Expert: Sandra Case, MEd, CPDT - 10/30/2008

Question
QUESTION: I really would appreciate your assistance. What should I do about this? I have my adolescent dog in a sit and people go pet him and he springs up. He wears a head halter and I can place him back in the sit. He gets treats for holding the sit but as people pet him he breaks and springs forward. This problem keeps repeating itself so I must be doing it wrong - Suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.

ANSWER: Obviously being petted is more rewarding than treats for him. You need to set the situation up with people you've already "coached" You hold him on leash. Don't tell him to sit. Don't go with him if he jumps, and don't yank him back. You are a post (or you can attach him to something stationary.) If he jumps up, the person should gasp as if mightily offended, turn and walk quickly away. Then come back and try again. He just wants attention. If he finds that jumping up makes the people go away instead of pay attention to him, he'll try something else (usually pretty quickly - 3-4 repetitions) and keep his feet on the floor or sit. When he does that, they can pet, and treat. If he jumps up, they leave again. It may take several different people for him to generalize the situation. I would do this on a harness, or at least a flat collar. If a dog hits a head halter hard enough, it can whip his head back, causing soft tissue damage and a fair amount of pain. Sandy Case BFA MEd CPDT www.positivelycanine.com

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QUESTION: Is there anything else? I find working with the public on this harder than working the dog as everyone wants to do it their way and I don't know enough people to help me that don't find all of my training efforts a bit odd. - I know you are right - but I am very frustrated finding the people as I did this method to start with and ran out of people to help me.

Answer
if you want to control the behavior, you have to be able to control the reinforcement. I'd just explain to people that he is in training, and if they want to pet him, he MUST be able to keep all feet on the ground. I know it can be really difficult to control other people's reaction, but sometimes you just have to for the good of your dog. Sandy