel calm. These dogs benefit from learning the perks of lying calmly on a mat. Here is a video demonstration on how to train it: how to train your dog to lie on a mat. It also helps a lot to train dogs how to better cope with their frustration and learn to control their impulses. Here are some ways to improve a dog's impulse control: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/impulse-control-frustration-tolerance/ Brain games, clicker training, foraging opportunities, nose work are all great activities that help dogs stay practice calm behaviors. -Think About it as Re-Wiring Your Dog's Brain Think about the whole project as a way to "rewire your dog's brain." His brain is now on automatic mode "gotta start jumping when greeting excited people" and you want to rewire it into "gotta stay calm and engage in some other activity despite the distraction." You will need to therefore find ways to re-wire his brain to seek other forms of engagement that compete against the reward he is getting from jumping up on these people. You can start with organizing some easy games and activities when meeting people on walks or when guests are over to defuse the initial excitement. Such games provide food without much thinking involved (dropping treats when you stop to talk to a friend on walks, giving a dog a cookie that takes a few minutes to eat while guests come in and sit down, playing a treasure hunt game https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/brain-training/elementary/the-treasure-hunt/when guests come in or the bottle game -which most pups can't resist this game. https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/brain-training/high-school/the-bottle-game/ Afterward, once the excitement is defused, one can then gradually move to obedience cues that require more thinking (hand targeting, going to the mat as guests come through the door, having the dog hold a sit-stay) https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/brain-training/obedience-101/stay/ Finally, a word of caution. As mentioned before, not all dogs jump because they are happy greeters. In some circumstances, dogs may jump to put distance with certain people. These are classified as anxiety-related behaviors that are distance-increasing. In other words, the dog jumps to put more distance rather than decrease it. They are saying to people 'go away" rather than 'come closer and pet me" and since jumping makes some people really move away, dogs may continue jumping since jumping has helped accomplish their goal. These dogs need more behavior modification than actual training to better control their excitement and eagerness to greet people.

Hello and welcome to the forums, Prong collars (and even choke collars) are something I do not personally recommend. The reasons for this are several, here are a few: - A prong collar is a corrective device. In other words, it's meant to work by creating an unpleasant sensation around the dog's neck (the prongs "dig" into the skin). There are two mechanisms of action: active correction (directly from the owner) or passive correction (indirectly). Active correction takes place when the owner deliberately delivers a correction by yanking the leash when the dog is showing signs of "misbehaving." The yank is given contingent upon the dog performing an undesirable behavior. Passive correction takes place when the dog pulls on the leash, in other words, the dog receives an "auto-correction" since upon pulling, the strain on the leash causes the prong collar to tighten around the neck. When a dog therefore lunges towards other dogs, one may deliver a correction, or the dog may get an "auto-correction". -Potential fallouts. In the case of a dog pulling and getting an autocorrection or a deliberate correction from the owner, one would think that the dog associates lunging with the pain and therefore, should stop lunging. But there's more into that. First of all, depending on the dog's pain threshold/situation (when dogs go through adrenaline surges as it happens during fight or flight) they may have reduced perception of pain/discomfort), this may or may not result in reduced pulling behavior. Secondly, lunging is simply an outward manifestation of internal turmoil. Correction after correction, the dog risks learning to associate the presence of other dogs with the pain of the collar, with the potential for further increasing reactivity. Fixing pulling and lunging behaviors with corrective tools therefore risks increasing anxiety and aggression. Board-certified veterinary behaviorists Dr. Soraya V. Juarbe-Diaz explains, “I can stop any behavior, but I am more interested in teaching my students, animal or human, to choose the behavior I want them to perform because they can trust me, because I do not hurt them and they are safe with me, and because the outcome is something they enjoy. Mistakes are inherent in any type of learning — if I continually frighten or hurt my students when they get something wrong, eventually they will be afraid to try anything new and will not want to learn from me any longer." -Physical results. The negative repercussions explains why Austria and Switzerland have banned the use of prongs and why many dog trainers, behaviorists and veterinarians are concerned about their use. Veterinarian and thyroid expert Dr. Jean Dodds claims that prong collars can easily injure a dog's thyroid as well as the salivary glands and salivary lymph nodes. In developing puppies, these structures are even more vulnerable. So what tools do I recommend for dogs who pull and large dogs? In general, I prefer front-attachment harnesses. Lately, the Perfect Fit harness has received rave reviews among dog trainers along with the Balance Harness and the Ruffwear Front Range harness. Another option that may work for some dogs are head halters, although these need an adjustment period (to get the dog used to wearing it). And of course, it should never be forgotten that training is the ultimate answer for training dogs to walk nicely. Only training, along with gentle guidance, patience and time is what ultimately stops pulling. https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/brain-training/obedience-101/heeling-attention-heeling/ In regards, to the muzzle, I think muzzle training is always a good practice, even with dogs who do not bite. This training can start early with puppies. I am using a nylon muzzle in my video, which I use for vet visits (when there are chances the dog may be pain) but basket muzzles are a better option for management purposes. https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/video-archive/train-your-dog-to-wear-a-muzzle/ Generally, in the case of puppies, muzzles are mostly temporarily used for cases of them ingesting things in the yard. They are not typically used for young puppies who bite out of play or just normal puppy nipping. This because it may interfere with the acquisition of bite inhibition and it can lead to frustration since puppies are naturally prone to play bite/explore with their mouths and they may be teething. If there are more serious forms of biting though (like resource guarding), then its use can vary on a case by case basis. Of course, muzzles are just management tools. They are not meant to expose dogs to overwhelming situations that puts them in the position of wanting to bite. It's important to therefore work on behavior modification while having the dog wear the muzzle, which in aggression cases, should be done under the in-person guidance of a dog behavior professional for safety and correct implementation.

