Puppy pawing

[TERRY VALENTINE]

We've taken in a young Aussie(?) mix who was about 4 1/2 months when my husband found her in the street.  She's settled in well, gets along with our 5 year-old husky (mostly) and quickly learned to respect our cats.  She's also attentive and eager to please, but sometimes this clinginess manifests in pawing, typically when one of us is sitting down.  I've looked at the article on pawing, and I know we shouldn't reinforce by responding even negatively, and some of the time I'm able to turn my back or walk away.  Other times these are not options, like when I'm on the toilet (ahem) or eating a meal.  Ignoring her might work eventually but I have to tolerate my leg being scratched repeatedly (ow!) or some piece of fabric like a pant leg or a blanket being damaged.  Apart from housebreaking (which is mostly complete) this has been the biggest behavioral issue we've encountered with her.  How can we wait out the pawing without tolerating damage to ourselves or our things? 

[Adrienne Farricelli]

Hi there!

Congrats on your new addition! 

So it sounds like we can try a multifaceted approach here:

1) Prevent rehearsals

So we want the pawing behavior to extinguish, and one way to do this is to make it become less and less common so that it is eventually dropped from the dog's behavioral repertoire. Practice makes perfect, so a little bit of management goes a long way. So if we can predict when the pawing is likely going to happen that gives us some level of control over it so that we can preempt it.

So if pawing happens when in the bathroom, let's make a habit of closing the bathroom door. 

If pawing happens when we're having a meal, let's have our pup enjoy a stuffed Kong or a treat in her exercise pen/crate.  Also, let's avoid feeding any food at the table which is a common cause for dogs pawing when  we're eating a meal. 

2) Be mindful of extinction bursts

When we ignore a behavior that has been given some type of attention in the past, the dog may feel the need to escalate. This escalation is known as an extinction burst, https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/what-are-extinction-bursts-and-how-do-they-impact-your-training/ which can be difficult to endure, especially when the behavior encompasses biting or scratching which hurts!

So we have two options here, finding ways to make the pawing les hurtful/damaging or adding a twist to ignoring. 

We can make pawing less hurtful by:

• Trimming the dog's nails
• Having the dog wear nail caps
• Wearing extra layers of clothing
• Wearing something that we don't mind getting damaged when around the pup

If you are caught unprepared and your puppy manages to start pawing, you can provide a consequence for it by getting up and leaving the room. It sounds like you are doing this already, so keep doing this for those times the pawing still happens. 

3. Train another behavior.

In the background, it may help to train another behavior that is more acceptable and that earns rewards and our attention, like a sit. We can train the dog to sit prior to being pet, sit prior to being fed, sit prior to having the leash on. She may eventually start defaulting to a sit and it may replace the pawing at some point. 

4. Preempt when getting ready to sit

Pawing often takes place when we are sitting as it's easier for the puppy to reach us and many puppies struggle with when we sit because it often becomes a cue of us becoming inactive and watching TV or reading a book, or using our laptop. During this time, it may help to provide pups with food puzzles and activities that encourage independent interaction or play (a stuffed Kong, Kong Wobbler filled with a portion of the dog's daily kibble)

5. Make it hard to paw

With clingy, pups who like to paw, I often like to place my laptop on my lap so that it becomes hard for them to paw. It makes it easy to ignore them and creates a sort of barrier. A big book may help too. I like to keep these handy on the couch so that I can reach out for them as needed. 

Of course, we can do this after ensuring that all the pup's needs have been met (exercise, mental stimulation) and are sure the puppy is not trying to communicate something important (such as needing to go potty outside). 

I hope this helps, this is likely just a phase that will pass once your pup gets older and less needy. The adolescent stage is around the corner, and she may start acting a little more independent. Here are some exercises to help make dogs a little less clingy: 

https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/following-owners-around-house/

https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/exercises-to-prevent-separation-anxiety-in-puppies/

Happy training!

Best,

Adrienne