Adrienne Farricelli

I just wanted to post this follow up. I read through all of your advice and applied what I felt I could that would work with my puppy. Although you didn't advise me to, I wore padded pants and a padded jacket as well as leather gloves to work with him on "no jump" -- because that was the only way I could come up with to remove biting from the equation. He still bit me, but it didn't penetrate so I was able to focus instead on "no jump". If he doesn't jump, he doesn't bite. You did really good to wear padded pads and padded jacket for the training. I posted to tuck pant legs in socks and wearing tall Wellingtons if he was aiming to bite feet and ankles, but if he aims for your upper body, yes, do what it takes to lessen the impact of that biting. If he bites hard and to break skin though, we also want to aim to teaching him better bite inhibition. Here are some guides for that: (the tips in the first link suggest initially using gloves for pups who bite hard) https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/train-dog-take-treats-gently/ https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/bite-inhibition-games/ It took some doing but I finally got him to sit instead of jumping and was able to reward him. Though the jumping and attempts at playful bites have not gone away 100%, the energy with which he is doing these things had totally changed to where he is doing it with low energy. I have not suffered any more cuts or bruises from his mouth and we are having great wins turning this behavior around and off. That's awesome progress for just a little over 20 days! Keep up the great work, you want to make sits far more reinforcing than jumping and biting. Add in the interactive toys, ensuring he gets enough sleep and alternate forms of play and you should see more and more progress coming along the way. If at any time he manages to still jump and bite, carefully assess what may have gone wrong (you moved too quickly, were caught off guard, you were carrying something he was interested in) and gradually desensitize him to that using low level exposures. For example, if he jumped and tried to bite because you were carrying a napkin that was moving in the wind, practice carrying the napkin indoors with no wind asking him to sit and stay as you carry it, praise and reward for resisting the temptation, then raise criteria to carrying it and moving it around and reward for resisting the temptation, then move to the outdoors ). If you still struggle, describe what seemed to evoke the jumping and biting and post here and we can go some deeper troubleshooting.

Hi there, Sorry for the delay! Thank you for the extra details, they are very helpful! Without seeing the accompanying body language, please understand that I can only make some assumptions. A deeper insight can be obtained by carefully watching the accompanying body language and carefully assessing the present situation, even relying on some pieces of past behavioral history. For instance, are the ears plastered flat and the tail between the legs upon staring? Or are the ears forwards and tail up? How is your Mal interacting with the world around her in general? Are there any patterns or related patterns emerging in any other contents? Can there be an underlying issue on a larger scale going on that is culminating in this behavior pattern or is this an isolated behavior? Also, what happens when the other dog leaves? Does your pup show signs of having the ability to calm herself down? These are things you may not have noticed much before, but that are worthy paying attention to for the purpose of learning more about how your dog is feeling in that particular context or situation. As soon as you start engaging her in classes, you may learn more about how she feels around other dogs. Ask the trainer to pay attention to her body language and offer insights. So let's cover some possibilities. I already mentioned some, but let's go a little more in depth on them and then see what we can do to work on the behavior. A Freeze Response When dogs are fearful or intimidated by something, they may react in different ways. Some dogs will bark, some others may freeze. In these cases, it helps to carefully watch the context in which the behavior occurs and the accompanying body language. When stopping to stare, is the dog exhibiting signs of stress? Rigid, lip licking, panting? Is there a hard stare? Is the forehead wrinkled? Is the body tense? It also helps to gain some insights based on her history of how she normally interact with other dogs. At 17 weeks without a history of negative experience with a strange dog or lack of socialization, fear may be unlikely. A Calming Signal Norwegian dog expert, Turid Rugaas, in her book "On Talking Terms With Dogs" lists sitting as a calming signal. When exposed to hyper, possibly aggressive or fearful dogs, some dogs will try to "appease them" by offering a sit. Other calming signals may unveil if we loosen the leash, such as walking slowly, turning the head, yawning and sniffing the ground. A Wait and See Approach Sometimes, the reaction is mostly based on visuals. Your pup will just stare to see what happens next so to be prepared, so to say. As working dogs, Malinois are very smart and can be quite sensitive to any perception of conflict and therefore, they may need a bit more time to process and obtain safety cues in social contexts. It's important to allow these pups to process the situation. It could therefore be that your Mal is pausing to read the other dog's body language and learning to understand subtle cues. It's their way of being "thoughtful." Try to identify if there is a pattern, does it happen mostly with unfamiliar dogs? or also with familiar ones? If only with unfamiliar, she may be "studying' their behavior so to make important decisions on how to interact. Tips Without knowing whether the behavior stems from fear, a calming signal or just a careful evaluation of the situation, we cannot tackle the issue directly going to the root cause, but the good news is that, in these situations, we can still have more basis covered by using a generalized approach. So in this case, you may find it helpful to work on engagement and see how it goes from there. What is the desired alternative behavior? Not looking at other dogs? Then practice, moving around a bit to get your puppy's attention, then reward for "eyes on me." Work ahead of time on this before adding the distraction of other dogs. Use the smacking sound to grab your pup's attention: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/the-airplane-game/the-smacking-sound/ Then add movement to engage your pup, you can train a few steps of attention heeling: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/brain-training/obedience-101/heeling-attention-heeling/ Or ask your pup to come target your hand, before she has a chance to sit: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/brain-training/preschool/targeting/ For sure though, sitting down, calmly watching other dogs walk by is far better than barking and pulling towards unknown dogs! Indeed, sitting calmly watching dogs can be a good alternate behavior for these overly excited greeters! I hope this helps, let me know if you have any other questions or concerns, happy training! Best, Adrienne

Oh Wow! That's lovely! I am impressed by the teamwork and I can see a great relationship there! Kudos to both of you! Best, Adrienne

You're very welcome! Post an update when you have a chance or feel free to ask further questions. Best, Adrienne

Gee with a name like Adrienne Farricelli I would have never guessed you were from Italy. LOL! We called France home for many years and we made our way to Italy a few times. I had a dear friend with a place in Montelupo with a bunch of olive trees. After tasting olive oil pressed right in the town square, my wife always made sure I came back home with the good stuff on every trip. LOL! Yeah, I often joke about it saying that my last name (not my maiden name) sounds like a type of pasta! Gotta love those olives, we have been able to grow some Arbequina olive trees in Arizona, which oddly is one of the few places in the US where you can grow olive trees. I like to cure them in the fall, just make a couple of jars but they taste awesome although they're very small. Nothing though beats the olive oil from Tuscany! Lupo is 12 weeks old today. We got him from a breeder who used Maremmas to guard livestock. They clearly were not pets. They had 1 in with the cows, 1 in with the pigs, and 2 in with the goats which tended to be more soft targets for predators, plus Lupo's mom. Lupo was born in the barn and it seems she already started preparing him for his duties ahead as a farm dog. So he's really young and the socialization window is still open, so yes, now is the time to make positive experiences happen with the world around him (always ensuring it's always positive and never overwhelming). He has been really good with small children - playful but not rough. Good bite inhibition for a puppy - not a scratch on my arms. I took him to a 4th of July party where he got to play with other dogs and be around a lot of new faces. Just made sure we left before any potentially traumatizing fireworks started. He was just so good - my wife was so proud of him. He sat on my wife's lap for the ride home and was fine - he just wants to be on someones lap in the car - which tends to be an issue if there is only the driver in the car. I may try blocking off the back seat/cargo area and taking him for rides that way. I had him to the vet last week for his second round of shots - again he was great - and a real chick magnet. This is all awesome, good bite inhibition is a must and he sounds very sweet and mellow! It's a great feeling when our pups make us proud! It was very nice of you to have spared him from the overwhelming firework displays! At the breeder he was free fed. We try not to do that as we will have chickens eating dog food - thankfully he leaves the chicken food alone. We feed him a large breed puppy kibble. Sometimes my wife will boil a little chicken or beef trimmings that we use very moderately mixed with the kibble or as "high value" treats which he clearly prefers to standard dog treats. He does really like Greenies or Dentalife chews. Yes, that can really put a dent in their motivation to eat and eat treats. It can really de-value them. It's sort of like being exposed to a day-long buffet one day after another. The other day was speaking to a wedding photographer who eats at restaurants all the time as it's paid for when he has to shoot, and he invited us to a restaurant and he found all the food boring. I mean restaurant food with all the tasty menu most common mortals are willing to pay money for. After looking at the menu over and over he settled with some street food this restaurant also offered. Glad though he likes some of these chews that you can use for training, they are very hard though to split in pieces so you will have to make the most out of these, until you find other foods he likes that you can easily split into pieces so to reduce calorie count. There is no question the dog is really smart and understands commands but he does have a mind of his own. If I tell him to "come" there will be times where we stare at each other until he comes. Other times he will just sit until I walk far enough away so that he can run to me. However if he likes doing something - no issue. We have a couple of large rocks that if I point and say "up" he will scramble right up and sit on top of the rock. I would say that praise goes a long way with this dog. Have you been presenting food when you have called him to come? If so, he may be staring at you in hopes of seeing the food. We want to start fading the food though earlier than later to prevent an over dependence on seeing the food. We can do so gradually in the most challenging cases. Sometimes, backing up a few steps gets them to be curious and move towards us, and we can then reinforce their approach with something tasty we have been hiding in our pocket or behind out back. It's OK to use praise too if he loves that! I think we have the digging problem sorted - he has found a way beneath a low deck that provides him with shade and cool dirt to escape the heat. They do tend to get very hot with all the coat! They should never be shaved though. Sounds like you have both found a lovely comprise by letting him use that area. My last dog was a Norwich terrier - fantastic and smart. Totally food motivated. He was actually my mom's dog (who lived in a town) and I was the "fun uncle" who let him off the leash. When my mom passed he came to live with us in the country and he loved every minute of it. Left the chickens alone and chased everything off the property from chipmunks to deer and even a few bears. And tried to eat a lot of chicken food. Thanks for the tips - definitely need to read and re-read some of the material you sent. Just a lot to remember. You are very welcome! Keep us posted on how things go, and post here any time for tips or troubleshooting! Happy training!

