Grey Becoming Food & Couch Aggressive/pushy

[Guest Sheldon]

Sheldon is my third Greyhound. My first two boys came from New England tracks and were in much better shape when they came to me than my poor Sheldon. He I a wonderful dog but if really pushy in regards to human food. He actually brings counter surfing to a new level. I am concerned that he is going to burn his nose due to the fact that he really would like to be able to pull food out of the pan that is cooking on the stove top. I am afraid to move away from the spot if he is in the kitchen for fear of him actually ending up trying to get what is in the pan and burning himself. He also will pull food off of the table as my husband, two children and myself are eating a meal. So that would be issue #1. Issue #2 is that Sheldon is becoming aggressive/pushy while he is on the couch. My 9 year old son gently bumped into him while sitting down next to Sheldon and my son got growled at. My husband is also starting to have an issue with Sheldon not wanting to come off of the couch at all if he does not see the need to do so. I would like to start correcting these behaviors as quickly as possible so we don't have them turn into very serious problems in the long run. I am at a loss a to what to do with Sheldon in these aspects. My first two Greyhound boys were slugs. Dashiel would counter surf but would be much more sneaky about it definitely not as pushy or a brazen as Sheldon. Gates really did not care. I could use some advice on how to handle Sheldon's behaviors.

[Guest iclarkz]

I would train him to sit outside the kitchen while you are in there cooking, and outside the dining room when eating. We use the "get out" command, and treat until the behavior is set.

 

Also, I'd say he has lost his couch privileges. Make him earn it with appropriate behavior. It is all fixable.

[vjgrey]

1) Don't allow him in the kitchen or dining room. You can use baby gates for now, but you can also teach him to stay out - when he comes in, redirect him to his bed and use whatever command you want to use (e.g. go lay down). With enough patience and repetition, he'll get it.

 

2) No couch or furniture privileges. If he jumps up and doesn't want to get down, clip a leash to his collar and gently pull him off.

Edited January 25, 2013 by vjgrey

[Roo]

1) Don't allow him in the kitchen or dining room. You can use baby gates for now, but you can also teach him to stay out - when he comes in, redirect him to his bed and use whatever command you want to use (e.g. go lay down). With enough patience and repetition, he'll get it.

 

2) No couch or furniture privileges. If he jumps up and doesn't want to get down, clip a leash to his collar and gently pull him off.

 

 

Our greys were never allowed in the kitchen unless invited in first. Our first boy just seemed to know this when he got here, but we used baby gates to train our girl and she caught on pretty quickly. Eventually we'd start leaving the gates down to see what she'd do - if she stayed out, nothing happened, but if she tried to come in we'd take a step toward the door, go "Nuh-uh", and stand there till she went to go lay down (then she'd get a "Good girl!"). She stayed in her crate (loved her crate) while we were out of the house and at night, so we didn't have to worry about her when we weren't around.

[Guest Giselle]

All animals (including us proud human beings) change our behaviors due to a few very simple rules: Behavior that gets rewarded (for example, rewarded with food) will increase. Behavior that does not get its reward will decrease.

 

If your dog is NEVER able to steal food ever again due to supervision or babygates, he will stop counter-surfing. Why? It doesn't work! If, instead, you reward your dog for staying out of the kitchen by tossing him treats while he is sitting/laying down nicely, he will start sitting/laying down nicely by default. He'll do it automatically. You don't even have to ask him. He'll do it because it works. It gets rewarded with food. And because he sits/lays down nicely by default, you won't have to worry about counter-surfing because he'll learn that counter-surfing doesn't work whereas sitting/laying down does.

 

As for the couch, I really dislike using the word "privilege". In my professional experience, animals like dogs don't understand the concept of a "privilege", like something good they do now gets rewarded with a special luxury later. In my experience, it's best to follow the simple rules: Behavior that gets rewarded will increase. Behavior that doesn't get its reward will decrease.

The reward in this case is sleeping undisturbed on a soft cushy couch. The disturbance is what is upsetting your dog. So, I think pulling him off and guiding him somewhere else is not the right solution. It isn't a bad idea, but I believe we should target the core of his issue - which would be being upset upon being touched while sleeping. Instead of him feeling like "WHOA! Don't touch me! I'm sleeping dang it!", shift his mindset to "Oh, whatever. Something bumped me. I'm fine/happy/content". To do so, you simply have to pair the sensation of being bumped during his sleep with a good reward, like treats. So, to train him (you might want to start while he's laying down and awake): Give him a small nudge, with an object if necessary, and immediately say "Yes!" and reward. Bump > "Yes!" > immediate reward. Repeat again and again and again until he understands that people bumping into him are actually positive interactions.

 

Meanwhile, you can and should teach the command "Off", but fix the core of the issue by desensitization training above, too. (edit: Technically, I'm actually mixing a little of the learning theory with classical desensitzation/counter-conditioning in the last step, but it doesn't change how you approach the training. It's just some technical stuff I want to clear up in case future people use this information.)

Edited January 26, 2013 by Giselle

[Guest iclarkz]

As for the couch, I really dislike using the word "privilege". In my professional experience, animals like dogs don't understand the concept of a "privilege", like something good they do now gets rewarded with a special luxury later. In my experience, it's best to follow the simple rules: Behavior that gets rewarded will increase. Behavior that doesn't get its reward will decrease.

I like this. Our trainer talked about being allowed on furniture in terms of being a privilege for good behavior, but you are right - it is an awfully abstract concept for a dog!

[a_daerr]

Meanwhile, you can and should teach the command "Off", but fix the core of the issue by desensitization training above, too. (edit: Technically, I'm actually mixing a little of the learning theory with classical desensitzation/counter-conditioning in the last step, but it doesn't change how you approach the training. It's just some technical stuff I want to clear up in case future people use this information.)

 

Agree!