Thanks for the extra details, very helpful! At 6 months, yes, your pup is in the adolescent stage, a time where things can get a bit challenging. You can read more about the changes occurring during this time here: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/survive-dogs-adolescent-stage/ It is great that your pup does not draw blood and that he is controlling the pressure of his biting. This tells us that he has attained a good level of bite inhibition.https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/bite-inhibition-games/ It is also good that you don't have young children, as young children often end up overstimulating dogs, revving them up which contributes to them becoming more mouthy, creating a vicious cycle. I am not too familiar with this type of dog, but from what I am reading they are descendants of the Iberian Hound and were often crossed with feral dogs of the island. With a history of being used to hunt small game, I can imagine their high energy levels. While some excitement is expected when young dogs greet owners coming home or when they get to meet guests, too much excitement leads to dogs who become too overstimulated and nippy. It's important to help dogs learn how to relax and cope with their emotions. Most dogs as they mature become more adept at mastering these skills, but it's important providing them with guidance. If we allow them to rehearse overly excited behaviors for too long and it too many contexts, it risks becoming a dog's default, programmed response to such situations. In these circumstances, a dog's cognitive functioning seem to be gone and your requests to calm down may seem to go to deaf ears as if his brain shuts off. This description may seem like an over exaggeration, but there is some truth to it overall. Here's the thing: An overstimulated dog can get so caught up in his emotions that his brain shuts down and he cannot rationally think clearly enough to respond to your cues leading to what seems like a total loss of control. In training terms, we like to call this a dog who is "over threshold." https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/threshold-levels/ When in this reactive state mind, a dog cannot control his instinctive reactions such as jumping and biting and is unable to respond to known cues, such as your requests to sit or lie down. "But he knows what "sit" means very well! He always does it at home and responds most of the time!" True, but he struggles in applying this in distracting environments because he's waaay too overstimulated. You may therefore notice this scenario happening in face of overly stimulating situations such as when guests present at the front door or upon returning home. As much as dealing with an overly excited dog who bites sounds frustrating, in many cases, us humans aren't much different after all. Many of us fall apart when dealing with too much stress or excitement. Soldiers hold extensive training for emergencies to learn how to keep cool and react in a way that is needed to survive. Public speaking may induces nothing but terror in some people causing their minds to “go blank.” I think in a case like yours, your pup will benefit from a multi-pronged approach tackling the issue from a variety of angles, for a sort of "holistic" approach. In simple terms, the dog needs to be brought into a thinking state. This needs to be done gradually and systematically. The good news is that, the more we allow a dog to enter a thinking state, the more the thinking state establishes, paving the path towards a dog who learns how to cope better with his emotions and remain under threshold. It goes without saying that the change doesn't occur overnight, but the more you are consistent and persist, the more quickly you'll start noticing improvements. Here are some tips/ideas that comes to mind: -Avoid Physical Methods It can be very tempting to correct a dog who bites when excited by scolding the dog, pushing him away or maybe even delivering an alpha roll, muzzle grab or a scruff shake. These methods though are very likely to back fire, exacerbating the arousal or even turning a dog from biting from play or excitement into a more serious, more difficult to treat form of biting: biting for defense. So anything physical or any approach based on intimidation should not be used and if used before they should be stopped. -Prevent Rehearsal of the Overly Excited Behavior Just as actors rehearsing a play get better and better in performing, dogs get particularly good at acting overly excited the more they get to practice the behavior. "Practice makes perfect" goes the saying. Therefore, try your best to prevent your dog from rehearsing the overly excited biting behavior as much as you can. Management goes a long way in these cases. The purpose of management is to prevent rehearsals and can be used for those times when you do not have time to train or when you are in the early stages of training, but your ultimate goal should be training your puppy to engage in alternate, more desirable behaviors and reinforce those heavily so that your puppy chooses to engage in these behaviors more and more. This means, when you have guests over, don't let him interact with them until you have worked on training a solid response. If your dog gets overly excited and nipping when meeting people on walks, don't let him greet them until you have worked on training a solid response. If he gets overly excited when greeting you at the door, keep him confined to a separated area to give him some time to calm down until you have worked on training a solid response. In other words, avoid putting your dog into overwhelming situations that evoke the undesirable behavior. This sets your dog for failure and allows the behavior to put roots, become ingrained, and therefore, more and more difficult to eradicate. -Create Systematic Set Ups Dogs who get overly excited to the point of biting benefit from a plan that involves desensitization. Desensitization is a behavior intervention strategy that entails presenting stimuli or situations to the dog in such a way that they don't evoke the problem behavior. You can read more about it here: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/desensitization/ In other words, the dog is not exposed to overwhelming situations known for triggering excessive excitement, but rather he is exposed to less intense forms so that the dog is under threshold and in a better "learning state." It's sort of like inviting people with a phobia of speaking to the public to a Toastmaster's Club where they are instilled confidence by a supportive environment and are trained to speak to the public gradually. It's all about baby steps, breaking down tasks into smaller, easier to assimilate ­components and then practicing in more ­manageable chunks as things get better. "Be a splitter, not a lumper," is a common saying among dog trainers. So back to dogs, this would mean exposing the dog to triggers or situations at a distance that don't evoke the overly excited behavior so that the dog learns how to better cope with his emotions. This could mean keeping the dog confined behind a pet gate when guests come over with something desirable to chew to keep busy during the visit or walking the dog at a distance from people that doesn't trigger the excited whining, jumping and mouthing or keeping him confined to a separated area when you come home, ignoring his hyper behavior and giving attention once he is in a calmer state. This is very important because here's the thing: just as rehearsing hyper behaviors makes them stronger, it’s equally true that rehearsing calmer, less hyper behavior makes these stronger too, which in this case, is exactly what we want! -Train an Alternate Behavior to Focus On Once your have found that sweet spot where your dog is calmer, it's time to put that brain to use. Arm yourself with the tastiest high-value treats and offer these contingent upon the dog practicing a desirable behavior that your dog was previously trained to a fluent level. Remember, training starts in an area free of distractions and then distractions are added very gradually always ensuring the dog remains in a good thinking state. For example, when you have your guests over and your dog is at a distance behind the pet gate, ask your dog to sit and maybe do even a trick and feed him treats for complying. With the guests farther away, his brain should no longer be stalled, so he should be in a better thinking state. If your dog jumps and bites when meeting people on walks, practice several steps of attention heeling (dog walking by as he looks up at you) as you walk by them at a distance, and lavishly praise and reward him every few steps. If you dog bites when you come home from work, let him focus on the floor, by tossing several tasty treats on the ground in a treasure hunt fashion and telling him to "find it!" Keep the treats handy by the entrance or keep them in your car and carry them in your pocket as you are ready to come come home. Here is how to teach the treasure hunt game: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/brain-training/elementary/the-treasure-hunt/ This training at subthreshold levels is very rewarding for both you and your dog. Your dog in a better thinking-state and therefore learns to stay calm, while you are rewarded with finally some results. It's just a matter of taking small, baby steps. -Gradually Raise Criteria "Slow and steady wins the race" goes the saying. This applies as well in training and behavior modification. We want to start with easy-peasy baby steps and progress very gradually, always working at the dog's comfort level. Going too fast in the process may cause the behavior to break apart and lead to setbacks (dog reverting to the overly excited behavior). While a setback can be frustrating, it won't harm too much if you quickly remedy the situation by taking a few steps back and presenting the challenge into smaller subs-steps. It also helps to make a mental note of what may have triggered the reaction so to avoid presenting an increased level of challenge that the dog isn't yet ready to face. If your dog get overly excited and nippy when guests come over, but has been more responsive when kept at a distance behind a pet gate, you can move the pet gate closer and work on asking him some cues from there. Afterward, you can practice with your dog on leash with you sitting at a distance from the guests who are also calmly sitting, and then finally you can practice off leash having the guests take turns asking your dog to sit for treats and maybe even do some fun hand targets (which work great to teach dog an alternate way to interact with hands rather than biting). Here is the guide on hand targeting: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/brain-training/preschool/targeting/ There are also fun games you can play with your dog to keep his mind busy and away from acting overly excited. For instance, when guests are over, you can toss treats or hide them around the room in a treasure-hunt fashion to keep him busy searching for them or you can offer him a bottle filled with kibble to work on getting out. The key is to keep him busy so that he's less attracted to acting out. https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/brain-training/high-school/the-bottle-game/ -Keep it Brief and Fun As always, make sure to not put your dog into situations that may trigger once again the excited behavior. He may not be ready yet to face them. Think strategically and preventively- sort of like defensive driving, scanning for problems before they even have a chance to occur. For example, when guests come over, you may have better results if you don't have your dog greet them when they come through the door. Keep him behind the pet gate for the first few minutes until your guests are seated and he is an a calmer state. Then let him out, ask him to perform a few behaviors, maybe a few hand targets, reward them and let him scavenge for a few treats/kibbles tossed around the room to allow him to rehearse a calm thinking state and then place him back behind the pet gate with something to keep him busy and happy for some time. Keeping the encounters brief and rewarding will help your dog succeed and lower the chances that your dog may revert to his old antics. Don't give a chance for a setback to cloud a nice progress. For example, I know some dog owners who are eager to get their fearful dogs to meet other dogs. These dogs do well the first few seconds of the encounter, and then at some point, they either get stressed, or the other dog does something that they do not like and this causes them to growl. If only the encounter was kept brief, both dog and owners would have come home to a pleasant experience, rather than a negative one. -Encourage Calm Activities Dogs who get overly excited benefit from learning how great it feels to feel calm. These dogs benefit from learning the perks of lying calmly on a mat. Here is guide and video demonstration on how to train it: how to train your dog to lie on a mat. It also helps a lot to train dogs how to better cope with their frustration and learn to control their impulses. Here are some ideas: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/impulse-control-frustration-tolerance/ Brain games, clicker training, foraging opportunities, nose work are all great activities that help dogs practice calm behaviors. -Something to Consider With Nippy Puppies If you are dealing with a puppy who bites when excited, consider that your puppy may be getting too overstimulated and cranky. Puppies need sleep and they also need to learn how to regulate their emotions. Prevent your puppy from getting overstimulated or cranky. I hope this helps! I know you mentioned not much stops him, but most pups will not give up a treasure hunt or a a game of chasing tossed kibble/treats (you can train the smacking sound to redirect him at a moment's notice and then toss treats/kibble https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/the-airplane-game/the-smacking-sound/, or a Kong stuffed with some peanut butter placed on a mat, or a Licki-mat to lick with some meat-based baby food (with no onion or garlic) smeared on it, or if your pup is very toy-driven, a flirt pole can be very attractive. The goal is to keep him occupied on something else and create a new routine that replaces the undesirable one. Think about this as a way to "rewire his brain." His brain is stuck on the automatic mode "gotta start biting when excited/in need of attention". You will need to therefore find ways to re-wire his brain to seek other forms of engagement that compete against the reward he is getting from biting (engagement/attention/interaction). You can start with the easier games that provide food without much thinking involved (smacking sound followed by treat toss, treasure game, bottle game -most pups can't resist this game-, muffin game), and then gradually move to games that require more thinking (hand targeting, going to the mat, grabbing a toy on cue etc). Keep me posted on how things go! Happy training! Best, Adrienne

