The Dog Behavior Answer Book - Arden Moore [24]
Conduct mini-training sessions during quiet times, such as when your dog just wakes up, after a long walk, or any time when she and you are in a calm mood (not when you’ve just walked in the door!). Allow her to lick your face or hand once, say good kiss, and give her a small treat. Repeat a few times. Now, you’re ready to teach her the stop command. When she moves toward licking you, put your hand in front of her face like a traffic cop halting cars and say stop. If she doesn’t lick, dole out a treat and praise her.
It can be tough to try to bottle the enthusiasm of a tail-wagger who is happy to see you after you’ve been gone for way-too-many-hours, so you also need to teach your dog a more acceptable greeting than a face bath. Teach her to shake paws or perform a trick, such as sitting up or fetching a favorite toy when you come in the door. In time, she will learn that the big payoffs — your affection and a tasty treat — occur when she has licked her licking habit.
Look Out for Launching Lab!
Q Our very happy two-year-old Labrador retriever, Nacho, can be a little too excited when she greets people entering our front door. When the doorbell rings, she races to the door. Try as we may, we are unable to stop her as she leaps up and puts her front paws on the shoulders of our house guests. Nacho weighs 75 pounds and has knocked down a few guests with her leaps. What can we do to keep her from jumping up on people? We don’t want her to cause an injury.
A A leaping Lab can generate as much force as a determined linebacker tackling a quarterback. Although your dog’s intentions are friendly, unlike the linebacker’s, the results can be the same, with the recipient of the “hit” landing on the ground, hard.
First, you need to understand why Nacho leaps. In the dog world, leaping up and greeting another dog face to face is an accepted form of friendly communication. Watch two dogs who are pals play together. They may behave like a couple of stallions with their front paws touching up high as they romp. Many dogs transfer this canine hello to people in a bid for attention.
When our dogs are pups, we often mistakenly encourage them to leap up to greet us. It’s hard to resist a cute, 10-pound Lab pup when she stretches her front paws up to your thigh to say “hi.” By reaching down and responding with a hug or a pat on the head, we inadvertently instill in our fast-growing canines that this is an acceptable behavior.
Nacho is not too old to relearn proper doggy greetings toward houseguests and people she meets with you during walks and other outings. Curb the leaping by teaching her off and sit. Start by putting Nacho on a head-type collar (such as a Gentle Leader or Halti) and a leash six feet or longer in length. Ask a friend to enter your home, without acknowledging the dog in any way. As Nacho races to deliver an airborne “hello,” gently but firmly turn the leash so that Nacho must turn her head toward you. Firmly say off! This grounds her and keeps her from touching your friend.
When she stops trying to jump and sits down, immediately say good sit! and give her a treat or praise. Repeat this sequence a few times in a row to help Nacho understand what earns her praise and a tasty reward. Expand this tutorial by enlisting other friends to come in and wait to greet Nacho until she sits politely.
Once Nacho has mastered the sit on a leash, you can teach her to sit politely at a rug near your door to greet guests. Like most Labs, Nacho sounds like a very social dog. You may not want to snuff out her desire to greet guests, but if you use off and sit consistently, she will be able to welcome visitors without bowling them over.
Neighborhood Noisemaker
Q My new next-door neighbors leave their very noisy Sheltie in their backyard during the day while they are