Hi there, welcome to the forums! There can be several possible causes for this behavior. She may just be evaluating the situation, she may be sitting as a way to offer a calming signal (dogs use several appeasement gestures to demonstrate they are no threat) or it can be a freeze response from fear. How is the accompanying body language? Has she been socialized with other pups or dogs? Gone to puppy classes? Has she finished all her vaccines? By Mal, do you mean Malinois or Malamute?

Dear members, I will be away from the forums from early July 9th through July 13th. I will try to reply to any posts on July 14th evening. In the meanwhile, you can try to search the archives for articles on what you many need or you can try to search the forums and see if it yields content on similar issues you are facing. If you can't find anything on your particular issue, please be patient and wait for my reply on the 14th. Sorry for the inconvenience and thanks for understanding! Best Adrienne

Hi Ashlyn, Welcome to the forums! We don't have grades for the actual training, but for the brain games (which most incorporate some training). Like for targeting, if you scroll to the bottom of the page, you'll find the exam grade table: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/brain-training/preschool/targeting/ If you have done all the brain games, congratulations! In that case, simply add all your grades and see which one is highest (like most B will mean your dog earned a B). If you're up for a further challenge, you can try to beat Einstein's scores: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/einsteins-challenge/ Post pictures or videos of your dog acing the challenges if you want. We love to see pups succeed! If you're struggling on anything, post here as well and we'll try to help. PS. I will be away from the 9th of July through the 14th, so if you see no reply in those 5 day, it's because I am away from my computer but will respond as soon as I come back. Happy training! Adrienne

Well, remember as well that at the age of 2 your border collie is right at the border of being still a teenager and getting closer to adulthood. The teenager stage is reported to be the most challenging time and you are getting closer to the end of it. Border collies are said to "calm down" somewhat somewhere from the age of 2 and 3, although they are "Peter Pans" and retain juvenile traits and energy along with desire to do things. With consistency, impulse control training, and lots of baby steps to tackle the anxiety, you should gradually see more progress. Remember to pat yourself on the back as well when you notice progress. It makes sense to prioritize the most pressing issues. Often, if we tackle the emotional aspects first, we then pave the path towards a better learning state. Us humans also benefit from taking a step-by-step approach as well as things won't seem too overwhelming that way. I like to keep a log of how things go and make graphs to see whether learning is progressing steadily. If there are setbacks, I will analyze what went wrong and take steps to make the exercise easier next time. I admire your determination and patience along the way. Of course, post here is you're ever struggling with something in particular as the earlier tackled, the better. Happy training!

Meal times were a real problem. While we were eating he’d beg and hassle us. If we put him behind a gate or in the other room he’d bark frantically because he could smell the food, even if he’d just eaten. Now we have him in the same room and he lies on his bed near our dining table. He has a kong and occasional pieces of chicken. He doesn’t move while we eat until he gets the free command. It’s taken a lot of work, but he’s very good now and just stays on his bed. It may not be the best solution but meals are peaceful and he’s still, quiet, and in one place. That's actually awesome! Both our Rotties were trained to hold a down stay during meal times, each on their own beds. Initially, they were occupied with a Kong or edible chew, but as they matured and gained better and better impulse control, they were capable of holding the down/stay while we ate and therefore had to wait for their Kong/edible chew until our dinner was over. This was done gradually, delaying giving the Kong a little bit more and more each day. So they learned the "art of delayed gratification." Sometimes they would even fall asleep as we ate, only to wake up at a moments' notice when they saw us get up to put the dishes away in anticipation for their goodies. You will therefore have to work on generalizing this behavior to when guests are over. In other words, remind him that the rules remain the same. I know this can be tricky when there are many distractions, but if you have family members coming over you can practice with them before upgrading to guests with kids or particularly noisy. He can have his Kong on the bed, but it's imperative that the kids are of the age to understand that a dog is never bothered/approached while eating and should be left alone. If the kids can't comply this simple rule or the parents aren't the types that watch them, then it's best to erect a pen around your dog's bed for safety. I recommend to rather do this than risk it (mostly because I want dogs to feel safe when eating and not stressed) To many dogs even people moving too much, gesticulating and talking loud can be stressful. When they feel like this, they find it challenging staying still in one spot to eat. A little extra distance can also help. Finn doesn’t actually get any meals in a bowl. He has to work for all his food. It wasn’t what we wanted, but he’s made such progress. We can take his collar on and off, groom him, and inspect his teeth and ears, put a harness on him . . . all things that were unthinkable at 1 year old. He sleeps nicely in his crate and does all kinds of tricks. A lot of the time he walks well on the lead and his recall is quite good unless he’s over threshold. He’ll drop items well and we’re working up to food, and his leave it is really coming on. He seems happy too and is coming for more cuddles. This is all sounds wonderful! It's OK, bowls are made just for our convenience if we think about it, so that the food is kept in one place and doesn't make a mess. Sounds like things are coming along nicely. For recalls, recognize what caused him to be over threshold and try to practice more in less intense situation, building up gradually to that intensity. Try to use higher value treats to face those increases in challenges. Imagine your recall as an investment. Every time you call your dog and he comes to you, you are getting some money back. More and more successful recalls make your money start piling up. You are powering up your recall. Every time he doesn't listen though, you are losing some money, and if you cause some negative associations with it like by getting frustrated (dogs can be very sensitive to our moods), you are losing piles of money and that potentially creates setbacks. To help pave the road for success, try calling your dog when you think he's more likely to be responsive. For instance, if he's sniffing wait until he's done to call him. If you have just taken him outside, wait for him to explore a bit and get a little bored after he has checked things out. Sure, we want to be able to call our dogs in those scenarios, but best to work towards that gradually than un-powering our recall with no response. The beagle we had some up years ago was so calm, so chilled, so loving that Finn has been absolute shock. As a pup he was like a wild animal. He would most likely be in a shelter now with most owners, but we’re determined to love him and fix him if it’s at all possible. His last few problems at 2 and a half are arousal barking, excited greeting, eating poo (hence the leave it work) and wildly scratching the floor/ furniture with both paws when unsettled. But he’s calmed significantly though and is very much on the right trajectory. I am so glad that Finn has loving owners who have been so dedicated to work on all the issues! I wish you continued success and remember the forums are here if you encounter any problems. The earlier issues are nipped, the faster they can be tackled. Rehearsal of problematic behaviors for some time make things much more difficult to overcome because there's an established history and things can quickly get habit-forming.