I am glad the potty training issue was sorted out. At 5 months, your puppy is maturing and finding all sorts of things encountered on walks interesting to explore. We are now at the flight stage, a time when puppies get more confident and independent. https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/flight-instinct-period-4-8-months/ On top of this, I am assuming your puppy is some sort of spaniel (brittany?) and these dogs are very attracted to sniffing and chasing birds because they were selectively bred for flushing birds out of thick brush and into nets. You are on the right track in not rewarding the pulling with any forward motion. If we allow our dog to pull, we only teach them that it works, and dogs will assume that that's just the normal way to walk. Dogs are faster in walking than us humans, and are attracted to many things, so it's natural for them to walk ahead and eagerly go sniff and chase birds as they are instinctively inclined to do. Stopping when the dog pulls and reinforcing loose leash walking with forward movement gives the dog feedback on what we expect. The loose leash is our accelerator and the tense leash is our brakes. It can take some time for this concept to kick in and the first walks may feel like they take forever, but it gets better the more we practice. Twice a day walks or at a minimum one daily walk provide the opportunity to keep this concept fresh in the dog's mind, as if we walk only every now and then, the dog may be too energetic and over threshold to listen. Based on your situation, here are a few extra tips that come to mind: -Drain excess energy. If you can find a compatible play companion ( like another puppy that has completed vaccines) that will help burn off some of the physical energy, and can help make the walk easier and nicer. Alternatively, if you have a fenced yard or somewhere else to play, try burning off some of that energy before you go for your walk. A walk may not be enough exercise for a young hunting breed, and it can be frustrating for a hyper pup to move at a slower human pace when all they want to do is explore and run. -Use sniffing as a reward for polite leash walking. We often think of treats as a way to reward a dog who walks nicely next to us, but for some outdoorsy breeds, being allowed to sniff and explore can be equally reinforcing or even a higher reinforcer. You can use a long line for sending him to sniff. A long line is a longer leash that a regular leash and it's often sold in horse tack stores or online as dog recall training leashes. If you use a 15 foot leash you can send him to sniff which gives some distance and still a loose leash. -Mix things up. Asking a young pup with a short attention span to heel for 20 minutes straight can be challenging. You can add some variety on walks to keep your pup's interest alive. For instance, you can do some polite walking for 20 steps, then you can reward that by giving your pup permission to sniff, then you can do some more steps of polite walking using high-value treats to reward heel position, then you can ask some hand targets https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/brain-training/preschool/targeting/, then a little more walking reinforced with sniffing, then you can do some walking with some added turns, then you can drop some kibble on the ground and let her "go find!" in a treasure hunt-style https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/brain-training/elementary/the-treasure-hunt/and then you can offer a higher-value treat or toy (kept in your pocket) when he comes to you and chooses to walk by your side. - Use a short leash for polite leash walking and a long line for sniffing strolls. Your pup can learn over time what to do with different lengths of leashes just as service dogs learn it's time to work when they wear their working harness. To help your puppy succeed, you may find it helpful to do more polite leash walking really close to your house where your pup is more familiar with the area or at the end of the walk when your pup is more tired. -Reward voluntary check-ins. When using the long line, make sure to always praise and reward your puppy for checking- in with you (comes to you or looks back at you). With time, your puppy may learn to do this more and more often. At some point, after your puppy starts offering real attention rather than just an occasional glance, you can then start using sniffing as reinforcement for polite leash walking. -Practice off- leash. When at home or in a securely fenced yard, practice training your pup to stick to your side. Polite leash walking really has little to do with a leash (the leash is there just for safety and to obey leash laws) it's all about creating a strong bond and a strongly reinforced habit. You are basically mostly reinforcing position and moving with you despite tempting distractions. Work gradually under distractions. Remember that you are working under strong distractions with a breed blessed with ingrained chasing instincts, so you're looking more at an advanced form of training. This takes time and lots of practice. You need to start indoors, then in the yard and then gradually increase distractions on walks. Create set-ups. One of my favorite training methods for hunting breeds is to practice leave its https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/brain-training/obedience-101/take-leave-it/ with fake birds (you can find these online) and have helpers that drag around such stuffed animals tied to a long string in tall grass. I also have helpers also toss rocks (without the dog seeing) in tall grass on an opposite field and practice with that while the dog is on a long line. Soon, the dog realizes that the sounds of grass being moved by the tossed rocks doesn't produce prey and learns to attend less to it and pay more attention to the treats I have. -Try the smacking sound. With some challenging hunting dogs, I find that more than verbal cues (like saying leave it) they may respond more readily to sounds. I have therefore had more success with these guys by making a smacking sound and then delivering a treat to reinforce paying attention to me/looking at me. I start training this in areas with little distractions like a fenced yard and then gradually increase the level of distractions. Rep after rep, the goal is to have a dog who learns to look at you by default anytime your dog hears a sound/catches a smell. Here is how to train the smacking sound: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/the-airplane-game/the-smacking-sound/ -Use a flirt pole. Practicing leave its and drop its with a flirt pole can also turn helpful. This is a good impulse control exercise. -Reward with high-value foods. Very important is to use very high value rewards for choosing to leave it or walk nicely on a loose leash. These rewards need to surpass the adrenaline associated with the fun of the chase. I like to feed several treats in a row (I use the super duper high value foods like strips of baked liver) to leave a strong impact. However, in some dogs bred for hunting, the drive/instinct to hunt is so strong that they can care less even if you dangle a slice of liverwurst in their face. Their eyes are sort of glazed over, and they look as if they're in a trance. It's important to catch them before they get to this state and are still under threshold. -Don't forget about scent. Hunting dogs are blessed with strong noses so you may want too practice with scent too. Find some feathers, you can practice with those (since they retain some odor) by creating set-ups. You can have a helper on walks place them in a bushy area (prior to you walking by), and you can practice walking by that area and doing leave its initially at a distance from the bush (always with the leash) using super value treats to reinforce good choices. Another idea that comes to mind, if you spot on walks an area where there are often birds, and you see them fly away, you can practice walking by this area since there will be some residual scent. -Walk at a distance from distractions. If your puppy pulls towards other dogs in their yards, walk him on the opposite side. If your puppy wants to sniff the grass on people's lawns walk farther away from them. Distance can help your puppy be less distracted. -Be aware of behavior chains. Sometimes, with some smart dogs, we may get stuck with them walking in a yo-yo fashion. They'll be pulling, then they come to us for a treat, then forge ahead and pull, then come get a treat etc. This a behavior chain that requires some skill to stop. I work on this with providing frequent feedback. If your dog does this, the moment he pulls ahead, you can use a slowing down option to put in the middle of the two behaviors (heeling next to you and pulling). In other words, right after your dog has eaten the treat after several steps of heeling, start slowing down and then stop in your tracks the moment he reaches the end of the leash. Imagine being a tree, where as your dog starts pulling, you start getting heavier, slowing down and then you stop in your tracks, put roots and "become a tree." You want to anticipate your dog in this. If you do this enough times, your dog will come to learn that "When I start to pull, my owner slows down, when I reach the end of the leash my owner stops, when I don't pull my owner keeps walking and I even get tasty treats! Pulling or trying to pull is not good if I want to keep walking!" You can even issue a warning that you are about to slow down by saying a split second prior to slowing down something like "slow down" and then "oops!" (or anything else) once you put roots and stop walking. This pre- warning will help your dog succeed as he will learn to adjust his pace to yours upon hearing you pronounce that, while the "oops" works to get your dog's attention and understand what is happening. So once your dog understands, that, when he forges ahead and pulls, you slow down and stop, you'll notice more occasions of him walking next to you which you can promptly reward so he learns it's great to stick nearby. With small dogs, once they grasp they concept, we can even drop treats to the ground next to us to reward them rather than feeding them right next to our knee. -For dogs pulling due to anxiety. These dogs may require behavior modification prior to starting formal training. In other words, they need to be exposed to triggers in a systematic, controlled manner through desensitization, and creating positive associations with triggers through counterconditioning. More on these here: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/desensitization/ https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/counterconditioning/ The dog's behavior on leash needs to be therefore carefully assessed to compile a list of triggers. Calming aids may be needed with some particularly anxious dogs. -Use a harness rather than a collar. You may find a front-clip harness (Perfect fit harness, Balance harness) better for training your pup to walk nicely. This puts the leash in a more frontal position and when your pup pulls it somewhat turns him your way and redirects him to your side. -Watch what you do with your arm. Keep your arm in a natural down position when walking your pup. If you stretch your arm forward when your pup pulls, you are reinforcing the pulling by giving more leash as you extend the arm. If pulling therefore makes your arm move forward and your dog gains just a few inches this way, granted he'll keep pulling to gain that. With some owners, I tell them to keep their hand holding the leash in their pocket to fight this ingrained habit. - Set him for success. Try setting your pup as much as possible for success by walking him more in the areas where he seems less over threshold before moving to places with more distractions and draining his energy prior so to minimize rehearsal of the pulling behavior. -Provide outlets for natural behaviors. Brain games, foraging opportunities, treasure hunts, flirt pole games, nosework can help provide outlets for natural behaviors. Hope this helps! Things get better though as the pup matures, bonds with us more and the outdoor world becomes more ho-hum so to say-as long as we stay consistent by not reinforcing the pulling with our forward movement. Hope this helps! Keep me posted on how things go. Best, Adrienne

Hello and welcome to the forums! How long and how often a puppy should be trained really depends a lot on several factors such as breed, the pup's age, if any training was ever given before, the pup's energy levels, temperament etc. It's important to monitor the puppy for signs of enjoying the training and always ending the training on a positive note. Too long sessions may get boring and the dog may not build the desire to be an active participant. Just like us (think students who can sit in class concentrating on lessons while others are glancing out of the window daydreaming), some dogs can tolerate more training than others. So important considerations are how is the pup's attention span? Is he/she easily bored? Or does he/she seem happily engaged? Nothing is worse for a puppy than a tedious training session that is boring or too difficult. With a puppy of 6 months, we have a longer attention span than a younger puppy who may do 5 to 6 sessions lasting 2-3 mins each session. In general, with a pup of this age, we can start with about 20-30 minutes of training every day split in brief sessions spread throughout the day. For instance we can start with doing 5-6 sessions of 4-5 minutes each and see how it goes. This would be a good place to start, making sure you end the session on a positive note and always when the pup is still interested. This builds a strong desire to learn. As the puppy matures, the attention span sharpens, and the dog builds an eagerness to learn, it is possible to do longer and more advanced training sessions. Making the sessions fun will make them less likely to feel "intense" for both owner and puppy. We can also take advantage in the daily shifts in energy to train. For instance, we can take advantage of the pup's energy levels and plan what to train accordingly. For instance, most puppies wake up with lots of energy or they may get the "zoomies" after finishing an evening meal. These are good times to take advantage of these energy bursts and train some fun recalls. Then, as the puppy gets a bit tired, we can focus more on some stationary exercises such as sit, down and stay. Finally, consider that, from the day you bring your puppy home, your puppy will be constantly learning, and that includes both good behaviors and bad. If you keep your mind focused on this very important fact, you will be more likely to provide guidance so that your puppy will often make good choices. Puppies are learning with every interaction so they are perpetually in "training." Play is training. Resting is training. Walking is training and even learning to be away from you is training. Embracing all these life events as training opportunities is incredibly beneficial in helping a puppy develop into the dog of your dreams. Because let's face it: by encouraging good behaviors from the get-go, we can avoid the hassle of fixing bad habits that worsen over time and become more and more challenging to overcome. Consider that most dog behaviors stem from instinct and learned behaviors that have a history of reinforcement. Anything that the puppy finds rewarding will strengthen and repeat. So if your puppy finds chewing on shoes rewarding, you can bet he will be drawn to chewing on them more and more if given the opportunity. However, what happens if you keep shoes out of reach or swap them for an interactive toy that is fun to chew on and hides some goodies inside? Your puppy will likely find that far more rewarding and will forget all about the shoes. So yes, it pays in the long run to help your puppy make good choices from the get-go as you'll be rewarded too with desirable behaviors. Win-win! Happy training! Adrienne

Hello and welcome to the forums, First of all, it's so great to hear that you have rescued a dog! To better understand your situation, I would like to have some more information. What breed is your dog? What type of redirection other than the "ouch" have you tried so far? Do you have children in the home? Can you please provide more details on exactly when the behavior occurs? Like what specifically makes him excited (grabbing the leash to go on walk, preparing his meals? getting up in the morning? coming back home?) and have you figured out what he specifically wants when you said he bites when he wants something? (food, being taken out, being played with?) How is his bite inhibition (when she bites does she break skin?, leave teeth marks? ) Is the biting ever accompanied by growling? Has he received any training so far? Thanks for the extra info.

Issue number 3: Sometimes if she’s had too much petting or is not in the mood she will start to nip. It would be important in this case, respecting her limit and recognizing early signs of her reaching her limit. We don't want to get her to rehearse the nipping behavior. When dogs nip this way, the behavior is reinforced because it usually makes us stop petting them. Soon, the behavior puts roots and the dog will learn to nip more and more and possibly, earlier and earlier. It would be important though once again using desensitization and counterconditioning to teach her to tolerate being handled and enjoying it more. As always baby steps and working under threshold levels. Always aiming for a nice conditioned emotional response. Breeders should start this work, but not all breeders take the time to do this and recommend that owners continue. It may not be too late to work on some of these exercises, making them fun games: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/exercises-to-teach-puppies-to-tolerate-touch/ And the basic handling game under this section may come handy too. Rather than sitting on the floor, it can be done as well by sitting on a chair or couch with the legs extended and petting the dog as she walks by to eat tossed kibble: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/bite-inhibition-games/ I hope this helps! Keep me posted on how things go! Best, Adrienne Disclaimer: behavior modification comes with risks. If your puppy or dog shows signs of potential aggression (lunging, barking, growling, snapping, biting) for safety, please consult with a dog behavior professional who uses force-free behavior modification techniques for direct in-person guidance. Articles, videos and general info found in the forums or course (or any online source) are not meant to replace in-person training/instruction. By using this course and forum, you are waiving any liability claims or other type of claims related to any dogs' behavior against you or others.

