Nervous On Walks; Jumping On Sitting Human

[EllenEveBaz]

Milo the greyhound mix is doing greyt in his new home, but there's two issues I'd like help with.

 

1) He enjoys the backyard and just walking around the block, but on longer walks in wooded areas this weekend has appeared very nervous. His body language looks tense, his gaze is locked straight ahead, and as the walk gets longer, he starts whining and sticking right by my legs. When the car comes into sight, he pulls on the leash, obviously wanting to reach the safety of its interior. Romie and Nutmeg are showing no signs of nervousness. What can I do to make wooded walks more enjoyable for Milo? Right now I'm trying to ignore his nervous behavior, except to stop when he pulls on the leash.

 

2) Milo has a tendency to jump on people. He's showing good response to his rescue organization's approach of turning away and ignoring him when you're standing up, but that's hard to do when you're stretched out in a recliner. He doesn't respond at all to "no" or "down" in this situation, and it's painful having to struggle with him on top of you so that you can push him off the chair. I'm ready to pull out the squirt bottle , but thought I'd like to hear from you positive reinforcement aficionados (and others).

[VinnieAndRexsMom]

With the walking, I would build it a little at a time. You also don't know... maybe he he has history with a wooded area. If so, you'll have to replace his memories with pleasant ones, a little at a time. Taking cues from Romie and Meg will help as well.

 

As far as the chair, I would remove him from my lap and work on a "down" with a treat. If he's eager to please and food motivated, he'll catch on quickly. Then you can move straight to the "down" commad.

 

I've never used squirt bottles on any of the boys. They all liked treats so much, we just used that with commands.

 

I am thinking Milo is young, and my Jake came to me very young. The exuberance can be trying at times, but Jake is settled most of the time now that he is approaching the ripe old age of 5

[JJNg]

1) He enjoys the backyard and just walking around the block, but on longer walks in wooded areas this weekend has appeared very nervous.

I believe you've only had Milo for about a week? My main advice would be to just give him time to settle in, take it slow, and gradually build up the walks as Tonya suggested. At this point in your relationship and his adjustment, I think you can do more harm than good by forcing him into situations he's not ready to handle (ie. longer, wooded walks) and ignoring the nervous behavior.

 

2) Milo has a tendency to jump on people. He's showing good response to his rescue organization's approach of turning away and ignoring him when you're standing up, but that's hard to do when you're stretched out in a recliner. He doesn't respond at all to "no" or "down" in this situation, and it's painful having to struggle with him on top of you so that you can push him off the chair.

I agree with the rescue's approach for jumping when you're standing. Regarding the recliner, the best approach is to try to anticipate this behavior and interrupt before he has a chance to actually jump on you. So if you see him approaching and thinking about jumping, sit up and body block him, lean forward into the space he wants to jump into, and hold out your hand with the palm out in a "stop" signal. I know it's easier said than done - my whippet still sneaks up on me sometimes. If he does manage to get up, the only thing you can do is push him back off, then if he tries again, use the body block to keep him from getting up again.

 

I would also combine this with teaching him what you want him to do instead. If he just wants to be near you, put a dog bed right next to your recliner and redirect him to the bed. Pet him and give him attention/treats when he sits or lays down on the bed. Especially make sure to reward him when he voluntarily settles on that bed instead of jumping on you.