Again, that's fantastic advice Adrienne. We'll work at the treat retreat in the hope he'll be less over aroused when people come. I understand it's more for fearful dogs, rather than over aroused dogs who are desperate to meet the guest excitedly, but it'll probably apply just as well. You're very welcome! Many aroused behaviors around people have an element of anxiety and stress into play. It's called the 'fool around" response and categorized along with fight and flight. Since you mentioned that he struggled as well with your sister, I feel that there's some social anxiety at play going on here. The sit and wait method we've tried isn't really working and seems to get him more wound out to bursting with anticipation, even though he tries very hard to sit and wait. Yes, it can be a real struggle for dogs who are anxious or over excited to stay still. That's why I prefer to introduce activities that allow movement until the dog is a bit calmer around situations. On the plus side, I like to use sit/stays for recalls. Your dog gets a double whammy of rewards this way: release from the sit/stay and then praise + several pieces of treats tossed on the ground upon reaching you. That "anticipation burst" you mention allows for a flashy, enthusiastic recall which is what I look for. We've had him at the vets and there's no physical problem. In fact he was toilet trained really early on and we never have any accidents, other than this. And it's only tiny amounts that leak during the excitement, he doesn't cock his leg or squat at all, in fact you wouldn't know it's happened but for a few drops on the floor. OK, then that does sound like excitement urination, although there may be some submissive/appeasement urination also contributing since you mention his style of greeting consists of rolling over. We this this roll over in soft, sensible dogs who want to show they mean no harm, and present the inguinal area as an appeasement gesture. It's reminiscent of back in the days when they were pups and presented their inguinal area for their mother to clean them up. He does pee a lot on walks, though not so much locally on walks he knows these days. But go somewhere new and he scent marks all the time, which clearly shows anxiety. Yet he loves going out in the car to new places. This sounds like classical urine marking. Incidentally he's coming on really well with your brain training games. He can do the jazz up and then sit game in 10 s and after a lot of work he has door manners every time we touch a door handle even if he takes a few seconds to process it. Other more difficult ones are still work in progress. Kudos to you for training him these fun games! Jazz up and open sesame door handle games are great for impulse control. Keep up the great work! Most of his problems are excitement mixed with some anxiety and some fear and we've overcome so many of his issues. The main ones left being wild greeting and peeing, and arousal barking for noises and when we have guests (particularly children). We had a BBQ for family recently and he played with the little children beautifully, not knocking them over and letting them take things from his mouth, but when people stopped to sit down he barked continually, which made things very stressful. I had to take him out for a walk to calm him down and let somebody else take over the cooking, but returning he was much the same. We're working so hard to fix him, we just wish we could tell him to calm down. Lol. Thanks again for really helping us. Excitement/anxiety can benefit from impulse control exercises so that you can gain at least a marginal thinking state. The Premack Principle works well with these dogs as they learn to incorporate some composure, although it's also true that some excitement may get mixed in, but if we start slow in low distraction areas mastering fluent responses, and also tackle the emotions as well, over time we should see a steady increase in desirable behaviors. Here's a read on the Premack Principle: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/premack-principle/ With children, things get tricky, many dogs struggle being around them, especially the younger kids who squeal, run around and do fast movements. Keeping your dog at a distance (leashed next to you or behind a baby gate) and practicing obedience cues can turn helpful. Too close exposures may lead to over excitement and and too long exposures may cause stress. Best to do brief exposures for training purposes and then keep the dog away so he can get some respite. I would not recommend having children take things from his mouth, this is often how resource guarding starts. Even if he's not prone to this, children need to be instructed how to behave properly in the presence of dogs. If they meet the wrong dog, taking something out from the mouth, can lead to a dangerous bite. https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/the-importance-of-preventing-resource-guarding-in-puppies/ The barking when sitting down, can be due to various reasons. Does he beg for food? If not, he may have just wanted attention or was upset that everything suddenly got so calm. As a herding dog, he may crave interaction and movement. It may help to give him something to do during dinner such as giving him a stuffed Kong or another edible chew he loves that take some time to consume. This should be away from the guests like behind a nearby baby gate-you don't ant kids pestering him or trying to take away a bone-which is risky.) You may have to practice this and make it a new ritual when you are dining so that you can gradually transfer this with calm guests and then guests with kids.

You're very welcome! Keep us posted on how thing go and make sure to work with professional for safety and correct implementation. Best, Adrienne

You also mentioned that your ACD struggles with guests, this can also be tackled through management and behavior modification, and as in other cases, requires a systematic step-by-step approach. Here in the link below, you can see a case study on a case of a dog who was reactive towards a person entering the room. Of course, you'll need stricter management since we always have that great risk for a bite. In some cases, if guests don't come off too often, but just in a blue moon, it may be easier to just manage (keep the dog away from guests behind a tall baby-gate, crated with a stuffed Kong or in a separate room) than directly work on behavior modification which will require frequent refresher sessions here and there. https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/dog-barking-someone-enters-room/ All these behaviors can certainly be related, being that lack of socialization may have had a profound effect on how she relates to people. If she was doing perfectly fine with people before, consider that perhaps something has happened that has negatively rocked her world (stress, changes, a move, an unpleasant encounter, a full intensity exposure, trigger stacking) causing anxiety to raise its ugly head. In regards to your husband showing affection and her acting possessive, the same principles apply. You can read more about this behavior here: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/overprotective-of-owners/ You would therefore need to identify what triggers it (hugs?) prevent rehearsal of the behavior and implement management (no affection in her presence), and then if you want to work on it directly, it would entail creating positive associations with your husband's presence around you, and doing very gradual exposures with her under threshold by presenting small pieces of the issue she struggles with and making it clear that treats are provided contingent upon your husband doing these things. When your husband stops doing all these things, the treat delivery stops. For example, if she struggles with hugs, you would practice having your husband approach you, drop treats, then have her watch him place a hand on your shoulder, toss treats, then have her watch him placing the arm around you shoulders, toss treats, then a very loose hug, toss treats, then a slightly tighter hug, toss treats, then a full hug, toss treats, then a full bear hug with some swinging motions, toss treats, then bear hug, with swinging motions and verbal remarks, toss treats. Of course, this is just an example. She may react in certain segments, and when that happens it's sign that she wasn't ready for that level of interaction yet, so you'll need to go back a few steps and even split things further. However, since there is a risk element here (risk for bites if we aren't diligent in watching her body language) we need to thread with extra caution so you many want her muzzled just in case (she can still pick treats from the floor with certain types of basket muzzles) or practice behind a tall baby gate she won't climb or jump over, and have a behavior professional guide you through (watching her carefully and possibly timing the treat tossing) so to minimize the chances for mistakes or setbacks from sloppy implementation. I hope this helps, Of course, don't forget doing brain games and training session! Let me know if you need any help or have further questions! 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 (no shock, prongs, or physical corrections) 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.