Issue 2: Acting Aggressive when going number 2 Most dogs when they need to have a bowel movement, will acknowledge the sensation and just go to the door and then proceed to find a spot where to do the deed. For other dogs, pooping is a big ordeal and they may even show signs of stress. Some dogs will get antsy and start pacing back and forth. Others may get a crazy face and start acting up, jumping and nipping on people, chewing on stuff and zooming around the room. Sometimes, puppies or dogs may show some rather subtle signs, but when they are ignored, they may try to use more evident signs and may therefore feel the need to escalate, consequently, they will do what comes instinctive to them which can mean nipping to vent their frustration or to just get your attention in hopes of being escorted out. When done delicately, this can be an endearing trait. The dog will very gently grab their owners' hands or arms to conduct them towards the door almost as if saying something along the lines of: "Please come with me." Some dogs may be more grabby and rough. Some others may act almost aggressive. Now, sometimes when dogs develop certain behaviors out of the blue, they may stem from medical problems. Pain can cause dogs to behave in uncharacteristic ways, and some dog may develop pain when having a bowel movement. Dogs learn through associations, so they may get anxious when they predict a painful bowel movement and this can cause them to behave in unusual ways. In particular, dogs may develop pain upon defecation due to anal gland problems or some types of tumors that can develop there. Not saying this is necessarily your case, but always worthy of mentioning the importance of ruling medical conditions out. So what would be some options to reduce this type of behavior? Here are some general pointers; -Consult With Your Vet. If your dog's aggressive behavior before pooping has started out of the blue or it has been persisting for some time, it maybe important starting with a veterinarian visit so to rule out any underlying medical problems. Your vet can perform a physical examination, in particular checking your dog's anal glands, and having a fecal test done to check for intestinal parasites. -Prevent Rehearsal of the Behavior. As with the shoe-chewing behavior, practice makes perfect. If your dog acts aggressive contingent upon pooping, you have the advantage of knowing when the behavior occurs so that you can take steps to pre-empt it. If you can prevent the behavior from occurring in the first place, you can therefore be in control of the situation and prevent the behavior from establishing. You can do this by taking your dog outside to potty before she develops an impellent need to go potty and not letting her back inside until he has successfully gone. Training your dog to go potty on command can also come handy so that your dog learns control her bowel movements and goes reliably when you tell her to. This can take some time to master, and you'll need to always be outside with your dog ready to praise and reward, but it is worthy for the long run. Here's a guide for training this: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/advanced-potty-training/potty-on-command/ -Install a Doggy Door. A doggy door may not be the best solution, but it can work well in specific circumstances. With a doggy door installed, your dog takes her bathroom habits into her own hands without depending on you being the doorman. With a doggy door in place, your dog should therefore learn to go outside as needed without having to nip you or your husband to grab your attention and open the door. While doggy doors can be convenient, a main problem with doggy doors is that, once dogs learn to use it, they may start spending more and more time outside, which can lead to them sometimes engaging in troublesome behaviors such as digging, chewing things and barking at noises outside. -Reward Early Signs. Sometimes, all that is needed to solve the issue is recognizing the earliest signs of needed to be taken out and rewarding those by taking the dog outside promptly. Therefore, be extra vigilant and watch for early signs such as pacing, acting antsy, walking back and forth towards the door. Reward these early signs by tossing a few treats on the ground (keep them in your pocket or treat bag so that they're handy) as you walk towards the door and take your dog outside. Dropping the treats on the ground helps the dog focus on the ground and chill rather than acting antsy and thinking about jumping and biting you to get you to open the door. -Train an Alternate Signal As mentioned, biting can be a dog's overly-aggressive way of signaling that she needs to go out. In such cases, you can train your dog to engage in an alternate behavior that is meant to replace the biting. For example, you can try teaching your dog to pull at a string of bells attached to the door she normally uses to go out to relieve herself. Most dogs take very well to bell-training and will learn to shake them to signal they need to go out instead of grabbing onto humans! Another option is teaching your dog to bark to communicate his need to go outside. You would basically train her to speak and then ask it by the door and then reward by opening the door: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/video-archive/train-your-dog-to-speak-bark/Dogs who are naturally predisposed to being vocal may take very well to learning this. Whichever method you choose, make sure to be fast in letting your dog out, in case your dog decides to use a more convincing way to be taken outside, which may involve getting antsy and biting! While teaching your dog to ring a bell or bark to be taken outside can be convenient, a disclaimer is warranted here: it can come with some drawbacks such as dogs asking to be let out all the time just for having fun in the yard. This is why I rather prefer owners taking their dogs out on a schedule to potty and training them to potty on command. As always, with dogs who demonstrate aggressive behavior working with a professional is always recommended. A board-certified veterinary behaviorist (DACVB), a Certified Applied Animal Behaviorist (CAAB) or a dog trainer well-versed into working aggression cases using force-free behavior modification can help work on this problem.

Thanks for the extra details, they are very helpful! At 8 months, she is at the peak of the adolescent stage, so it's not unexpected to see some behavior changes during this time. You can read more about the adolescent stage here: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/survive-dogs-adolescent-stage/ I am glad to hear that she doesn't break skin, that gives an ameliorating outlook to the situation. And it also helps that it's just you and your husband and that it sounds like there are no children in the home. It's also a good thing that the behavior occurs in specific contexts as this gives us predictability and more control over the situation and that her new behavior has been occurring for no more than a month. It's good to nip behaviors in the bud before they have a chance of establishing too much. And of course, the fact that your husband is home with her all day is a big plus and it's also a big plus that she is dearly loved and given lots of attention! I will be tackling the behaviors you have mentioned in several posts. I will be starting with her reaction when she grabs a shoe. In such cases, we are likely dealing with some resource guarding. She values the shoe a lot and doesn't want to give it up. She therefore becomes tense and rebels to having it taken away. In such cases, we must work on establishing a foundation of trust rather than engaging in an outdated rank-reduction program as often suggested in cases of assumed "dominance. " You can read more about the dominance myth here and why most behaviorists and dog behavior associations stray away from rank-reduction methods which have been proven to exacerbate aggression: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/dominance/ Cases of resource guarding respond best to behavior modification that focuses on exercises based on desensitization and counterconditioning. Desensitization is a behavior modification procedure that entails systematic, gradual exposure (baby steps) to stimuli or situations perceived by the dog as aversive or unpleasant. You can read more about this here: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/desensitization/ A good desensitization program therefore aims in taking baby steps and keeping the dog comfortable, which often means starting with some very easy to achieve goals, always ensuring that dog is not over threshold. If a dog reacts, (tenses up, growls) that's a sign that we have progressed too fast and need to take a few steps back in the process. You can read more about threshold levels here: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/threshold-levels/ On top of using desensitization, important is too also add counterconditioning. You can read more about counterconditioning here: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/counterconditioning/ In a dog who resource guards objects like a shoe, this would mean using baby steps while also creating positive associations. A dog who guards an object is a dog who lacks trust-she basically fears that the object will be taken away. Moving close to remove the shoe, chasing the dog around, or trying to remove it from the mouth, makes the dog feel uneasy and confirms her biggest fear: that we are trying to take things away, BUT what happens if instead of taking the shoe away, we offer something else that is *superior* in value for a great exchange? Introducing the art of fair trading! Swapping by Offering Something Higher in Value So in this case, let's think about an emergency situation. The dog has gotten possession of the shoe and we want to retrieve it as safely as possible without risking to be nipped and without allowing the dog to rehearse the jumping and nipping situation (because the more a dog rehearses a problem behavior, the more it becomes ingrained as you rightfully are concerned about). So what to do in this case? We would have to put ourselves a bit in our dog's mind and think about something our dog will value more than the shoe itself. How about a peanut butter stuffed Kong? Or maybe a bully stick? Or what about a bottle filled with some treats and kibble? https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/brain-training/high-school/the-bottle-game/ Basically, anything that is valued by the dog and that will surpass the pleasure of lying down to gnaw on a shoe, but this time having something edible to enjoy that requires a bit of time to work on (because dogs enjoy the duration of gnawing on things and enjoy the challenge too). It goes without saying, that having these goodies prepared in advance so to exchange them at a moment's notice (before the dog has a chance of destroying the shoe) can help a whole lot. Now, there's method and method for exchanging. With dogs who act aggressively and bite, we want to do so as safely as possible and without upsetting the dog in thinking we are there once again to *remove* something. So what I do is that I make a lot of noise from the kitchen when preparing the item or will make a lot of noise unwrapping a bully stick or long-lasting treat from its wrapping (which will cause most dogs to stop chewing and pay attention) so that they know what is coming and this makes things easier. After ward, I will approach the dog, show the item I have to offer and will toss it at a safe distance so that I can safely retrive the item as the dog moves to grab it. With dogs I am not too familiar with or dogs who have a bite record, I will add an extra precaution of tossing the treat past a door or baby gate so that I can close it as the dog moves away to get it, just in case he/she has a change of heart and decides to come back to grab it, or in the worse scenario, attack. This is therefore the general protocol I use for emergencies, because normally, I would try my best to keep objects that provoke resource guarding out of the way unless I am planning on working on the issue. This brings us back to behavior modification. Changing the Underlying Emotions Behavior modification for dogs who tend to grab items is to gradually teach them to relax and not feel threatened when we approach. We can accomplish this by taking baby steps as mentioned using easy to achieve goals such as training the dog to drop things that are very low value at first, always swapping them for things that are more valuable. You can read more about how the drop it cue is trained here; https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/brain-training/obedience-101/drop-it/ The goal is to obtain what is known as a conditioned positive emotional response. In other words the dog looks forward to us approaching because through several reps, the dog has learned that great things happen when we approach. We are no longer attempting to remove things, but are offering better stuff, so the dog happily anticipates our approach. You can read more about conditioned emotional responses here: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/conditioned-emotional-response-cer/ It will also come handy to train a fluent response to leave it, in case you catch your dog thinking about grabbing something that he or she shouldn't have. Once again, we want to create happy anticipation in having the dog leave items; here is the guide for "leave it": https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/brain-training/obedience-101/take-leave-it/ It can also turn helpful training a reliable response to the smacking sound, to divert the dog at a moment's notice as needed, and offering something tasty to maintain a fluent response that can turn handy in many different situations: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/the-airplane-game/the-smacking-sound/ Finally, goldens are very mouthy dogs, they were bred to retrieve downed birds and deliver them with a soft mouth. These are working dogs, so they benefit from being kept mentally stimulated on top of exercise, so training, brain games and food puzzles can help provide outlets for their natural behaviors which makes for a happier, more fulfilled dog. So to recap: good goals may be: -Managing the dog's environment when we are not training (that is, keeping items the dog should not have out of the way). This is to prevent rehearsal of the problem behavior. -Having an emergency plan in place in case the dog gets a hold of something and we need to swap, but haven't trained a strong drop it yet. Keeping these items to swap ready is extra helpful. -Training a fluent response to drop it up to the point of creating a conditioned emotional response. -Training a fluent response to leave it up to the point of the dog looking forward to leaving things because we offer something valuable. -Training a fluent response to our smacking sound in case we need to divert our dog's attention quickly. -Providing outlets for natural behaviors and keeping that teenager mind stimulated. You asked whether you need to work with a pro. I always recommend working with a pro when there are cases of aggression (risks for biting, growling etc). This is for various reasons. I will briefly cover some. To work well, behavior modification requires that we work with the dog under threshold. This often means recognizing the most subtle signs of stress in dogs and professionals have years of observing dogs under their belt, so they may recognize many early signs even before the growling happens. We are talking about very subtle signs such as a quick nose lick as you can see in Kendall's Ladder of Aggression displayed here: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/dogs-dont-bite-blue/ Behavior modification often proceeds in a yo-yo fashion. It's not always just straightforward and progressive. If a dog does well dropping a ball, but then he doesn't do well dropping a sock, this means going back a few steps and practicing more on creating a reliable response to lower value things before progressing further to things like socks. Behavior modification therefore often requires judgement calls that a professional can make by closely observing the dog. And of course, bites are always possible, so working with a professional can help prevent/reduce the chances as him/her can watch closely for early signs of things escalating. Not to mention that every case is different and therefore may need a more individualized approach based on accurate history taking and close observations. And this is why my posts are always accompanied by disclaimers as the one below: Disclaimer: behavior modification comes with risks. If your puppy or dog shows signs of potential aggression (lunging, barking, growling, snapping, biting) for safety, please consult with a dog behavior professional who uses force-free behavior modification techniques for direct in-person guidance. Articles, videos and general info found in the forums or course (or any online source) are not meant to replace in-person training/instruction. By using this course and forum, you are waiving any liability claims or other type of claims related to any dogs' behavior against you or others.

