# Jumping on people and excited wees



## Tia (Nov 28, 2012)

Hi all,

Most of our training with Doug has gone along pretty good. There are two areas I am tryng to attack at the moment.

1. Doug (6 months) gets soo excited when he sees someone he wees. Its a complete accident and I don't even think he is aware he is doing it but I am just wanting some strategies to help. He sees people all the time and I try and tell people when they visit to ignore him for a bit or I pick him up which seems to stop him from weeing until he settles and then I will put him down. Any other ideas?

2. It's really a follow on from 1 but Doug will jump around peoples feet/ on them when excited also. Its hard to control unless he is on his lead or I'm holding him. I think half the problem is whilst we try and teach him things people encourage the opposite so it makes it a bit confusing for him I am sure.


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

Tia said:


> Hi all,
> 
> Most of our training with Doug has gone along pretty good. There are two areas I am tryng to attack at the moment.
> 
> ...


Since you have so successfully taught him to stay out of the kitchen, I think it should be pretty easy to teach him, "place". Get a mat and put it in a place where he can see the door, but is not right under foot in the doorway. Then teach him to go to the mat and lay there, when you tell him "place" (you can do this with a crate if you prefer). Expect him to remain there until you release him, working up slowly on the length of time you expect him to stay put.

Then when a visitor comes, you can send him to "place" until the visitor is in and settled, and Doug has settled down a bit. This should help keep his excitement level a bit lower, which will help the jumping AND the peeing. The peeing will PROBABLY disappear on its own as he matures anyway. It is often caused just by immature bladder control.


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## Tia (Nov 28, 2012)

Thats a great idea actually. I think I will do the same for when we get home as well so it can be a bit of training and then when people come over unannounced he should know what to do instead of me being so reactive.

Yeah I think your right about the weeing being a bladder control issue. 

Will let you know how we go.


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## jabojenny (Sep 18, 2011)

Hi Karen and Tia,
I just went through this type of training with Timmy at our last class session. We started Timmy and the mat, which is now the lid of a basket, with something called "Shaping". Not sure if this will help with starting Doug on his mat quest or not, but it's kind of fun to do. Here's the deal... (I use a clicker)
- Put the mat on the ground, anytime Doug looks, sniffs, or goes towards the mat click and reward. No talking, no commands, nothing done on your end just stand there and reward.
- As things progress and you feel he knows the mat means good things move onto more specific results.

I switched Timmy to a basket lid because I thought he just automatically liked the mat and I wanted to get him to move to something I knew was a clean slate. He was actually afraid of the basket lid when I started but now automatically goes and sits in it when I put it down. Once I knew he was making a positive association I only rewarded him when he put his head across the theshold of the basket, then only rewarded when he stepped into the basket and finally only when he sat in the basket. There were are no verbal commands during this scenario. I'll try to get a video of him doing this later today.

Make sure when you are not using the mat, especially in the beginning that you take it away, you have to be there to reward any actions towards the mat ALL THE TIME.

Sorry I can't help you with the pee pee thing, but thought I'd give my two cents on the mat training thing.

ETA: Here's a quick video from this morning...
http://www.flickr.com/photos/[email protected]/8533387359/


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## Atticus (May 17, 2011)

I am still working on this with Atticus. He has not stopped the excitement peeing and is almost two, hope it happens some day. If I know company is coming I take him out to pee before they arrive. I keep a bowl of treats by the door,so they are always easily available, put him on a leash and have him sit when people come. He doesn't pee/or jump obviously when he is sitting. Of course you need to pay attention to him, treat him for sitting (food or petting) and can't really greet your guests till later. Most of my company understand this. If it is new people or someone I really need to greet, I just pick him up to avoid not training and having him practice his usual jumping/peeing behavior. He is also working on going to his place BUT I know the HUGE distraction of greeting company is WAY too much for him at the moment, and he couldn't do it. My best advice is to work on this from the beginning! We had a situation where there were many friends and health care workers coming into my home and I was not available to be at the door. He Loved all the company, but got into a bad habit! Good luck!


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

jabojenny said:


> Hi Karen and Tia,
> I just went through this type of training with Timmy at our last class session. We started Timmy and the mat, which is now the lid of a basket, with something called "Shaping". Not sure if this will help with starting Doug on his mat quest or not, but it's kind of fun to do. Here's the deal... (I use a clicker)
> - Put the mat on the ground, anytime Doug looks, sniffs, or goes towards the mat click and reward. No talking, no commands, nothing done on your end just stand there and reward.
> - As things progress and you feel he knows the mat means good things move onto more specific results.
> ...


Yes, shaping can be a very powerful training tool. It also helps the dog learn to problem solve, rather than simply follow directions. We used exactly this method to teach Kodi to use a sit box (which is used as a training aid in a number of different circumstances) and now we are training go-outs (a Utility level exercise in formal obedience) using shaping and a hoola hoop. He needs to run to the hoop, and turn and sit inside it. He LOVES the game, and we are starting to work up the distance he needs to go. Eventually, he'll need to go most of the length of the 40' obedience ring.