Hi Emily, Welcome the forums! First off, thank you so kindly for rescuing and opening your heart and home to this dog with a history of being tied up in a backyard. I can't imagine how terribly bored and frustrated this dog must have felt! With dogs who bark on walks at people/dogs, there's always the chance for it to be "barrier frustration" in other words, dogs eager to meet and greet people and dogs, and who bark because they are restrained by the leash and therefore unable to get closer. These dogs are dying to interact and cut the distance, but since you mention that she snaps when people try to pet her and she struggles with guests, it sounds more like an issue based on anxiety/mistrust/fear of strangers since she is looking for distance rather than interaction. Now, in Australian Cattle dogs, we can expect them to be rather aloof and reserved with people, but this shouldn't lead to suspiciousness that graduates to snapping behaviors. So likely this is some everlasting baggage from her past being tied up and not being properly socialized towards people and dogs. The term snapping can be used to portray two different scenarios: one where the dog opens and closes the mouth at a distance from a person without making any contact with the person, and one were the dog actually makes contact with the skin but applies no pressure. Both behaviors are concerning and should be tackled early before the behavior worsens and escalates to a more severe type of biting. In these cases, you'll need to take a multifaceted approach. Here are some general tips: -Start with a vet visit Your dog is now 7 and you mention this behavior starting in the past couple of years. The big question is, what triggered this behavior to pop out? Was she perfectly OK around people and dogs prior to that? Or so-so? Was she exposed to lots of cumulative stress? Did somebody approach her the wrong way? Has she always been uneasy around people and it has gotten gradually worse? One very first step due to the late onset of this behavior, especially in the case of a dog who suddenly snaps out of the blue, is having your dog see the vet. There are several underlying medical conditions that can lower a dog's threshold for biting. An ear infection, for instance, can cause a dog to lash out when people happen to touch the dog's ears or face. Some dogs may undergo behavior changes due to underlying medical conditions such as low thyroid levels (which this breed is predisposed to). The causes can be various and therefore a vet visit is a must to rule out underlying medical disorders. -Make Safety Your Top Priority Taking steps to ensure the safety of others is paramount. Keeping your dog on leash on walks, and maybe letting her wear a "caution" vest can help discourage people from approaching. Conditioning her to wear a basket muzzle when around people is important, however, realize that, just because your dog is muzzled, doesn't mean she's safe to be around. Use caution as if your dog wasn't wearing it. Make sure to use a bite-proof basket muzzle. I personally like the wire basket muzzles from Dean and Tyler and some models made by Jafco. Here is a video on how to condition a dog to wear a muzzle. I am using a nylon muzzle in this video, but you can still feed treats through a basket muzzle. https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/video-archive/train-your-dog-to-wear-a-muzzle/ Training an emergency U-turn may also be helpful so to avoid too-close encounters when strangers are walking your way on a tight sidewalk. Here is a guide on that: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/emergency-u-turn/ It's important to therefore avoid full-intensity exposures that are likely to evoke the problem behavior (snapping). -Prevent Rehearsal of the Problematic Behavior Allowing your dog to practice the snapping behavior will cause the behavior to put roots and strongly establish. Here's the thing: every time your dog snaps at a stranger, the stranger will obviously move away. Such increase in distance is reinforcing to the dog as she gets to feel relief. Snap after snap, the dog learns that, in order to keep people away, all she needs to do is snap. Soon, this behavior establishes and may become the dog's default behavior of interacting with people she's not comfortable having around. It's therefore important not putting the dog into the position of feeling so uncomfortable she needs to snap. In other words, you want to keep her as under threshold as possible: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/threshold-levels/ -Know Your Dog's Triggers Carefully evaluate what triggers and situations your dog has snapped in the past and take steps to prevent her from being exposed to such situations. For example, if she has snapped at somebody trying to hug her, make sure to let people know that she's not comfortable having people hug her, but consider that even moving towards your dog can be interpreted by your dog as an intent to hug, so you'll need to be very careful about what people do around your dog. Safety comes always first, so it's better taking the better safe than sorry approach. You can't go wrong in practicing excessive caution in these circumstances. -Watch Your Dog's Body Language Learn to recognize early signs of when your dog is starting to get tense. This way you can remove your dog from situations before he feels the need to escalate. Often, early pre-warning signs include nose licking, turning the head, yawning, stiffening etc. More is covered here: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/signs-fear-stress-dogs/ Don't forget to take a look at Kendall Shepherd's Ladder of Aggression: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/dogs-dont-bite-blue/ -Implement Behavior Modification To tackle cases of reactivity directed towards strangers, you'll need to tackle the underlying emotional response. The goal of behavior modification is to change your dog's perception of strangers and to teach and reinforce alternate behaviors. This is often done through methods that involve desensitization and counterconditioning. Some of my favorite methods for working on dogs uncomfortable towards strangers are: Leslie McDevitt's Look at That exercises (you can start by having her watch strangers walk by her property if that's not too overwhelming for her. https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/brain-training/university/look-at-that/ Jean Donaldson's' Open Bar Closed Bar: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/open-bar-closed-bar/ For closer encounters, one of my favorite go-to methods is Susan Clothier's Treat/Retreat Method: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/treat-retreat-game/ The ultimate goal would be to obtain what's known as a dog's positive conditioned emotional response so that the dog no longer dreads being around strangers, but actually starts tolerating and even enjoying it. Here's a read on that: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/conditioned-emotional-response-cer/ As promising as all of this sounds, it's important to understand that aggressive tendencies may not be cured once and for all. No guarantees can ever be made on the outcome of training and behavior modification. You'll therefore need to have realistic expectations and accept the fact that you may need to implement management long-term. -Training Alternate Behaviors Once a dog's emotional response has changed, it is easier to train a dog to perform some desirable, alternate behaviors that will replace the snapping. More on differential reinforcement can be found here: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/differential-reinforcement-incompatible-behaviors/ For instance, once your dog is better under control, when a person approaches, you can train your dog to go sniff the ground on cue searching for some tasty treats you have tossed there, or she can learn to quietly lie down in her spot with a cookie. You can also have her do some sits and toss the treats in a treat/retreat fashion so she's going back and forth and looking for the tossed treats rather than thinking about snapping. -Avoid Punishment As tempting as it may be to punish a dog for snapping at strangers, consider that this approach can literally 'bite you in the back." Here's the thing: a dog's snapping behavior is a warning, your dog's way of saying "I am not comfortable having people this close to me or doing whatever they were doing." If you try to suppress this plea for help using punishment, you may be left with a dog who bites with little or no warning. In other words, she'll go straight to a bite with no growling or air snapping to warn you and others about this intent. -The Importance of Working With a Professional It goes without saying that a dog who is snapping at strangers is a strong liability. There is always the chance that someone may get hurt. Even as you step in, to stop your dog from potentially injuring somebody, you may be on the receiving end of a redirected bite. For safety and correct implementation of behavior modification, it's therefore important to enlist the help of a qualified, force-free dog trainer or behavior consultant. If you are lucky to have a board-certified veterinary behaviorist near you, that would be an optimal solution. These professionals can, not only rule-out medical problems, but they may also prescribe medications to help lower your dog's threshold so to facilitate learning. Remember: behavior modification takes some time to implement and requires management when the dog is not being actively worked with and conditioned. This means that when these sessions are not practiced, the dog should be kept away from her triggers (management) considering that, as mentioned, it can be highly reinforcing for dogs to bark/growl and snap considering that the person or dog in question often leaves/or is removed following this display. Will be posting about the issue you are facing with your husband shortly. 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 (no shock, prongs, or physical corrections) 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.