Hello and welcome to the forums, To better understand your situation, I would like to have some more information. How long have you had your dog? If you had her since a pup, did she always behave this way or is this a new behavior? How is her bite inhibition (when she bites does she break skin?, leave teeth marks? ) Do you have children in the home? Is the jumping and biting happen only contingent upon you grabbing something she has or need to be taken out to potty or does she it also in other circumstances? If so, please list them. Is the biting and jumping accompanied by growling? Has she received any training so far? Thanks for the extra info.

That's funny! When I worked for a vet hospital, we also kept treats nearby the register and made a lot of sales that way! As opportunists, dogs would just go for it, whether their owners were distracted or not. Some times an owner would approach me and tell me they were paying for a cookie. I would tell me to hand it to me so I could bag it and the owner would say: "It's too late, it's already been digested! LOL

Hello and welcome back! In these cases, firstly we would need to establish whether we want the dog on the bed/in the bedroom or not. If not, it would be important establishing clear rules and mostly preventing access to the bed room by simply closing the door or erecting a baby gate or pet fence. This is the best option, and I would recommend that in the case of a dog with a tendency to growl when on top of furniture as the behavior can get habit-forming the more the dog rehearses it. Closing the door or using some type of boundary would also easily solve the issue of the dog getting into the bedroom/on top of the bed once and for all. If we want the dog on the bed, but want him to get off it when we ask him to, then it's important to avoid manually pushing the dog off as this may teach the dog that hands are bad and it may lead to biting, especially when the growling is ignored or suppressed. Here's why growling should never be suppressed in dogs: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/growling-never-suppressed-dogs/ In such cases, we may want to train the "off" cue. Here's how to train it. Catch your dog when he is on the bed. If your dog isn't on the bed, then plan your training sessions around that specific time your dog does climb up. Say your verbal cue "off" and then toss a treat or kibble on the floor with a downward motion of you hand. Tip: use hard treats as these are more effective in grabbing your dog's attention since they will make a noise when they hit the floor (if you have carpet, you can place a large book or something hard that you can toss the treats on to make them produce the noise). Just as your dog jumps off the bed or couch and before he eats the treat/kibble, say "yes" or click your clicker (if your dog is clicker trained). Repeat this exercise several times as the opportunity presents making it a fun game. At some point, start saying "off" but this time without actually tossing the treat. Just pretend you toss it using your downward hand gesture. When your dog jumps down say "yes" or click the clicker and feed him the treat, but this time drop it from your other hand. Your ultimate goal is to say "off" and stop tossing the treat/kibble. Repeat the above exercise and start morphing the treat-tossing hand movement into just pointing at the floor and then feeding the treat from your other hand dropping it to the floor when you dog jumps off. This is to prevent dependence on the sight of treats. Now, it's time to raise criteria and add an extra challenge. A day may arrive when you need your dog to get off the couch, but you don't have treats. Start mixing in praise without giving treats or use other types of rewards such as giving a favorite toy, running together to the yard to play or giving your dog a nice belly rub. Don't stop giving any types of rewards or treats altogether though; as that may lead to the behavior extinguishing! The leave it cue can also be used to train a dog to not approach something and therefore can be also used to tell a dog to not jump on the bed or enter a specific room. It has a "preventive" function, meaning it helps prevent the dog from jumping up versus dealing with a dog who has already jumped up. Here is how to train it :https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/brain-training/obedience-101/take-leave-it/ You can also train a reliable response to a smacking sound which tells your dog to stop in his tracks and come to you for a tasty treat. This can be used for example, when you catch him going towards the bedroom. When he stops to look at you, you can toss the treat/kibble at a distance, as you go close the bedroom door. It's important to make the bed inaccessible when you aren't training by closing the door or you can simply keep your pup in a separated area) and aim to work on making your pup's bed extra appealing by offering wonderful things when there (toys, treats, edible chews, kibble). Here is how to train a dog to sleep on his mat: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/video-archive/train-dog-go-to-mat/ If your dog has been growling often when on the bed, you may need to also change his emotional response to you approaching him because he may be getting tense when he sees you approach (anticipation of being pushed off). In this case, it may help change his emotional response by tossing him something tasty while he is on the bed (like a kibble) before then tossing one on the floor to get him to get off. It may also be easier to ask him off once he has already gotten up and is standing on the bed. It goes without saying, that dogs who tend to growl when asked to move off the bed may do the same when on the couch. So the training may need to applied there as well. Personally, I prefer to offer dogs a dog bed/mat making it extra appealing to sleep on (they even make dog couches nowadays!) and prevent them access to human beds from the get-go so to prevent dogs from rehearsing the problematic behavior to begin with. Happy training! Best, Adrienne

Hello and welcome to the forum! Did you contact support in order to download the program? Our course is now mostly online and I want to make sure you have the most updated version. Whether to start brain training, training (the obedience 101 section) or behavior training will vary from one case and another. For instance, if you are dealing with one behavior problem that needs immediate attention, it makes sense to mark it as priority and work on that first, although you can do brain games concomitantly depending on what the behavior issue is.

You are very welcome, keep me posted on how things go. Watch for even the smallest signs of progress when gauging what approach seems to work best, that will tell you which one is worthy to keep pursuing. I will be checking here to learn more about his new "stick habit" or you can post it as a new thread. Send pats to him for me.

Hi Jennifer! Loved the idea of using one sibling as an example of that someone scratching the head of another while eating! So glad to hear that Mo has been doing so well, thanks for the update. Send pats to your canine crew for me! Best, Adrienne

Thanks, looking forward to hearing how how things go! Yes, skip the treat tossing if he afraid of that, poor baby might have had somebody toss rocks at him or who knows what. With such pups I have to gradually desensitize and countercondition to food tosses starting with dropping food, then gradually morphing to extending the arm a bit in dropping, then splitting the movement of tossing food into several sub-steps using very slow wrist/arm movements initially and gradually building up while keeping an eye on the dog's comfort. It sounds like though you were able to help him overcome this fear, so kudos to you for helping him! If you notice any skittish signs though and need to capture the sit and you are at a distance, you can always use a verbal marker (like the word yes!) and immediately show him the treat and then hand feed him the treat or you can use hard treats that make a sound when you drop them the ground (not toss) so that grabs his attention. The "yes" acts like a bridge telling him that he got it right, even though the reward may not come immediately (as quickly as food tossed his way). Here's the thing: If the reward doesn’t come very quickly (within 1- 1.5 seconds) after the behavior we want, there are risks that the dog won’t associate the behavior with the reward, so we need to be very quick in delivering the reward, but a "yes!" can buy a little delay, telling the pup he got it right and a treat is shortly on its way.

Aww, what a cutie! Giving these pups a stress- free area to eat and helping them gradually is key. If they feel stressed by too much commotion, they'll feel like eating really fast and get tense which can predispose to guarding more. Slow and steady wins the race when it comes to helping these pups learn trust with us around their food. Recognizing subtle signs is also important through behavior modification. Below is a general list. A professional working with you can help pinpoint some of these signs so to ensure you work at the pet's comfort and don't go too fast. The most common cause for setbacks in behavior modification is going too fast. A Ladder of Aggression Most of us are capable of recognizing the most obvious signs of resource guarding, but there are many subtle signs that precede the most obvious ones that may not always be easy to recognize. It’s important to recognize these signs so to nip behaviors in the bud before they escalate. Recognizing early signs is also important for behavior modification, so to ensure the puppy is not sent over threshold. Following is a ladder of aggression often seen in resource guarding. Consider though dogs don’t always follow these in a textbook fashion, and they may skip through the rungs. If you notice any of these signs, please refer to a behavior professional using force-free behavior modification for help. Eating Faster Caution is needed with puppies who start eating faster the closer a person approaches. These puppies are worried about their food being stolen, and therefore, decide to take the “eat it fast and stop worrying” approach. This behavior should be tackled considering that countless dogs end up on the surgery table for swallowing objects and bones to prevent their owners or other dogs from "stealing" from them. It often happens along these lines: a dog may get ahold of something that he or she perceives as very valuable. The dog tries to hide with it or run away with it, but the moment the dog notices the owner’s interest or the moment the owner comes near in hopes of retrieving the item, the dog gulps it down quickly. Freezing Freezing is seen when a dog is approached while eating something perceived as valuable and the dog feels threatened. When dogs are comfortable eating, they will be relaxed and eat at a normal pace, without worrying. A dog who is resource guarding is worried and getting increasingly stressed and, will, therefore, typically stop eating and freeze. A dog who is freezing typically will keep his head lowered over the resource he is guarding, at the same time though his gaze may be directed at the approaching threat. Growling At some point, puppies who resource guard will growl which often is the owner’s first wake-up call if they failed to recognize the earlier signs. Growling, is a distance-increasing behavior. The dog is telling the owner to back-off because he doesn’t want him/her anywhere near his resource. Growling should never be punished. Suppressing a dog’s growl, is like removing a dog’s alarm system. Next time, the dog may go straight to a bite. Snarling Some puppy owners decide to ignore a puppy’s growl. They think that, just because the puppy is small and very young, it is not a big deal. Some may laugh about it and keep moving towards the puppy. An escalation of a growl is often a snarl, a dog showing his teeth. Dogs may lift their lips and show their pearly whites silently or accompanied by growling. This is a more serious warning. The dog is saying: “You see these teeth? I will be using them if you keep getting closer.” Snapping Snapping takes place when a dog bites the air, hence why it’s also known as “air-snapping.” It’s easy to assume that snapping dogs are trying to bite, but miss aiming, but dogs are much better than that. Snapping dogs are purposely missing because they are trying to not bite. They are deliberately trying to avoid using their highest level of force. Rest assured, if a dog really wants to bite, he will bite and will do with accuracy and speed. Biting And there you have it: the dogs highest level of force in action. The amount of damage done when a dog bites is often a matter of how much bite inhibition https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/bite-inhibition-games/ the dog has. It’s unfortunate when puppies or dogs are pushed to this when they have been trying their best to warn. Often, the cause is a dog owner who is trying to fix the resource guarding the wrong way, increasing the dog’s tension rather than alleviating it. Grabbing the puppy’s possession just to make a point, threatening to steal or stealing things from pups or scolding the pup or physically correcting them makes only matters worse proving to the pup we're not trustworthy. This will only exacerbate things. ***Something to consider: Health conditions or medications known to increase appetite may result in an increase in food guarding behaviors in dogs. Have your puppy or dog evaluated by a veterinarian to rule this possibility out. Disclaimer: behavior modification comes with risks. If your puppy or dog shows signs of potential aggression (lunging, barking, growling, snapping, biting) for safety, please consult with a dog behavior professional who uses force-free behavior modification techniques for direct in-person guidance. Articles, videos and general info found in the forums or course (or any online source) are not meant to replace in-person training/instruction. By using this course and forum, you are waiving any liability claims or other type of claims related to any dogs' behavior against you or others.