Loved the video! Two suggestions, though. First, make sure he's really settled in the sit before you click, now, since he seems to clearly have the idea of going to the basket lid. Second, rather than telling him "off" to get him out of the lid, just throw a small treat without saying anything. Then you can pick up and reposition the lid while he's busy retrieving the treat. Otherwise, you may find that he automatically starts hopping out of the lid as you approach him, something I assume you don't want. You want a totally neutral way of getting him out so that you can send him in again.

I find this kind of training SO much fun, and it's clear that Timmy and you enjoying it too!


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

Atticus said:


> I am still working on this with Atticus. He has not stopped the excitement peeing and is almost two, hope it happens some day. If I know company is coming I take him out to pee before they arrive. I keep a bowl of treats by the door,so they are always easily available, put him on a leash and have him sit when people come. He doesn't pee/or jump obviously when he is sitting. Of course you need to pay attention to him, treat him for sitting (food or petting) and can't really greet your guests till later. Most of my company understand this. If it is new people or someone I really need to greet, I just pick him up to avoid not training and having him practice his usual jumping/peeing behavior. He is also working on going to his place BUT I know the HUGE distraction of greeting company is WAY too much for him at the moment, and he couldn't do it. My best advice is to work on this from the beginning! We had a situation where there were many friends and health care workers coming into my home and I was not available to be at the door. He Loved all the company, but got into a bad habit! Good luck!


I agree with the early start being best too. I wasn't consistent enough about this either when Kodi was younger, largely because he typically doesn't jump, and he never pees. Unfortunately, he has started the most ungodly SCREAMING and spinning in cirles when someone he really likes enters the house. I KNOW this started because my husband gets him revved up when he comes home, and enjoys the over-the-top greeting. I've tried to get DAVE to stop, but he's not as easy to train as Kodi!!!:fish: He is also reinforced for this behavior by the people he likes best, because they find it flattering.

Interestingly, if people who don't like dogs, or even dog-neutral people come into the house, he is super polite. Even if it's a stranger who is dog friendly, he will typically alert bark, and then stop when I tell him it's OK. So the biggest problem is our closest friends and family.

So I've started making a concerted effort to send him to his crate to wait when I know friends will be coming to the door. Drop-ins are a bigger problem, because he escalates so quickly. So I handle it, for now, the way you do. I just pick him up before he can start his screaming and spinning. (you'd think he was a Border Collie!!!ound


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## jabojenny (Sep 18, 2011)

Thanks for the tips, I'm such an excitable newbie at this whole thing. I think part of the reason I like working with my little guy is that he LOVES doing it. I can't believe how smart and willing to learn these guys are, they can't seem to get enough. I started making him work for his breakfast with a training session in the morning, if I'm late he lets me know. 

We're starting a new class the end of March. I'm excited to start something a little something different with Timmy. This class is a prerequisite for a lot of classes we might do in the future. Not sure what direction we go, but we're having fun along the way.

DOG SPORTS FUNdamentals: Attention and focus, self control, along with good handling skills are essential for any off leash dog sport (agility, flyball, obedience, rally ) you plan to pursue. This class covers clicker skills, targeting to hand and disc, crate/mat games, solid verbal cues for sit, down, release. Left and right side walking/running, recall with distractions, stays, leave it.

I am volunteering at an Agility Trial on Sunday afternoon. I know absolutely nothing about this kind of thing so I thought it's a great way to learn and help out our training center.


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

jabojenny said:


> Thanks for the tips, I'm such an excitable newbie at this whole thing. I think part of the reason I like working with my little guy is that he LOVES doing it. I can't believe how smart and willing to learn these guys are, they can't seem to get enough. I started making him work for his breakfast with a training session in the morning, if I'm late he lets me know.
> 
> We're starting a new class the end of March. I'm excited to start something a little something different with Timmy. This class is a prerequisite for a lot of classes we might do in the future. Not sure what direction we go, but we're having fun along the way.
> 
> ...


That sounds like an AWESOME class, and helping at trials of different sorts is a great way to see what's involved. I stewarded at a couple of obedience trials before I even really understood what formal obedience was!<g> (and I continue to help by stewarding, gatekeeping, jump setting (in agility)... whatever needs to be done) It is volunteers that makes it possible to hold trials, so organizations are usually very grateful for the help!


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## Tia (Nov 28, 2012)

Sooo helpful. Ill keep you all informed with how we go. I'm excited to try it all out.

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## showelott (Oct 12, 2012)

Jen - Have you discovered Sue Ailsby - an amazing clicker trainer from Canada, eh? She has tons of ideas, a yahoo list, and two books on how to do clicker training with your dog - training levels of different skills/tricks to teach in stages. I'm loving it and have a great plan for whenever the new puppy shows up. (I wish I had this when I started out clicker training 15 years ago!)