Hi there! Welcome back! Glad to hear things are progressing nicely, keep up the great work! You are on the right track in letting him meet outdoors, I think though you can tweak things a bit with trying to bypass asking the sit for now, and just letting him go on a little fun treasure hunt to keep his mind and body busy in something else. Usually, I am OK with asking a sit, but in this case, it sounds like he may be struggling. I assume that what may be happening is that, is one of 3 things: 1) he may be too over threshold to be able to sit 2) he may do the sit for a second but then right afterward he may go into excited greeting mode and pees 3) he may pee while he is sitting So letting him go on a little treasure hunt by tossing goodies on the ground for him to collect can help accomplish these things: 1) keep him focused on doing something else 2) lower his threshold 3) create positive associations with having guests over (sometimes overly excited behavior has an element of anxiety). You would therefore carry treats (or even his kibble if reinforcing enough) in your pocket or treat bag and toss them around when guests are over telling your dog to "go find them." Keep him busy long enough to dissipate the excitement. Only once he proves to be calmer, over several rehearsals, and there's no more peeing for some time, then, we can try to introduce a sit (or down) where the treat is then tossed to reward the sitting and you can then progress to having him going back and forth, sitting and you tossing treats, over and over and having the guests take turns in tossing the treats too in a "treat-retreat fashion" as described here: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/treat-retreat-game/ It also helps having guests ignore him initially and keeping greetings low key. More about excitement urination: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/urinating-when-excited/ On top of excitement urination, there may also be submissive urination, general urine marking and anxiety marking, which may require a slightly different approach: Submissive urination is covered here: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/submissive-urination/ Urine marking, we are likely to see it in other contexts and dogs will typically sniff before marking https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/urine-marking/ With anxiety marking, we see it take place in cases of anxiety: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/anxiety-peeing/ In regards to your dog's reaction to your sister, you may need to take a more gradual approach, although I realize this may not be easy if she's coming over only every now and then and some things are inevitable (like her making sounds upstairs) so you may need to manage more than anything (like taking him on walks prior to your sister getting up and walking down the stairs to prevent all anxious waiting, watching her come downstairs). If you want to work on this, you'll need to take the gradual, step-by-step approach using desensitization and counterconditioning methods as explained here: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/dog-barking-someone-enters-room/ helping overcome anxiety over sounds (your sister making noises) https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/fear-noises/

Hi Doreen, Welcome to the forums! Poor girl, it sounds like she must have gone though a whole lot, being that she's coming from a hoarding situation. These dogs are neglected, haven't likely been socialized at all and possibly never walked. She likely doesn't know what a leash is. Do you have any idea of her age? I am glad to hear though that she has become a bit less anxious! I think she likes sitting on the stairs because she feels safer knowing that she can observe you from a certain height, but she freaks out though when she sees you climbing up. Any chance to block access to the stairs, but provide her with some other elevated position where she can feel safe (like an elevated dog bed with stairs?). Have you noticed what triggers her to run away from you? Is it when you are standing and walking around? It sounds like she does better when you're sitting or lying down. Many cases of dogs who are not food motivated is because they are stressed. If she's taking a very favorite treat from your hand though that's a great start! The resting on the grass when wearing the harness may be a freeze response to not liking the feel of the harness. It can feel very restrictive to some dogs and they just freeze. We see this with dogs not used to wearing it from an early age. I would remove the living room rug for now as she may think it's just another wee-wee pad. With anxious dogs as such, they need lots of baby steps and positive associations. When you got her from the rescue, how did they get her from the rescue to your car and then into your home? Was she wearing just a collar and leash? How did you manage to get her out last time? I hear she wore a harness, did you walk her with the leash attached to it? Did she do OK walking? How did you get her harness on? Do you have access to a fenced yard? Has she obtained a clean bill of health by a vet? Sorry for so many questions, but they'll be extra helpful to get a deeper understanding. Talk soon! And thank you for opening your heart and home to a rescue dog. Adrienne

Hi there! Welcome to the forums! What an adorable pup Lupo is! Please see my observations in non-bold under your text. We have had our little Lupo for just over 2 weeks now - actually he is not so little - it seems he has about doubled in size since we picked him up. All in all he is just a fantastic dog - better than I could have ever hoped for. We live in a rural area and my wife raises chickens. It probably took more time for the chickens to adjust to Lupo that it took for him to adjust to the chickens. Make lots of pictures, they tend to grow so fast! Maremmas, like other livestock guardians, aren't the easiest breed to raise, but I am so glad to hear that you have a farm. Lupo will love having a job, just be careful because they may not be very reliable around livestock until they mature at around 2 years of age. In Abruzzo (I am from Italy) these dogs were mostly used on sheep and raised with them from a young age. Lupo stays outside all day - we bring him in the house at night (after everything is locked down outside) where he sleeps in a "crate". Other than the occasional wimper this has worked out very well. He does not have the run of the house - but sometimes before crate time we will let him in where he will curl up on the rug at the front door. He will rarely try to leave that spot but a simple pointing of the finger and he is right back curled up on the rug. Every morning just after dawn, Lupo and I go "on patrol" where we walk the property to try to establish his boundaries. Sounds like good training to get him started on performing his future livestock duties! Did you get him from a breeder who has raised him around animals already? Is he from working lines? How old is he right now? He is really good about not trying to wander beyond where he is allowed to go. I do the same in the evenings. While he loves to tug at my pantlegs on these walks, I usually have a stick with me that I can use to redirect him and that seems to work well. Sometimes he will just carry the stick for the rest of the walk as if that is his job. Other times, I will start off letting him drag his leash and by the end of the walk he will carry that - just another "job". He constantly throws glances my way to be sure he has me in sight. If he is under 16 weeks, they tend to not wander away much, but things may start to change once he's over 16 weeks and enters the "flight stage". In a livestock guardian, you' start seeing more independent behaviors as they mature. https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/flight-instinct-period-4-8-months/ We never walk him down the driveway as we do not want him to think its ok to do that himself. If I want to take him to visit a neighbor or the neighbor's dogs I always put him in the truck and park down the road. He is anxious about going for a ride and needs to be next to me - but I think he will get used to it with time. Yes, most pups adjust to going on car rides, make sure to start with brief trips and make them fun and rewarding. You want to make sure to socialize him as these dogs tend to get more and more aloof as they mature, and you want him to habituate to how humans normally behave. https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/socializing-your-puppy/ I find Lupo is not food motivated at all! And this has been a bit of a challenge - at least for me. "Sit" is no problem. "Down" is ok. "Come" on the other hand is a bit of an issue. He clearly understands the command, but sometimes refuses to execute. Sometimes I feel like he wants me to get far enough away so that he can really run to me and other times I feel like he is thinking "I don't want to come". Any pointers here would be most helpful. If we go to an unfamiliar area he is really good about staying with me - either on or off the leash. At home it seems he is more comfortable doing what he wants to do and pulling against the leash as a form of play. What does Lupo eat for his meals? Is he free-fed? Like is his food left available all day? We have found that this practice devalues food. What foods have you tried so far for training? These dogs are particular in that they are rather frugal and have a slow metabolism so they are rather conservative when it comes to amounts of food. What you describe seems like rather normal livestock guardian behavior. They are bred to work on their own, and as independent thinkers, they tend to think along of the terms of "let me think about it, and I'll let you know if I feel like doing that." In other words, they think they may have more important things to do. This is why we may need to use reinforcers strategically. High-value food can help keep them motivated, but sometimes we may need to get creative. I have used the ability to go explore the outdoors as a reinforcer for sits at the door. Like I said the experience has so far been fantastic, but I feel like I am in some sort of honeymoon phase and the in a couple of months time he will go from adorable Lupo to Kujo. My last dog was just over 15 years old when he passed so it has been a while for me working with a puppy. I want to be sure we are all off to a good start and no unknowingly reinforce any bad behaviors. Is he really going to start testing me as he gets older? Thanks! What breed was your last dog? Was it as well a livestock guardian? 15 is a wonderful age! To answer your question, things will get more challenging as he matures, gets larger and reaches the bratty, juvenile/adolescent phase. Here's a little insight into what to expect: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/survive-dogs-adolescent-stage/ This is general of dogs, but with livestock guardians, we may need to put an emphasis on certain things. For instance, I would recommend: -Socialization, ensuring it's always positive and never overwhelming. -We may want to take steps to prevent resource guarding (never forcibly remove items, but trade them!) https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/the-importance-of-preventing-resource-guarding-in-puppies/ -Handling exercises: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/exercises-to-teach-puppies-to-tolerate-touch/ -Exercises to prevent separation anxiety: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/exercises-to-prevent-separation-anxiety-in-puppies/ -Avoid repetitive training, take lots of breaks, keep it fun! These dogs may get bored easily and quickly find other more salient things to attend to (like a sudden noise). We can't blame them though, being attentive to their surroundings is what they were bred for. -Praise for calm behaviors, these dogs are very sensitive, use positive reinforcement training -Use management to prevent rehearsing problematic behaviors -like have a tall fence (5-6 feet) to prevent escaping when older, provide a designated area to dig (they love to dig craters when hot), keep him in a separate room when children are over (they may misinterpret their play fighting) etc. -Create a trusting relationship so that when you are off property, he looks at you for guidance -Provide enrichment (brain games!) to keep that mind busy Will provide more in-depth info based on your responses in regards to his age and treats and his overall history. Talk soon! Adrienne