Hello and welcome back! Thank you so much for the update. I am glad to hear that your pup is getting braver and improving so much! It is not uncommon for rescued pups to be afraid of outdoors walks. It's all an unfamiliar world out there with many scary sights and sounds. Also we don' know much about his history so it could be he wasn't properly socialized when younger or enduring some traumatic events. In any case, he's now in a loving home and lucky to have you helping him out! It's good that you are sticking to walking around the block for now without going yet too far so to give him some time to adjust and provide the opportunity to get him used to his surroundings. These fellows need lots of baby steps and low-intensity exposures. So if there are times where things are more quiet (like not when the garbage truck is around) it would be best to take advantage of these times. Make sure to make walks fun and rewarding by praising him, giving treats, letting him sniff (many dogs feel calmer when sniffing and it helps reduce stress). You can find more tips for walks here: Be your dog's cheerleader: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/using-jolly-routine-fearful-dogs/ Train a U-turn in case there's something scary that your pup struggles to cope with: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/emergency-u-turn/ About fear on walks: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/fear-going-walks/ For tiring him out, look for brain games that do not require training, but just working his brain to solve puzzles and get access to food. Use some portions of his meals for organizing treasure hunts, bottle game, muffin game, and the magic carpet. https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/brain-training/elementary/the-treasure-hunt/ https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/brain-training/high-school/the-bottle-game/ https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/brain-training/elementary/the-muffin-game/ https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/brain-training/college/the-magic-carpet/ Putting his nose to work can be tiring too. Let him sniff around the yard and explore and you can also create fun setups where he can search for things. You can read more on games that use his nose here: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/brain-training/college/the-shell-game/ Clicker training can be tiring too (use a verbal marker or look for other alternatives listed below) https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/brain-training/clicker-training/ https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/your-clicker-best-friend-or-worst-enemy/ I know you said that he walks away from training quickly, but rather than doing long sessions, keep them very brief and organize several throughout the day, ending the sessions when he still seems enthusiastic. If we let our pups walk away and lose interest, we risk putting a dent in making them enthusiastic and involved learners. So make it short, sweet and fun and on the last behavior he performs well, end it happily saying "good boy!" while giving a little jackpot (dropping 3-4 kibble/small pieces of treats at a time) for him to search. In regards to the issue with sit, sometimes using a little barrier such as a table or large furniture (as seen in the attached picture) can work as the pup has no room to back-up. Shaping would require rewarding several small approximations in successive order, so you may start by giving the treat for just sniffing the treat, then for following it upwards with his nose, then for looking upwards, then for looking upwards and moving his back end a bit, then for moving his back end a little more, then for almost touching his bottom on the floor, and then bingo! for sitting with his bottom on the floor. This can be a bit challenging to train as it requires very close observation and having a plan in place (like using some type of prop) if things don't work as hoped and if the dog isn't rewarded too often he may give up and lose interest. Capturing works by rewarding spontaneous behaviors. So in this case, you would have to wait for him to eventually sit. This can require lots of patience, but in most cases a dog will eventually sit. When that happens (always keep treats on you in your pocket or treat bag),you would need to promptly praise and reward by tossing a treat the dog's way. The good thing is that with time, the dog will start sitting more and more courtesy of the power of positive reinforcement. This post has a video on the motions used in luring if you're a visual learner: Other things you can try is you sitting down on the couch or even you sitting on the floor. Some dogs get a little stressed if we're looming over them. Also try on training on a variety of surfaces like a carpet or rug since some dogs dislike sitting on cold floors. If you are still struggling with getting your pup to sit, feel free to post again here on the forums and we can do further troubleshooting. A strong reluctance to sit may also need evaluating by a vet in case there's some sort of pain going on that may be preventing a dog from feeling comfortable enough to sit. I know you saw the vet recently, but mentioning the reluctance to sit will have the vet more closely check for any possible joint/back problems or unusual conformation that makes it more challenging to train. Hope this helps, Happy Training!

Hi Cheryl, Welcome back! I am glad that the vet has cleared Shiloh and reported him to be completely healed. I hope you still mentioned to your vet his persistent reluctance to jump just to make sure we have all basis covered since some types of fractures can take some time to heal and there may be some residual pain. Even if there is no pain, some dogs may still be a bit reluctant to jump as they may still remember the pain. I hope your vet did a final x-ray just to ensure it's all 100 percent OK. If all is good, then we must troubleshoot why Shiloh is struggling so much with getting in the car. Here are few extra ideas: - Refresh him on how to jump in. Since you have helped him often get in the car by being lifted him up, it could be simply just a matter of him having no clue how to get in without your help so he just stands there waiting for you. In such a case, you can made need to "re-set him" and try practicing getting him to jump up on cue on a blanket placed on the couch by patting the couch, aiming for a very fluent response that will make him jump up with little thinking involved. Then, you can move the blanket to the car's floor (move the seats so he has more room) and then finally if you wish, after he's on the car floor, you can practice placing the blanket on the car seat and prompt him to jump up. *Do this only after talking to your vet, because this requires repeated jumping. Here is a a more in-depth guide: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/fear-getting-car/ -Make the car the greatest thing. In this case, let's skip the bribing, as it could be that in the past you have showed him food to get and he may have associated with some pain upon getting up and senses the presentation of food as a trap. Let's instead increase motivation. Keep the car door open, grab his food bowl, and let him watch you prepare something really, really yummy (like low-sodium organic beef hot dogs or break up some chunks of cheese) and place it in the bowl and then place the bowl on the car sit. To make him even more motivated, place some toys he never gets up there too and then step aside, away from blocking the door. See whether he'll get in on his own. If he does, be ready to praise your dog and reward him with high-value treats in the car, but don't go on a car ride yet. You want to establish a foundation of trust by transforming the car into a great place. So repeat this scene severa l times. Aim to create a conditioned emotional response with the car. Here's what we're looking for: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/conditioned-emotional-response-cer/ Then once out he is out of the car, make all the fun things abruptly end. Things get ho-hum... boooring. You want to make the contrast really obvious so to make it crystal clear that great things happen only contingent upon being in the car. -Offer an intermediate help. Sometimes further baby steps may be needed if he was used to being lifted. As a a little extra encouragement, but without picking him up, you can try one of those harnesses that go around both the dog's chest and hips with handles on top. You still have to do some lifting, but it does make it a bit easier on your back. An example of these harnesses is the "Help em' up" harness. Make sure to always praise and reward, even when you have to lift him up into the car, once he's in. Have a family member feed treats every few minutes during the whole ride to keep those memories of being great being in the a car in his mind. -Organize prior to meal-time. To make the treats extra appealing, you can schedule your training first thing in the morning before breakfast when your dog is on an empty stomach and therefore hungrier. -Pretend to not bring him along. Have a neighbor (or any helper)hold your dog on leash and have him watch you and other family members get in the car and start the engine acting as if leaving without him. Many dogs at this point, will jump in on their own in fear of being left behind. You can even try having a trustworthy doggy friend on one side of the seat that your dog goes bonkers playing with (borrowing your sister's dog?). -Make Sure the Car is Comfortable Cars can get quite hot as spring and summer approach. Dogs who are anxious or excited about being in the car, easily overheat too. To help them, make sure to cool the car a bit before trying to get your dog in. Also, remove strong odors like car deodorants and air fresheners as this can be too much for dogs who have extra sensitive noses. -Stay calm and keep your cool. Helping a dog get in the car whether he is afraid or not, will require a good level of patience and understanding. Getting angry, frustrated or impatient will only make matters worse, further convincing the dog that the whole process of getting in the car is unpleasant and worthy of avoiding. I hope you find some of these strategies helpful, baby steps! Happy training! Best, Adrienne

