Expert: Alan J Turner, SATS LL1 - 11/2/2006

Question
We have a 18 month old American Staffordshire Terrier.  He has been with us for about 3 months.  He is so lovable but has some gross habits.  He will lick people relentlessly.  I try to scold him and push him away but he comes back for more.  It is so gross.  I can't keep my clothes clean for his saliva.  Also, he sticks his nose in anyone's crotch or butt he can find.  We just try to push him away.  We try giving him bones but he just takes them and hides them.  Friends don't like coming over because of his rude behavior!  Please help!  P.S. We got him from a kennel and security place where he was kept on a leash outside all day and brought inside to sleep at night.  

Answer
Dear Need Help,
You didn't mention the context when he does this. The reason I ask is that in order to reduce this behavior, you must increase another behavior - a behavior that is incompatible with the yukky ones (smile).

How about giving him something else to lick? Pushing him away will not teach him to sop because he is getting your attention. If you must punish the behavior, just walk into the other room the instant he starts to lick. Say nothing, don't push him away (no touch), your action of waking away will (over time) teach him that licking makes people walk away!

It would be much more efficient and quicker to teach him exactly what you want him to do.

Here's how to get things on the right track. First, kindly prevent the behavior by distracting or removing or confining, or otherwise engaging Piper(I'll name him Piper) in another activity. This is a management tool, a short-term solution to prevent the behavior from being practiced in the short-term. All successful episodes of the unwanted behavior are fertilizer for the unwanted behavior.

This is my recipe for fixing any normal- but unwanted behaviors in the long-term. The sequence
is INTERRUPT (kindly, via a physical barrier like an attached leash or with a command to perform another already learned behavior, like come or here) –REDIRECT (give the cue for the dog to perform a specific, already-learned behavior that is incompatible with the unwanted behavior)-PRAISE (deliver food, attention or touch).

Before you can apply this recipe, you should have a clear concept of your goals and you should prepare your dog for this exact situation. So, anytime you find yourself wanting to stop, punish or reduce any unwanted-but-normal behaviors, ask yourself these two questions.

Exactly what behavior would I like my dog to perform in this exact situation and exactly where would I like my dog to perform the wanted behavior?  

Once you have the answers, you have your clear training goals. 1) Teach the dog to perform the desirable behavior (outside of the situation which triggers the behavior), a behavior which is incompatible with the unwanted behavior.

Teach Piper to perform the incompatible behavior in a particular location that will make it less likely
for him to be exposed to the triggers for the unwanted behavior.

For example, if Piper dog barks at people or jumps up on people that come into your home, you
have several incompatible behaviors to choose from – prance around room with toy in mouth (great for retrievers and toy lovers), sit quietly and sniff the guests’ shoes (great for scent hounds), spin in  a circle ten feet from the door (great for terriers), go-to-place (great for sedate
breeds), play fetch with a unique special toy that only “appears” when guests arrive (great for all
retrievers and dogs), eat the frozen Kong-siscle which “appears” only when guests arrive) on a dog bed (great for all breeds), sit quietly ten feet from the door when the guests arrive (difficult for many  breeds!).

Now that you have clear goals, teach Piper to perform the unwanted behavior (when he can succeed, not in the context of the excessive licking).

Happy Training!
AT