Walk into a house and the first thing that greets you? You all guessed it, Sasha a gorgeous 4 month young female American bulldog jumping and slobbering all over you. Sound familiar? well, with a few tweaks to the name and age.. possibly the breed? Dogs going loop fruit when someone enters their home is an extremely common occurrence, but also a extremely common issue. Not everyone enjoys being assaulted by even the most beautiful of pooches when they enter a home (hence some recent law changes that make behaviours like this sit on a thin line on a slippery slope towards melting ice caps), so we have the obligation as proud pet guardians to allow our dogs the best chance of a happy meeting with even the most nervous person around dogs.. and you know how we should be doing it? In a way that causes no stress to anyone involved in the training, that causes no anxiety to the dog in question, and that ensures repeat positive learned behaviours. Sasha here is such an energetic and large puppy that when she hits you, you rock over and with her lovely staff step brother adding in the vocals you may be dancing all the way home. We used positive reinforcement to condition Sashas behaviour when someone enters or when excitement levels rise to something other than jumping up or doing loops (on the top of furniture) around the room. I let Sasha find out what her favourable position was and it was sitting on the rug in the living room awaiting contact and praise (why on the rug? we looked at that and I asked the question, to which the answer was perfect.. It is comfier and warmer than sitting on the wooden floor!) Trust me when I say, given the choice of sitting when naked on a cold floor or a rug (think tarmac or puddle/ grass!) you will choose rug every time.. I am looking forward to working with Sasha again when we move outdoors and build her recall foundations as well as obedience skills. Very very lovely dog, and extremely enthusiastic owner. Pleasure to work with. *Please note that the collar attached was not used in any part of Sashas training and an alternate collar has been advised along with loose leash walking training that Sean the owner is very keen to start on. Positive Training for Positive Outcomes
Posted on: Sat, 17 Jan 2015 09:30:00 +0000
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