Hi Cathy, Welcome to the forums, I am glad to hear that your pup has survived Parvo and is doing much better. Personally, I am not a fan at all of petting a puppy while eating. This is because petting a dog while eating goes against the process of desensitization. Desensitization is a behavior modification procedure that entails systematic, gradual exposure (baby steps) to stimuli or situations perceived as aversive or unpleasant. You can read more about this here: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/desensitization/ In a dog who resource guards food, the owner moving close to the food bowl is perceived as an aversive event. Placing hands in the food bowl is perceived as a person trying to steal the food. Petting the dog is perceived as a great annoyance to the dog (just as we would hate being repeatedly touched when eating a juicy steak at our favorite restaurant). Standing by the bowl can too give the impression that we are trying to steal the food. Doing all these things involves skipping all the steps a good desensitization program would entail. If for example, a person is terrified of spiders, he or she will be emotionally overwhelmed when a spider crawls on the arm and the physiological response may include a racing heart, increased breathing and sweating. A systematic desensitization procedure in such a case may entail having the person initially look at pictures of spiders over and over until the person no longer emotionally reacts to them, then criteria is raised, and the person may watch videos of spiders and then progress to viewing a live spider from a distance. A good desensitization program therefore aims in taking baby steps and keeping the dog comfortable, which often means starting work with distance, always ensuring that dog is not over threshold. If a dog reacts, (like growls) that's a sign that we have progressed too fast and need to take a few steps back in the process. You can read more about threshold levels here: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/threshold-levels/ On top of using desensitization, important is too also add counterconditioning. You can read more about counterconditioning here: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/counterconditioning/ In a dog who resource guards food, this would mean using baby steps while also creating positive associations. A dog who guards food is a dog who lacks trust, he fears that his food will be taken away. These dogs need to eat in a quiet area that is as stress-free as possible. Reaching for the food bowl, standing next to him makes him feel uneasy and confirms his biggest fear: that we are trying to take things away, BUT what happens if instead of giving wrongly interpreted signals, we start adding goodies instead? In that case, we can aim to get our pups thinking: "Wow, not only my owner is no longer trying to take my food away, but every time he walks by, he is adding to it!" Initial behavior modification for dogs who resource guard food may therefore start with tossing goodies from a distance while the dog is eating. This gives them distance that makes them feel safe that typically doesn't cause a reaction from them. Repeated often enough at pup's comfort level, we aim to attain what's known as "positive conditioned emotional response." You can read more about this here: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/conditioned-emotional-response-cer/ Once we have attained this, we can try to move a little closer, but we may need to increase the value of the goodies being tossed to ensure the pup doesn't get stressed with this increase in criteria. We are upping the challenge, so we want to prevent set backs. Important is to give treats in small pieces (treats should not go over 10 percent of a dog's total daily calories) or use treats/foods that are low calorie to start with. Generally, I never work on intently placing hands in bowls nor am I fan of intently standing next to the puppy. In other words, I don't like to do this just to test the puppy in a daring way, but I can work to that level gradually through several trials working on gradual proximity always working at the pup's comfort level, but mostly for the goal or create a positive association with being next to the puppy and hands adding into the food bowl (never at biting distance, but more dropping food from a height from our hand so to prevent chances for an accidental bite. For instance, I could work on filling the puppy's bowl with a small portion of food. Once done, I would grab a handful of more food and fill the bowl up. Then add a little more, until done with the pup's ratio. Once again, this is more the end side of a desensitization program, not the beginning. It can take place once the pup has shown signs of a positive conditioned response to us walking by, us getting closer, When it's time to pick up the food bowl, when the puppy is done, I prefer toss a treat or two, or handful of kibble the opposite way and once the pup is safely at a distance, I would pick the bowl safely up. I typically don't work on petting a puppy while eating just because we must be able to do everything to dogs while they're eating-I feel dogs should be granted the perk of eating in peace just as do, but in households with children, for the sake of covering the basis of a child who doesn't listen to mom's request to not touch the dog while eating or a child tripping over the dog, I can work on desensitizing/counterconditioning to a sporadic touch, followed by a treat when a dog is eating/resting, but parents are always reminded to supervise dogs and children and if dogs are prone to resource guarding they should be fed away form children for safety sake. To answer your initial question: "Sometimes, he’ll growl with us just standing there and sometimes not. If he growls, do we still give him a reward? I understand the concept of making them excited to have you walk by, but it also feels like we are rewarding negative behavior. " This is a great question! Here's the thing: resource guarding is based on fear and fear is an emotion. Experts tell us that you cannot reinforce fear, you can only reinforce behaviors. You can see in the video below the late veterinary behaviorist Dr. Sophia Yin blowing in a dog's face to prove that: However, does this mean it's OK to have your dog growling? No, it's a sign that your puppy is over threshold, so you will need to carefully work on granting more distance and listening to how your puppy feels. A good behavior modification program lowers the chances for the dog feeling stressed. So if you occasionally get a growl, you can still give a treat, but make a mental note of working more gradually. If your puppy is growling too often, behavior modification is being sloppily implemented. With pups who guard food, it's important also teaching the fair art of trading. Every time your puppy has an item in his mouth that he shouldn't have, avoid chasing, trying to remove the item from the mouth, but rather trade it with something that you are absolutely sure your puppy finds higher in value. For example, if he got a hang of a sandwich wrapper, trade it offering in exchange some high-value treats such as as dog cookie or a bully stick. Toss the cookie or bully stick the opposite way so you can safely retrieve the sandwich wrapper. The goal once again is to convince your puppy that when you approach him and he has something in his mouth, you aren't planning to snatch it away but rather you are trading for something far better! Once your puppy learns this valuable lesson, you can introduce the verbal cue "drop it" and even pronounce it from a distance even before showing what you are trading it for. Here's how to train drop it: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/brain-training/obedience-101/drop-it/ Using Caution Accidents can always happen when doing behavior modification. The use of Kevlar gloves may come handy just in case of an unexpected bite. Dogs may also learn to wear muzzles or can be tethered during behavior modification exercises (some muzzle types allow dogs to still eat). Your behavior professional can help you find the safest ways to work with your dog based on his/her personal observations. I hope this helps! Best, Adrienne Disclaimer: behavior modification comes with risks. If your puppy or dog shows signs of potential aggression (lunging, barking, growling, snapping, biting) for safety, please consult with a dog behavior professional who uses force-free behavior modification techniques for direct in-person guidance. Articles, videos and general info found in the forums or course (or any online source) are not meant to replace in-person training/instruction. By using this course and forum, you are waiving any liability claims or other type of claims related to any dogs' behavior against you or others.

With this information, is there anything from above that we should really focus on doing for him? Based on this information, I still feel it's important taking a multi-faceted approach, managing the environment, training some replacement behaviors, creating positive associations, ensuring he gets enough nap time, incorporate training (especially impulse control frustration/tolerance which puppies gain more and more as they mature https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/impulse-control-frustration-tolerance/ walks and brain games and work on relationship building and trust (handling exercises). It would be therefore fundamental as a starting point limiting the opportunity for him to get to this point because it gets very habit -forming. So if it happens when hubby comes home, keep him away from the couch area (baby gate, exercise pen, placing bulky items on the couch so he doesn't get on the couch whatever helps reduce the behavior) and then aim to provide alternate ways to keep him occupied that are much more valuable to him than practicing this behavior. I know you mentioned not much stops him, but most pups will not give up a game of chasing tossed kibble/treats (you can train the smacking sound to redirect him at a moment's notice and then toss treats/kibble https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/the-airplane-game/the-smacking-sound/, a Kong stuffed with some peanut butter placed on a mat, or a Licki-mat to lick with some meat-based baby food (with no onion or garlic) smeared on it, or if your pup is very toy-driven, a flirt pole can be very attractive. This to keep him occupied on something else, create positive associations with your husband's return and create a new routine that replaces the undesirable one. If he is so focused and over threshold https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/threshold-levels/ to eat or engage in these activities. in your husband's presence, then it would be best keeping him in his own area and work on very small sub-steps, like providing the alternate activities behind an exercise pen when hubby comes home in a way that Jasper sees your husband, but is at distance from which he doesn't feel the need to practice the behavior and then gradually move the exercise pen closer, then remove the pen and have him tethered or on leash, and then as he proves himself calmer through several trials off-leash. Think about this as a way to "rewire his brain." His brain is on automatic mode "gotta start biting when hubby comes home". You will need to find ways to re-wire his brain to seek other forms of engagement that compete against the reward he is getting from jumping and biting. You can start with the easier games that provide food without much thinking involved (smacking sound followed by treat toss, treasure game, bottle game -most pups can't resist this game-, muffin game), and then gradually move to games that require more thinking (hand targeting, going to the mat, grabbing a toy on cue). More tips on puppies and biting in households with children: I hope this helps, Keep me posted on how things go. I am here if you have more questions and would like to do more troubleshooting. Disclaimer: behavior modification comes with risks. If your puppy or dog shows signs of potential aggression (lunging, barking, growling, snapping, biting) for safety, please consult with a dog behavior professional who uses force-free behavior modification techniques for direct in-person guidance. Articles, videos and general info found in the forums or course (or any online source) are not meant to replace in-person training/instruction. By using this course and forum, you are waiving any liability claims or other type of claims related to any dogs' behavior against you or others.