You are very welcome! I had a pup that was a persistent biter not too long ago fixated hand movements and it also helped to gradually desensitize to my hand movements (using very subtle movements at first, and gradually more enticing) using the clicker to reward not biting or jumping, and then we progressed to getting the pup sitting nicely watching these movements, praising and rewarding with a back and forth kibble toss game. The process is similar to how I desensitized Maggie to my movements and excited behavior and praising rewarding for not jumping: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/case-studies/02-maggie-assessing-jumping-behavior-desensitization/ Keep us posted on how things go! Best, Adrienne

Hi there! Welcome to the forums! Congrats on your new puppy! At 4 months, your puppy is at the peak teething stage. So you have that double whammy of a strong need for play and interaction coupled with the need to chew and get relief from those sore gums! Now, you are completely right, it is hard to ignore the jumping when it's coupled with biting and those razor-sharp teeth! Well, technically it can work if the behavior of jumping and biting is attention-seeking and your are able to endure the bites and scratches from all the nipping and jumping, but the process is not without side effects, as you can see! Ignoring can cause a great deal of frustration in your puppy and it sure painful to endure too. In addition, you may notice a few new behaviors along the way. Here's the thing: if your puppy has been reinforced for jumping and nipping in the past, whether through positive attention (petting the puppy, looking at him, sweet talking) or negative attention (pushing him away, saying ouch, scolding the puppy), your puppy at one point or another will get frustrated when he no longer gets a response from you. Our zero response may therefore lead to more forceful jumping and harder nipping. Not to mention, your pup may throw in a few extra new behaviors into the mix such as barking or pawing at you in hopes of a response. If you give in at this time and give any type of attention, even if just to say "ow!" that would be perceived as a reaction and you would have now reinforced persistence, making the behavior even stronger than before. Therefore, it is better to try preventing the behavior from occurring in the first place by strategically engaging your pup in alternative behaviors and setting his environment for success. Let's take a look at some of these interventions: Provide a Variety of Interactive Toys You want your puppy to gain more reinforcement from interactive toys so that he chooses them more and more over playing roughly with you. Look for toys that offer some form of engagement. Some of the best toys are the ones that offer reinforcement under the release of kibble and treats. Examples of such toys are Kong Wobblers, puppy Kongs, Buster Cubes, Licki mats and Snuffle Mats. You also may want to do some brain games like: The muffin game: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/brain-training/elementary/the-muffin-game/ The treasure hunt game: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/brain-training/elementary/the-treasure-hunt/ Hand targeting: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/brain-training/preschool/targeting/ Airplane game: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/the-airplane-game/airplane-game-training/ You may also include the smacking sound so to teach him to pay attention to you: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/the-airplane-game/the-smacking-sound/ These games encourage play that doesn't involve you, or the games involve you but interacting in a different way that doesn't involve biting or jumping. Some also allow some level of impulse control (the treat in the airplane game is released only when the dog doesn't jump and decides to make eye contact). Encourage Alternate Play Encourage your Labrador puppy to play games that do not involve physically jumping up on you and nipping. Ideally, you should catch your puppy *before* he has had the opportunity to jump on you and latch on. Once your puppy has jumped up and latched, it will be more difficult to interrupt the behavior, you allow rehearsal of an unwanted behavior and you also risk creating an unwanted behavior chain if right afterward, you distract your pup with a toy. These forms of alternate play may require you to carry some items with you or keeping them extra handy, but it's totally worth it! Here are several options for alternate play (make sure to offer these as soon as you notice your puppy approaching you with a possible intent to jump/bite). -Carry kibble in your pocket and treat bag. The moment your puppy approaches, toss kibble the opposite way. Rinse and repeat. Your pup will love the game. If your puppy knows how to sit, you can ask that before tossing the kibble or you can train a little later. Here is how to train sit: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/brain-training/obedience-101/sit/ -Use a long tug toy and encourage your puppy to play tug with it the moment he approaches. If your puppy knows how to leave it and drop, you can add these cues in the game. Here is how to train these: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/brain-training/obedience-101/take-leave-it/ https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/brain-training/obedience-101/drop-it/ -Keep a flirt pole handy. I like to carry one on my shoulder or keep it around my waist. The moment your pup approaches, let him play with it. -Keep several balls in your cargo pant pockets. The moment your puppy approaches, toss a ball the opposite way. -Ask your puppy to target your hands. To help your puppy succeed, practice these while you're sitting keeping your hands low so he won't feel like jumping, then gradually progress with asking this while standing up. https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/brain-training/preschool/targeting/ Teach Bite Inhibition You want your puppy to learn to bite less strongly before his permanent teeth set in and he develops stronger jaws. This can be done by providing feedback, such as training your puppy to take treats gently: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/train-dog-take-treats-gently/ and through bite inhibition games: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/bite-inhibition-games/ Ensure Your Puppy Gets Sleep Puppies are generally very active pooches, but their batteries tend to discharge quickly. One minute they're up and running, the next they are exhausted as they used up all their energy and need to re-charge. Pups have a lot of growing to and they need to get all the rest they can get. After all, it is known that growth hormone production increases while the puppy is resting or sleeping. Similar to children, they may be reluctant to go to bed and you may have to enforce naps by placing them in the crate with something to chew and providing a quiet environment. Avoid Wearing Tempting Stuff Watch carefully when your Labrador puppy jumps up and bites, is your puppy trying to reach something in particular? What exactly is your puppy nipping? Puppies with high prey drive are strongly attracted to anything that moves and captures their attention. Watch carefully what your puppy does when he jumps up and nips. In many cases, puppies are after your loose sleeves or your pant legs or that scarf or necklace that is dangling. Some pups may also be after your shoelaces, long skirt or even your hair as it moves around as you walk or from the wind. To puppies reaching these things are irresistible, because they are moving and stimulate their desire to chase and grab. It may help to avoid full exposures to things that attract puppies so much at least until we have their behavior better under control. So it may help heaps temporarily keeping hair up, not wearing dangling jewelry and using shoes without laces. Tucking flapping pant legs in socks may help too and so does wearing tall Wellingtons if the pups aim to bite feet and ankles (I know, with this heat, last thing we want is to wear tall boots!). Once we have strongly reinforced other ways to interact with us, we can gradually re-introduce these. Go to Puppy Classes Puppies benefit from puppy classes for the socialization, foundational training and the opportunity to play with other puppies and to further refine their social skills. These sessions give your puppy the opportunity to engage in the type of play he craves so badly and this further helps drain some excess energy while allowing him to socialize with other puppies and people in safe place. Look for puppy classes run by positive reinforcement dog trainers who put an emphasis on ensuring safe and happy interactions. I hope this helps! Puppy biting won't stop overnight, it's a process rather than one-time done ordeal, but with these interventions, you should see a gradual and steady decline with an increase in more desirable behaviors, especially if you reinforce them with great rewards! Happy training! Feel free to ask any more questions or post updates. We can always do deeper troubleshooting as needed. Best, Adrienne