Her website is www.sue-eh.ca

Stacey
(Hopefully-soon-to-be-Hav-owner)


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## jabojenny (Sep 18, 2011)

Oh goodie.... I'm so checking this out. Thanks! Keep us posted on your Havie acquisition, I think they are the best dogs ever.


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## Suzi (Oct 27, 2010)

It sounds like a boy thing the sisters never had that problem. :dance:


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## Tia (Nov 28, 2012)

PS the video was really helpful and the tips provided with it. It's more about what we are doing than anything.

I should upload my training videos of Doug. They are full of all the wrong things to do haha but he is my first dog and I'm learning every day. I'm just so lucky to get a well behaved dog!!!! Haha

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## Tia (Nov 28, 2012)

PS for all our kindle lovers out there ill share this with you! I actually decided to get my kindle Paperwhite as I was doing a lot if reading in the iPad and when reading a forum on here about the kindle I was quickly converted. Tomorrow hubby and I are heading overseas to Vietnam for two weeks. Leaving on an am flight I was racing to leave work today and forgot my kindle!! When I considered whether or not to go back I thought of reading off the iPad for two weeks and that was enough for me to make the 40 min trip back just to pick it up. So now on my way home for the second time!! So much to do to get ready lol oh well! PS last night I worked out how to easily transfer DVD movies to iPad so if anyone is keen in doing that let me know and ill explain my process.

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## Tia (Nov 28, 2012)

PSSS there were a lot of PS' in my last posts. Clearly tired lol.

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## Bidik (Aug 23, 2012)

On jumping at people, one dog owner suggested to step on his back paws with my toes (not to apply pressure but hold him stil)l, which he wouldn't like and he won't jump anymore. Has anybody else tried it?


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

Bidik said:


> On jumping at people, one dog owner suggested to step on his back paws with my toes (not to apply pressure but hold him stil)l, which he wouldn't like and he won't jump anymore. Has anybody else tried it?


I don't believe in this kind of "training". If you don't step on the dog hard enough to hurt him (maybe not seriously, but enough to get a response) they aren't going to learn anything from it. For punishment to be effective, it has to be strong enough to get the animal's attention.

It is MUCH better, IMO, to teach the dog what they SHOUDL do, rather than trying to teach them what they SHOULDN'T do. Besides, teaching them only that they "shouldn't jump" still leaves a host of other "not so good" options, like barking, whining, spinning in circles...

Instead, teach the dog that he won't get ANY attention from ANYONE unless he will sit quietly. That means you'll probably have to do some pre-teaching to your guests too. I am not a big Cesar Milan fan, but I do agree with his "no touch, no talk, no eye contact" entry routine into a house with dogs. Let them settle and calm down before giving them any reinforcement at all.

The problem for our little ones is that even when we try to teach them good manners, often guests will say "Oh, that's OK... HE's SO cute!!!" and give positive reinforcement to the dog for behavior we want to stop. So this is at least as much a people problem as a dog problem. You will find that there are some people who just plain won't listen. We are lucky that our Havs are small enough that we have the option, with this kind of person, to just pick our dog up and interrupt any jumping before it has a chance to get started.

In the long term, teaching your dog to go to his "place", whether that is a special mat or his crate, or what ever other place you choose, when the doorbell rings is the very best solution to this behavior.


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## Bidik (Aug 23, 2012)

Hi Karen, We only us epositive reinforcement on Cora. If training means to hurt, it is no good. What do you do when your pup jumps at people on the street? Cora wants to chase runners even if they are at the other side of the road.


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

Bidik said:


> Hi Karen, We only us epositive reinforcement on Cora. If training means to hurt, it is no good. What do you do when your pup jumps at people on the street? Cora wants to chase runners even if they are at the other side of the road.


Well, Kodi doesn't jump at people on the street, but I spent a LOT of time and effort from the very beginning on loose leash walking and on attention training. So when he got overstimulated about something on a walk, I worked on getting his attention back on me as fast as possible.

Better yet, if there are things you know will overstimulate Cora, be on the look out for them ahead of time. As the person comes near, but before Cora gets into that state, get his attention on you by asking him to sit, then talk to him and give him tiny bits of a yummy treat to keep him sitting and keep his attention. Over time (it doesn't happen quickly with some dogs!) he will start to associate staying calm and with you as a more rewarding option than jumping at an approaching stranger.

Eventually, when you are able to keep his attention better, take him to more crowded places and practice the same. When you can keep his attention with people walking all around him, ask someone if they would be willing to walk right up to you and talk to him. (no touching at first). If he seems comfortable and calm, you can ask the person to let him sniff their hand. Eventually, he MAY feel comfortable with people stroking him, but don't push this. There are dogs who NEVER feel comfortable being touched by casual stangers and, IMO, they shouldn't be forced.


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## Tia (Nov 28, 2012)

Karen that's really helpful. We are back from holidays so I'm looking forward to doing some training with Doug.

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