He's Driving Us Crazy!

[Echobelly1]

Our 4 year old male, Hadji, has recently taken to barking, jumping, and snapping at us when he's excited because he thinks he's going for a walk (sometimes he is, sometimes he isn't). We've tried freezing, but that makes him try harder. We make him lie down, but as soon as he settled and we make a slight move, he's up and at it again. Lately as soon as he starts, I put him outside, where at least I don't have to listen to him, and hope he catches on that barking means being put out by yourself (not his favorite thing). As soon as I let him back in, he starts barking again. What should I be doing to break this behavior?

[Guest Giselle]

It sounds like you tried training appropriate behaviors but weren't successful at proofing it. A half-learned behavior will crumble unless you practice it successfully many times in many different situations. So, try again! My ideal behavior for pre-walk jitters is to have the dog do a Down-Stay on her mat while I put on my shoes and grab the leash. This is how I train it:

 

1) Ask the dog for a Down-Stay. Click/Treat/Reward.

2) Walk over and pick up the leash.

3) One of two things will happen: If the dog breaks his Down-Stay, immediately drop the leash and walk away. Stay still. Do not interact with the dog. Face the wall if you have to. He broke his Down-Stay, so you will not proceed. OR If he stays in a Down, quickly return to him and reward! Feed a short steady stream of treats. This makes it black and white to the dog. If he breaks his Down-Stay, he loses the chance to go outside. The reward is removed. But if he stays calmly in a Down, he gets lots of treats & he continues to get the opportunity to go outside.

5) Now, it's just a matter of approximating to the final behavior. For example, pick up the leash and jiggle it a little to make the situation harder. Again, if he breaks the Down-Stay, immediately drop the leash, stand still, and totally ignore the dog. Try again and always reward at small increments for the right behavior (staying calmly in a Down). As a basic rule, any time he is staying Down, reward him.

6) Now, clip the leash. Put on your shoes. etc. Go through your normal routine and only proceed as long as your dog is in a Down-Stay. If he ever breaks his Down-Stay, well, too bad! Start from Square 1, etc.

 

The first few times may take 10-15 minutes to get out the door. But the learning curve is pretty fast for this behavior because dogs are SO motivated to go outside. After a week, this whole process shouldn't take you longer than a few minutes and, eventually will take less than 30 seconds. Good luck!

[JJNg]

You mentioned freezing and that it only made him try harder. Do you turn your back on him when you freeze? Have you tried waiting him out? He will stop, or at least pause, eventually. As soon as there is a pause in the behavior, turn back around to look at him and praise/reward, but make sure your interaction happens while he's still calm (or at least not barking/jumping/snapping). If he starts back up with the unwanted behavior, turn your back on him again. Repeat. Gradually those pauses and calm behavior will last longer if you can get the timing right. Crazy behavior = getting ignored. Calm behavior = eye contact and attention.

 

I do understand that a big dog jumping and snapping at you is hard to ignore and may be painful, depending on how intense he is. If you are unable to simply freeze and ignore because of his intensity, you can try calmly and slowly walking away (continuing to ignore) and even squeeze through a door into another room to get away from him whenever he does this. When he's quiet, back into the room with him and try again.

 

You can probably also incorporate this into the steps that Giselle suggested. I imagine if he breaks the breaks the down-stay, and you drop the leash and face the wall, he may continue to bark/jump/snap - ignore until he calms down before trying again with the down-stay.

[Echobelly1]

You're right, I've got to up my training with him. I've been doing all the above, just not consistently. A large dog jumping and barking at you in a small house sometimes tries my patience, even if he is jumping for joy! He was especially wild yesterday, which I chalk up to a break in routine (wife had the day off), cooler weather (in the mid-70's!), and a Christmas "dog treat" that turned out to be loaded with sugar. Have a safe and happy Holiday everyone! Treats all around!

[JJNg]

Unfortunately, being inconsistent with this type of training can actually reinforce the behavior. If he jumps and barks to get your attention, and you ignore him most of the time, but every once in a while you give in, that will make him try harder. He's hoping that if he keeps trying, it will result in one of those times that you actually give him what he wants. It's called a variable-ratio schedule of reinforcement, and it's why people get hooked on slot machines. Happy Holidays, and good luck!

[Echobelly1]

Showing much improvement! As soon as he starts barking and getting over-excited, I use the "down" command, he goes and lies down and gets loads of praise. It's me that needs the training!

[Guest Giselle]

Great job! Practice practice practice. That's all it is