Hi Marlene, welcome back! Please see my comments in bold. "He is super friendly, and loves people, dogs and adventures. We go on regularly walks around 2-3 hours most days, which consists of walks, hikes, mostly of leash and play dates. We also attend some dog parks I also attend dog behaviour class once a week in an open field, where he does training around lots of dogs. This is all wonderful! It sounds like Apollo has a nice array of activities and social life! My question is whilst he loves to play, I am finding he is a bit on the pushy side. He meets a dog, does the sniffing thing, when they start to run and play, he chases them and is seems as if he is herding sheep, is seems he takes nips at their bums to keep going. Dogs with a herding lineage tend to engage in "pushy types of play." Their "type A" personality refers to these dogs' need to take control. No it's not the type of "dominant dog" control, but more about about these dogs' predisposition to wanting to bark, chase and possibly nip anything that moves so to move them in a certain direction or gather them in a group. This may include chasing cats, joggers, cars and even trying to "round up" other dogs at the dog park or expecting them to behave in a certain manner. Herding dogs in particular are notorious for assuming what's known as "the fun police role," where they act as "moderators" just as they do with stubborn sheep. With these dogs, it's impossible to completely extinguish their desire to herd, but it is possible being one step ahead of them, always ready to intervene and redirect. Secondly when he he along side a dog he tends to rest his head on their back, close to their head. He also has been trying to hump. And yes he is nurtured. On top of having some herding heritage, Apollo has now reached an age where dog-to-dog interactions may start to deteriorate. We often see the most significant signs during social maturity. Social maturity takes place when dogs are around 18 to 24 months. You can read more about this critical stage here: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/survive-dogs-adolescent-stage/ You likely have seen some of the first signs of this already, specifically when Apollo was 16 months old and was playing with a smaller dog and you felt "he was too rough, and being the bigger dog he would stand over the smaller dog" as seen in the tread below where the "T posture" was discussed and importance of preventing its rehearsal. I do correct if by either telling him no, leave it and then pulling him off the other dog. I attach the leash again, sometimes make him sit calmly, and allow him to play again, if he does the same thing I take him away from the area and play and begin a training session away from other dogs and head home. I have asked the trainer's, they have seen his interaction with other dogs and aren't particularly worried and say dogs do this, but if done to the wrong dog a fight can happen. They advised that you just have to keep correcting him. I am always watching him and do command him to go slow and to not jump ext, whilst he is playing, he does seem to listen but there are the times he doesn't. I feel it becoming more frequent as if he is showing who's boss. He has been corrected by some dogs but doesn't seem fazed. He does seem to back off other times. My question is how do I train him out of this before it gets worse. Should I be doing something before interaction with dogs. After a short time he does stop and plays normally and then stays with me. He is 2yrs 5 months ideally, I would prefer to "preempt" a problem behavior rather than correct it. There are several possible problems with the corrections. For instance, here are a few of them: 1) The dog is still allowed to rehearse a troublesome behavior. Sure we may interrupt it, but even just starting a behavior still involves a certain level of rehearsal, only that it's not allowed to progress and culminate. Practice makes perfect, so the more they rehearse, the more they'll want to perform the behavior. 2) When the dog has started to perform the behavior, it tends to be more difficult to interrupt, versus interrupting it *before* it has had the chance to start. 3) If a dog is allowed to perform a behavior, sometimes yes, and sometimes no, the behavior tends to become stronger and establish. This is the power of a variable schedule of reinforcement. For sake of an example, imagine a person who approaches a group of people playing cards at a table. This person invades the people playing and doesn't even ask if he can join them, he just grabs a chair and pushes himself in between them and starts telling people what to do and how to play. If the players allow him to get away with this, that's a victory, if they don't allow him to join them or they send him away, that's a non-victory, but the victories always seem to be rewarding enough to allow the behavior to persist. Actually, the victories seem to make him bolder and bolder by the day, as they reward his persistence. If for instance, a person refuses to have him sit nearby, he may try sitting next to a different person who complies, so he'll be more likely to use this strategy next time, allowing the behavior to further establish. 4) Correcting the behavior may fail to inform the dog what we would like him to do instead. 5) I agree with the trainers that, one day, he may encounter the wrong type of a dog and a serious fight may ensue. Not all dogs are accepting of "pushy behaviors." The reaction if strong enough may leave an impact on him emotionally and possibly physically, so you want to protect your dog from going to that extreme. I wasn't able for some reason to see the first three videos, but from what I see, I would like some faster responses to his recall and "off" cues. Ideally, getting really good at reading his early pre-T-posturing and pre-mounting body language so it's easier to stop him in his tracks. The encounter with the chocolate Lab could have turned ugly if the Lab objected. The female Irish wolfhound-looking dog is very soft and even shows inguinal presentation, but despite this, she seems somewhat interested in him. I would therefore suggest working more on polishing those responses and not allowing full rehearsals as those allow the behavior to get stronger over time. I would also carefully evaluate what triggers the mounting. It can be overstimulation, so adding some breaks in between play can help. In the meanwhile, I would be wary of his interactions with other dogs possibly until you have more fluent responses and then working in a very structured environment under the professional guidance of the behavior team. Make sure to give praise/positive feedback when he is responsive to your cues!

There are really no rules set in stone, meaning each pup is different and therefore whether we can proceed differently is based on individual factors. For instance, for some pups it may be more important to start with training a leave it or drop it versus a sit. And for some others, leash manners or a recall may be priority. To answer your specific question though in regards to sit and down, it is best to start with sit first, since you'll need your pup to be able to sit in order to lie down.

Hi Sharon, Welcome to the forums! Congrats on getting a new puppy! You can start basic training as early as you get your puppy, and I am glad that you have already started with some basics. With young puppies as such, the biggest factor is keeping in mind their short attention spans, so keep those sessions short and sweet and scatter them throughout the day. With a pup of this age, the elementary brain games are fun and easy so you can start with pre-school and elementary, while the further brain games are likely to need to some fluency in basic obedience such as sits and stays so you may have to wait on that until your pup masters those. The treasure hunt game, you can have somebody hold your pup until he/she masters a solid sit/stay or down stay to hold as you hide the treats. There are really no rules set in stone as to when to progress. Each pup is an individual and will learn at his/her pace. What matters the most is that you don't make things too difficult or tedious. If your pup ever shows signs of frustration like (scratching himself, yawning, sneezing, licking) those can be signs things are getting too hard and you'll need to lower your criteria a bit. It's OK to therefore start the easiest brain games and then progress through as your puppy masters the obedience sections. Here is a guide (with links) on important things to get started on: Happy training!

Hi there, Welcome to the forums! Please see some of my observations in non- bold: Hello! I was given an 8 year-old dog from my brother, and immediately bought this online resource. This dog specifically urinates indoors, and has been doing so for years. He pees a little outside, but doesn’t empty his bladder, and then sometimes pees the remainder inside. It's always good ruling out medical issues when it comes to inappropriate urination in the home so to be on the safe side, although since he has been doing this for years, it likely isn't something particularly urgent to worry about, unless you see some worrisome signs (drinking excessively, straining to pee, blood in the urine, urine that smells, lethargy, acting sick. ) I am glad that you booked an appointment with the vet. The first step should be making sure that there is no underlying medical reasons for the inappropriate urination. This can include, urinary tract infections, bladder stones, congenital malformations (as it likely happened to Jennifer's pup), kidney problems. Should I follow the “Potty Training,” guide from the puppy training section? Once medical conditions have been ruled out, we may tentatively assume that he is urine marking. Your dog's modus operandi for urinating matches that, since you mention that "he pees a little bit several time throughout the walk, similar to how he pees around the house'." Basically, when dogs urine mark, they purposely lift the leg to leave little traces of urine around for the purpose of "leaving a mark." The underlying reasons for this may be several. You can read more about this here: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/urine-marking/ Also he seems to pee quickly after he drinks water, so should I still leave water out all day? The dog is a Weimaraner if that is important information. I would not restrict water until knowing what the lab work says and the vet making this specific recommendation. After your vet checks for medical conditions and nothing turns up, you can ask him/her his/her opinion on restricting water. Is he drinking excessively? Is he on any medications? I just noticed he actually squirts a little bit of pee in lots of places indoors, and occasionally lets a lot out. It sounds like he is urine marking when he squirts a little and then emptying the bladder for physiological reasons when he lets a lot out. He pees a little outside, but doesn’t empty his bladder, and then sometimes pees the remainder inside. We see this sometimes when dogs are distracted by something outside, or dogs who are multiple "pee-ers" like Jennifer's dog. More about this is covered here: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/puppy-peeing-after-coming-inside/ Some extra tips once medical issues have been ruled out: -Use a Black Light Sometimes, dogs may have accidents in places that we may not be aware of. This is more likely to happen if we get upset for them having accidents in the home and consequently they start to hide. To identify these previous accidents, you can use a black light. The black light used at night in a dark room will cause the urine stains to become fluorescent. It's pretty cool. Once you identify them, clean them up with your enzyme-based cleaner (Nature's Miracle) and test the black light again to ensure you cleaned up all traces. -Management: Basically, prevent access to the areas your dog has shown a preference for marking in the past. Erect a baby gate or place bulky items to make the area inaccessible, especially when you cannot supervise. Once your dog gets better, gradually allow him more freedom, but always actively supervising closely. -Supervise Carefully and Watch for Early "Pre-Mark Signs" Quickly redirect your dog if you notice any signs of him about to urine mark (sniffing intently a spot, intent to raise a leg). Recording his behavior when he is outdoors and marking and then watching it in slow-motion can give you hints on his pre-marking behavior so you can intervene at earliest sign and redirect him to going outdoors. I like to rush towards the door saying in a fun tone of voice "let's go outside! " When you cannot supervise, your dog should be in his den area (hopefully he has never peed there, has he?) -Establish Legit Marking Areas Provide outdoor vertical objects (I like to use fake fire hydrants for dogs as pee posts) where you allow your dog to urine mark and praise and reward him for using those. -Practice Walking By Basically, before letting him free indoors, walk your dog on a leash indoors around the commonly marked areas, and then take him outside prompting him to pee in the established legit marking areas, praising and rewarding for using them. -What to do if you catch him in the act? Ideally, you should intervene *before* your dog has raised his leg, by carefully watching his body language. So if you catch your dog urine marking, redirect him promptly by calling him away and taking him outside immediately, prompting him to urinate in the appropriate place (legit marking area if available) and praising and rewarding for going. -Train to potty on command: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/potty-on-command/ -Belly bands Belly bands can be used for some challenging cases to keep the home free from urine. You need to make sure that it is wide enough and secure enough to stay in place so make sure of finding the correct size. I hope your dog has a clean bill of health! Keep us posted! Best, Adrienne