Hello and welcome to the forums, If this behavior tends to happen mostly contingent upon your husband coming home, there can be various dynamics at play. I will be listing a few possible causes for this behavior (not meant to be a "diagnosis" as this can be only obtained through in-person observations and in-depth history- taking, so just throwing out some possible causes) and then we can look at some possible solutions. -A Matter of excitement. If your puppy stays home with you most of the day, and things are rather quiet calm and quiet, your husband's arrival may the perk of the day. In such cases, your puppy will likely start anticipating the event each day which builds up his arousal levels. High arousal levels must spill out some way and therefore your puppy may "vent" by misbehaving. The more pups get overstimulated and aroused, the more they'll get nippy, barky and jumpy. Some puppies can get particularly wild when husbands have a history of roughhousing with the pups, wrestling with them on the floor. In such cases, pups may get super hyper because they are waiting for their favorite play partner to come home and this riles them up even more. -Some Level of Anxiety. Puppies may also misbehave when they feel some level of anxiety going on. When dogs are anxious, their minds and bodies are flooded with hormones due to the fight and flight response. There are also other types of responses going on such as the freeze or "fool around" response. The fool around response in particular is seen when dogs feel under pressure causing them to engage in behaviors that may seem out of context (displacement behaviors). Puppies may therefore start acting silly, jumping, playing and acting hyper or over the top when in this state. Some pups may be a little anxious about certain family members. If a particular member scolds a pup or uses hands-on corrections (these are still often recommended by trainers or even veterinarians) that can lead to several negative repercussions and some build-up of stress. Some pups may also be naturally intimidated by men due to the fact that men often have deeper voices, facial hair and move in a more intense way. -A Matter of Seeking Attention/Engagement If your puppy is normally calm in your presence and starts acting hyper when your husband comes home, he may misbehave as a way to get some attention. Perhaps when hubby comes home, you stop paying attention to your puppy and start talking to your husband, cooking or watching a favorite TV show together. Your puppy may feel left out and may try to find ways to get attention or at least gain some more engagement from both of you (or the entire family). Here's the thing: when it comes to getting attention, puppies, just like toddlers, seem to appreciate any form of attention, even if attention of the negative type (pushing the puppy away, scolding the puppy). So just like a toddler starts misbehaving when you are talking on the phone, an attention-driven puppy may start nipping, jumping and chewing shoes the moment you and your husband are sitting on the couch to watch a movie. -Getting Overstimulated and Cranky. Many puppies are very active during the morning, then they may take a small late morning early afternoon nap and then get active again and they may stay active until your hubby comes home. By this point, your puppy may be getting increasingly tired, but your husband's arrival likely keeps him awake and overstimulated. An overstimulated puppy eventually needs to crash, but if there's too much going on, he'll struggle to fall asleep. At this point, he'll therefore feel quite cranky and a puppy feeling cranky causes is the perfect recipe to misbehave (just like kids!), which leads to excessive jumping, barking and nipping. So here are a few suggestions for tackling Jasper's (I love this name!) behavior, but firstly, some good news! If your puppy misbehaves mostly when your husband comes home, you have one main advantage on your side: predictability. Predictability of a behavior offers you the benefit of preparing a plan and having it in place prior to your husband's arrival so that you can work on decreasing the chances for the problematic behavior. So here are some tips/ideas: Prevent Rehearsal of the Behavior. The popular saying "practice makes perfect" applies to dogs as well. Just like an actor gets better by rehearsing parts over and over, dogs get better at performing behaviors whether desirable or undesirable to the point of them becoming almost habit-forming. It would be therefore important preventing Jasper from rehearsing the problematic behaviors you describe when your husband comes home by using several management techniques. For example: you can temporarily keep Jasper behind a baby gate or in an exercise pen or crate with something to chew on to stay occupied when your hubby comes home and allow him time to chill out here a bit before letting him out and go bonkers upon hubby's arrival. -Train an Incompatible Behavior. Management works well for those times when you do not have time to train or when you are in the early stages of training, but your ultimate goal should be training your puppy to engage in an alternate behavior and reinforce that heavily so that your puppy chooses to engage in this behavior more and more when your husband comes home. As your puppy increasingly chooses to engage in this alternate behavior, the problematic behaviors should start going to the backburner until they are abandoned for good. Examples of alternate behaviors can be: Training your puppy to lie on a mat where he will receive a valuable chew. Here is how to train that: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/video-archive/train-dog-go-to-mat/ Training your puppy to go grab a special toy on cue (using different ones each time to keep he interest alive) and play with it. Being a retriever, Jasper *should* be adept to picking up and carrying things around. See the section on how to train "take:" https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/brain-training/obedience-101/take-leave-it/ Alternatively, you can offer him to take a bottle filled with treats/kibble right when your hubby comes home: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/brain-training/high-school/the-bottle-game/ Training your puppy to go on a treasure hunt when hubby comes home by tossing a handful of kibble mixed with treats around and telling your dog to "find them!" Here's a guide on Treasure Hunt Games: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/brain-training/elementary/the-treasure-hunt/ Providing your puppy with a muffin game, Licki-mat or stuffed Kong that you keep ready on a shelf and offer it only when your hubby comes through the door: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/brain-training/elementary/the-muffin-game/ It goes without saying that such training/brain games should be taught initially when hubby is not around and should be practiced up to a fluent level so that it can then be asked when hubby comes home. This training and games can be mismatched so to offer some alternate, calmer activities that your pup can look forward to and that will help take some "steam" off. -Change the Underlying Emotions. If your puppy is a bit stressed or anxious when around your husband, he may be too over threshold to listen and it's therefore important to take baby steps to ameliorate the situation and establish a strong relationship of trust. Any forms of punishment such as angry scolding, or physically correcting the puppy should be completely stopped. Behavior modification in such a case is required to change a pup's emotional response about being around hubby. For a good part, the training and brain games above can help accomplish that too as "great things happens when hubby comes home" but some pups may need more work. This can be accomplished using behavior intervention techniques based on desensitization and counterconditioning. https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/desensitization/ https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/counterconditioning/ For correct implementation of these techniques and for safety (if there is defensive biting involved), it is recommended enlisting the help of a force-free dog trainer/dog behavior consultant. So for example, in the case of your husband entering the home, you can keep your puppy leashed at a distance and feed him treats as your husband enters the home or you can have your hubby toss him treats as explained in the treat-retreat game for fearful dogs https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/treat-retreat-game/ always ensuring that the puppy is kept as under threshold as possible. Steps should also be taken to do some remedial work and aim to create positive associations with hands. Here are some helpful exercises that can help create positive associations with collar grabs and touch: exercises to get puppies used to handling. and here are some bite inhibition games: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/bite-inhibition-games/ -Make Sure Your Puppy Gets Enough Rest! While many puppies get hyper when they aren't exercised, played with and interacted with enough, on the opposite side of the spectrum are puppies who get hyper when they aren't given an opportunity to relax and get some rest. Puppies needs scheduled downtimes and several opportunities to rest and a get a nap throughout the day. Keeping them in a crate (some benefit from a blanket over it to create darkness and visual stimulation) or in a quiet area away from overstimulation and with something to chew on can help them relax and learn to self-sooth and eventually take a nap. I hope this helps! Let me know if you have any other questions! Happy training, Adrienne Disclaimer: behavior modification comes with risks. If your puppy or dog shows signs of potential aggression (lunging, barking, growling, snapping, biting) for safety, please consult with a dog behavior professional who uses force-free behavior modification techniques for direct in-person guidance. Articles, videos and general info found in the forums or course (or any online source) are not meant to replace in-person training/instruction. By using this course and forum, you are waiving any liability claims or other type of claims related to any dogs' behavior against you or others.

You are very welcome! Yes, using sniffing time is a favorite especially with dogs who find the activity very rewarding and the best part is that sniffing is a tiring activity too (win-win!) We can even put the behavior of sniffing on cue by saying "go sniff!" to reward polite walking so that your pup understands that you are giving him permission to go on a sniffing adventure. This is one of the easiest training cues one will ever train as most dogs know what to do when you let them approach an area that is worthy of sniffs. I find it easier to get polite leash walking by walking at a distance from temptations like the edges of roads/sidewalks which often have grass and other things dogs are interested in and once the dog walks nicely we can reward by allowing some sniffing time in these areas. Then once the dog has sniffed enough and appears to be getting bored, we can ask them to heel again https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/brain-training/obedience-101/heeling-attention-heeling/ and occasionally reward for sticking to our side. If you have access to a fenced area where your pup can safely stay off leash and sniff to his heart's content, walk towards this area, and when that leash is dangling in a nice slack "U," snap off the leash and say "go sniff." Most dogs at some point get tired of sniffing, so once the novelty is gone, this is a good time to call your pup https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/brain-training/obedience-101/recall/ and reward him. Important is to not allow pulling as much as we can and get more and more polite heeling. Dogs are much faster walking than us, so it's natural for them to walk ahead and find sticking to us boring, unless we make it extra rewarding by providing treats, opportunities to sniff and engagement. Stopping when the dog pulls or walking the opposite direction teaches dogs that their pulling won't get them closer to what they want (sniffing a place). However, if we let them sniff once they walk nicely they'll learn that they can get there even though they're not rushing. It's a good starter lesson on impulse control https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/impulse-control-frustration-tolerance/ something pups gradually learn and becomes easier as they mature. We have several resources here on bite inhibition, I am posting them here for other readers or in case you may have missed some: Bite inhibition games: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/bite-inhibition-games/ Gentle mouth: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/train-dog-take-treats-gently/ Tolerating touch: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/exercises-to-teach-puppies-to-tolerate-touch/ And here are several threads with extra troubleshooting tips: Happy training! Best, Adrienne

Greetings and welcome to the forums, This is a great question considering that we want to establish good leash walking habits, but it can be challenging asking a young energetic puppy to walk politely on a loose leash for a whole 20-minute walk. In such a case we have several options: -Drain excess energy. If you can find a compatible play companion ( like another puppy that has completed vaccines) that will help burn off some of the physical energy, and can help make the walk easier and nicer. Alternatively, if you have a fenced yard or somewhere else to play, try burning off some of that energy before you go for your walk. A walk may not be enough exercise for a young pointer, and it can be frustrating for a hyper pup to move at a slower human pace when all they want to do is explore and run. -Use sniffing as a reward for polite leash walking. We often think of treats as a way to reward a dog who walks nicely next to us, but for some outdoorsy breeds, being allowed to sniff and explore can be equally reinforcing or even a higher reinforcer. You can use a long line for sending him to sniff. A long line is a longer leash that a regular leash and it's often sold in horse tack stores or online as dog recall training leashes. If you use a 15 foot leash you can send him to which gives some distance and still a loose leash. -Mix things up. Asking a young pup with a short attention span for 20 minutes straight can be challenging. You can add some variety on walks to keep your pup's interest alive. For instance, you can do some polite walking for 20 steps, then you can reward that by giving your pup permission to sniff, then you can do some more steps of polite walking using high-value treats to reward heel position, then you can ask some hand targets https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/brain-training/preschool/targeting/, then a little more walking reinforced with sniffing, then you can do some walking with some added turns, then you can drop some kibble on the ground and let her "go find!" in a treasure hunt-style https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/brain-training/elementary/the-treasure-hunt/and then you can offer a higher-value treat or toy when he comes to you and chooses to walk by your side. - Use a short leash for polite leash walking and a long line for sniffing strolls. Your pup can learn over time what to do with different lengths of leashes just as service dogs learn it's time to work when they wear their working harness. To help your puppy succeed, you may find it helpful to do more polite leash walking really close to your house where your pup is more familiar with the area or at the end of the walk when your pup is more tired. -When using the long line, make sure to always praise and reward your puppy for checking- in with you (comes to you or looks back at you). With time, your puppy may learn to do this more and more often. At some point, after your puppy starts offering real attention rather than just an occasional glance, you can then start using sniffing as reinforcement for polite leash walking. -Practice off- leash. When at home or in a securely fenced yard, practice training your pup to stick to your side. Polite leash walking really has little to do with a leash (the leash is there just for safety and to obey leash laws) it's all about creating a strong bond and a strongly reinforced habit. You are basically mostly reinforcing position and moving with you despite tempting distractions. -Finally, I would not recommend using a slip lead. Your puppy is very young and a slip lead works by tightening around the neck to create an unpleasant "strangulation-like" sensation. It's a correction-based tool. It has its uses for emergency situations or when we need to take dogs quickly in and out cars, play areas, kennels etc. but for training purposes, there are risks for negative associations, choking, coughing and gagging and damage to the delicate structures of the throat/neck area (in a young puppy the cartilage of the trachea is still particularly delicate). A front-attachment harness such as the Perfect Fit harness can be a much safer alternative (it doesn't constrict the throat and is not designed for corrections). I hopes this helps, Let me know if you have any other questions! Best, Adrienne