Friday, May 21, 2010

Can anyone help?

I have a doberman Pincher and a maltese.. The dobe is 3 yrs. old and the maltese is going on 9. Is there any way at all that i can make my dobe not bark so much when we have visit and jump all over our visit. I know she is just trying to play..but I am sure it can get annoying. I feel very bad because when there is people over I have to confine her to one area of the house. I don't want to do that does anyone have a ny suggestions as to what i can do?? please be nice
Answers:
Teaching sit-stay would be a great place to start. Avoiding overstimulation should help calm the barking, and having her sit-stay in a particular spot while visitors are in the house should help.

Start by teaching her without anyone around. Then add someone she's accustomed to, who's not afraid of her. Then have someone else come into the home. Then a couple of people at a time, slowly adding more stimulation as she is able to handle it.

I think there are several trainers who check in here regularly, so maybe you'll get a little more input for ideas.
She needs some good training. She is too big to behave like that, and a lot of people are afraid of Dobermans. With good training, you will have a much better pet and enjoy her a lot more. Either get a good training book, take her to obedience classes, or get a trainer or veterinarian's advice.
Hi. I just got a new puppy and i read that people have to train dogs that the behavior is unacceptable. The reason your dog does that is because it is an instict. Dogs lick each others mouth to say hello and when your dog jumps up on your visitors he is just trying to say hello and recieve attention. So if you have the visitor and you ignore the behavior then he will stop because the worst punishment is being ignored. Well at least thats what the books say.
I have been around dobies my whole life. I absolutely love the breed. They are big and a little intimidating, so establishing dominance is a huge deal, but once you are established as the dominant one, obediance is no problem.

There are several ways to establish dominance. One way is to do something they can't. We've had really good luck with bean bag training. Make bean bags with a pair of old pany hose, pillow fluff, and rice. When your dog is acting out, speak a command like NO or OFF or DOWN! and throw a bean bag at them. You don't have to hit them, just get their attention. They learn that when the command is spoken, something will get thrown at them, and they should stop. Eventually, it will get to the point where you don't have to throw the bean bag to get them to follow the command.

Another way to get them to follow commands is with a squirt bottle. Do the same thing that you did with the bean bags. You just want to get their attention. Eventually, the behavior should become more manageable.

The key to training is consistency. As long as you are consistent with your commands and your training, they'll respond well. Sometimes it takes some dogs longer than others to catch on, but most get it within a few weeks.

Good luck!
Tell your visitors to ignore the Doberman because if they make a fuss of her or react to her in any way she will assume this is correct behaviour and continue to do it. Advise all your visitors and guests to ignore the dog, and when they come in to stand and look upwards, away from the dog. This leaves no room for ambiguity, the dog simply knows it isn't the main focus of attention and it stops what it is doing. Later when the dog is settled and your visitors are in and settled aswell, it is OK for the dog to come up and sniff, but as soon as the behaviour starts, ignore her. As someone correctly said, a lot of people are afraid of Dobermans, and they won't all react the same way. If a dog senses fear it can become aggressive, as all dogs are different and dont like certain people. My dog for example is the biggest sweetheart you will ever meet, yet he becomes really uptight around people he doesnt know who are dressed in black. I also have dogs that come in to me to be groomed who are aggressive towards black or coloured people. This may sound strange but it appears to be quite common lol.

Anyway that is your basic remedy, is just to ignore the dog when she starts her crazy jumping around, you should see a big change.

Good Luck!
start by training your dog the command "off"

This means what ever their feet are touching, they are to remove. Good for furnature also. "Down" means to lie down

Next place the leash by the front door.
do not open the door until you have your dog on the leash.

This way you can enforce the command "off"

eventually you will be able to command off without the leash.
YES

Using treats is silly because one day you will start to forget the treats or not have them or something, and the next time you call her, she'll remember not getting the treat and figure "why bother?" Also treats only work so long as the dog wants the treat more than it wants to do something else - and Dobes are a dominant breed and you don't want to act like the weaker member of the pack by handing over food to placate her. Spray bottles of water?? Who wants to carry that around all the time??

Ignoring her just isn't going to ge her to stop - paticularly a Dobe who was bred to be wary of threats and intruders into their homw (and in her eyes, visitors are intruders - maybe they'll be okay and play with her, maybe they won't.) This is a breed that loves to chase, catch, knock-down and grab - and they do it as a form of play and mock-attack.

Clickers are just flat stupid - they are for people who are too dumb to figure out how to quickly say "GOOD DOG" in a happy, excited voice.

You always have your hands and your voice. Use them



Stop jumping by any of these methods:

(1) A loud “No” and push her off and hold her down and scold her with “Bad, Bad Bad”. Then tell her “Okay,” let her up and give her a pat (if she doesn’t leap again.)

(2) A loud “No” and time it so that as she comes off the ground, you bring your foot forward and step on her back foot.

(3) A loud “No” and as she comes up off the ground, raise your knee so that she hits it with her chest and bounces off.

(4) If you knw visitors are coming, get her leash on her and when she leaps haul her back from mid-air and let her fall while roaring NO and rach down and pin her to the floor on her belly whil you scold her

(Stong deep authoritative stern voice please - do not let your voice slide upwards into a higher register or be so mild that it sounds like you are saying "No, thank you, I don't care for anymore coffee.)


Barking freneticallyand at the wind and wildly excited

Until you have tried other techniques, I wouldn't go to the electric collar unless you have the animal officer at the door with complaints or you are getting evicted. It is an absolutely last ditch method before the dog loses their home (or would you bleeding hearts prefer the dog go to the pound?) If you go straight to the collar, you have nothing left if it doesn’t work or they get used to it.


In 43 years of training, I have only be forced to go to the electronic collar twice (very large, very pig-headed dogs who had figured out that when working at a distance I couldn't reach them if they didn't obey a 'down" or "go" or "hold" command.)

Try this first.

When they bark, go and pick them up or, if large, get your arm around them and hold them next to your body. Put your hand over and around their muzzle and, in a calm reassuring voice, tell them "Okay, thank you, now hush." If they try to keep barking, tell them "NO" in a hash stern voice and squeeze their muzzle. If they still keep trying, squeeze the side of the muzzle - the skin- into the side of their mouth against their teeth and repeat NO. (Use a deep voice - don't let your voice go up, make it go down.) You don't quit until they do. The minute they quit, lots and lots of praise in happy voice with hugs and pets and tummy rubs.
Do this EVERY SINGLE TIME they bark when you want them to stop. Keep doing it until they associate "Okay, thank you" with the concept they are to stop barking. (After all, you would want them to bark if someone was trying to break in the house, yes? In fact, that is the primary purpose of Dobes.)

Also, take them to some obedience classes no matter what their age if they are over 6 months. Dobes adore obedience work and are brilliant at it, you get a nicer pet, they are more comfortable with the world and less wary and excited and inclined to bark at everything and they get the habit of obeying.

This is a big powerful dog -you MUST get the kind of control when you can order her into a down-stay (and silence) as well as doing other things. You won't be able to calm her with a sit-stay when visitors arrive unless you put in the time and work to train her.

Pestmart and Petco are the water-down 'fast food' of training.

Now you both need a GOOD obedience class - and that is NOT Petsmart or Petco.

GO here to find contacts in you area that can help you locate and obedience trainer who works with all beeds and has experience with Dobes and who does AKC obeedience compettions:

http://www.akc.org/clubs/search/index.cf.

http://www.akc.org/clubs/search/index.cf. (set on all breeds)


http://www.akc.org/clubs/search/index.cf.

Even it they are an hour or more away, they will know other people all over the state

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