Yes, being on the same page and consistency is very important, especially with some sensitive dogs. Any inconsistencies can trigger uncertainty, confusion and even anxiety. Yes, if you're having to hold her back she's definitely over threshold-either too close to the TV or the stimuli on the TV are too intense for her to handle. She's not ready for that level yet. You husband is not technically totally off the mark. I mean, I can see his good intent in wanting to tackle the issue by trying to expose her to as many animals as possible hoping that she gets bored. Most likely, he's getting impatient of progress not being made as hoped and the "one step ahead and one step back" dance. Sounds like what your husband is hoping to achieve is habituation. Technically, this can happen in some cases, but it comes with risks. Nerdy info coming..... In its most simple definition, habituation is the process where dogs, other animals and people get accustomed to specific circumstances. Habituation is a process that happens in all parts of our lives, and is ultimately a form of learning. In other words, habituation is a learned response to repeated stimuli-like living near an airport and gradually getting used to hearing airplanes. Habituation therefore results when repeated exposure to a stimulus decreases a dog's sensitivity to it. Hence, habituation helps the body adapt to things in their environment. When dogs are exposed to stimuli or situations, a stimulus-response situation presents where the stimulus elicits a response and excites multiple areas of the cerebral cortex. Repeated exposure to the stimulus leads to almost complete extinction of the cerebral cortical response—basically, habituation occurs as a result of synaptic depression, leading to lowered chances for transmitter release at appropriate synapses within the habituating circuit. A classical example of habituation in dogs is dogs who reacts to certain noises. For instance, a rescued dog may be startled by the noise produced by a dishwasher, however, after several exposures, the dog habituates to it. Or a young puppy may struggle with wearing a collar, however with time, he habituates to it after wearing it for a while. Yet, habituation isn't perfect and it has some flaws. -Firstly, how fast and at what degree a dog habituates may vary based on several variables such as the intensity of the stimulus, its duration and its frequency. You may therefore have steady, incremental progress, increased reactions initially followed by non-reactions, or ups and downs. - If exposure to a certain stimulus is withheld, the original response tends to return after a decrease in it, leading to a phenomenon known as "spontaneous recovery. " It can therefore happen that a dog reacts to something he showed sign of habituating to a day or two later, with the reaction possibly returning to nearly the same strength as it was prior to habituation. However, once exposures return on a routine basis, the magnitude of the response will likely decline. -The more intense the exposure to the stimulus, the slower and more complicated the process. For example, a military working dog who is exposed to a running helicopter engine for the first time at a too close and intense range, will yield a more intense reaction which puts a dent in the habituation process. -Presenting another strong and intense stimulus may result in recovery of the original response (dishabituation) although even exposure to a weak stimulus can sometimes produce the same effect. - If certain responses that are supposed to decrease are even occasionally rewarded, then habituation will become difficult. Habituation therefore works best for exposures to mild or moderate stimuli, not too intense or overwhelming. -Habituation is highly specific and doesn't fair well with subtle changes. Sokolov’s studies have shown that subtle changes in the intensity, duration, rate of repetition and association with other stimuli, may result in recovery of the habituated orienting response. It therefore works best with stimuli that are stable. -On top of this, prolonged and overwhelming exposure may lead to hypervigilance, exhaustion, and increased anxiety. Habituation is therefore not ideal for cases involving stimuli dogs perceive as threatening. Therefore, when a dog is repeatedly and passively exposed to a new stimulus, it can lead to two different outcomes, a good one and a bad one. The good one is habituation, where the response towards the stimulus decreases over time with the dog getting used to it. The bad one is sensitization, where the response towards the stimulus increases over time. You can get a dog habituated to a stimulus through flooding or desensitization. Through flooding, the dog is exposed to the stimulus in an intense way causing the dog to go over threshold and react to it. At a certain point, the dog may eventually habituate to it. This can be a counterproductive process as it can be stressful and dangerous too. It is typically not recommended. Through desensitization, the dog is exposed to the stimulus in small, graduated steps, ensuring the dog doesn't go over threshold. This is a more controlled process, and much safer, leading to less stress on the dog. Habituation therefore may work in young pups (during the times they are most malleable), using exposures to very mild stimuli that are rather regular (not much variability) and no responses should be occasionally rewarded. So to recap, just exposing Esther to the TV with animals playing all day with not intervention is not likely to give the desired results. She may habituate to certain animals that are quiet or slow moving but may becomes sensitized to others. Also, allowing her to lunge at the tv will provide the occasional reward as her seeking system is activated, and this makes the behavior more habit-forming and ingrained Veterinary behaviorists rarely suggest flooding procedures. They instead suggest desensitization likely along with counterconditioning ( especially if there is a fear element) or differential reinforcement, reinforcing alternate or incompatible behaviors that are on the opposite spectrum of reacting to the TV (like lying on a mat, looking at animals without reacting). So not just passively keeping the tv on and hoping for the best, but doing gradual exposures. When training is not done, the dog is kept away from the TV. Thanks for the mini course on construction terms! Very interesting, they certainly have some colorful terms! Hope you get better by the day! Best, Adrienne

Oh no, right when you think things couldn't have gone worse! In Italy, we have a saying "from the frying pan to the grill" meaning "from bad to worse." Glad your carpeted stairs were able to cushion your fall. I hope you recover quickly. That's so awesome your husband is helping out so much! And that Esther is showing all this improvement (both health-wise and behavior-wise). I am not surprised Gertie used her words when clumsy Esther sat on her while she was sleeping. If this happened to one of my Rotties, they would have responded with a sharp snark, as if saying "what the **ck!" TV training sounds like good progress. She sounds less over threshold so more capable of attending to your cues. The less she rehearses, the better. The more she watches the TV without barking, even better! As long and you and your husband are on the same page as to consistency and training cues, she should understand what is expected of her and she can relax knowing that there are no shades of gray (inconsistencies). P.S. I had to Google "bullnose", I never heard of that term before!