@Saving thank you very much for the suggestions!
Squirt bottles
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i have to use because i can not get abby to leave the cat alone. i havetried and tried to come up with ways to get her stop messing with the cat, and if the cat runs thats even worse. so i use the SB to keep her at bay so the cat could get away.
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Jill, you may try the treats without the water bottle. Just make him sit and stay while holding the treat. When he does it successfully, give him a treat. Extend the period of time he has to stay… pet him and praise him too… and eventually, you should be able to simply pet and praise him and he will act the way you want.
Thanks etzbseder…but try doing these exercises when he's over excited, focused on his agenda - the people at the door - chaos is the scene. He doesn't hear or even see me, I'm in his way. The method you describe works perfectly when training - which he is very good at and the treat is what he wants. I do think that the water bottle (at this point) is the only thing that distracts him for a nanosecond. Then he submits to the bottle, but remains anxious about the people at the door. It is my hope that I can eventually do without the bottle (when/if he gets it) and just treat as described. Something to look forward to - total calm.
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We don't use a squirt bottle very frequently. However, I find that it is a quick deterrent when the two of them decide that our 2 y/o's snack is THEIR snack and gang up on him. We have also used it on the infrequent occasions that their playing has gotten out of hand and has become ugly. Now, we have found that if we verbally get their attention and then just show them the bottle, things settle down quickly. And, right or wrong…it was a life saver when we first brought Jayden home and queen bee, Cory, decided he was NOT going to live in her house. Those first two weeks, they got into some pretty vicious sounding (and looking) brawls and the water quickly broke them up safely. Obviously, using a squirt bottle wasn't the only thing that finally got them to get along but it sure helped in a pinch!
Pat
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Thanks etzbseder…but try doing these exercises when he's over excited, focused on his agenda - the people at the door - chaos is the scene. He doesn't hear or even see me, I'm in his way. The method you describe works perfectly when training - which he is very good at and the treat is what he wants. I do think that the water bottle (at this point) is the only thing that distracts him for a nanosecond. Then he submits to the bottle, but remains anxious about the people at the door. It is my hope that I can eventually do without the bottle (when/if he gets it) and just treat as described. Something to look forward to - total calm.
You said in an ealier post that you have tried tethering. How did you reinforce calm behavior while on the tether?
I think etzbseder is right, and rewarding is the way to go but I would recommend combining tethering and rewards.
I would first practice with people that are in his home normally and are therefore less exciting to him. Place him on the tether. At first before you even start with someone coming to the door just work on rewarding him for sitting or laying down while on the tether. Practice walking away and coming back to him and only reward if he is in a sit or down. Once he is pretty good about staying calm while on the tether, have the person come to the door and either knock or ring the bell. If Duke is sitting and calm reward on your way to answer the door. When the person enters have them give Duke a treat if he is sitting or laying down. At first they may need to toss the treat to him if their approaching him is too exciting. You may even want to use a bed or blanket to help him learn that there is a place he should wait when people enter so you can work towards eliminating the tether.
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Wow - I didn't reward with treats when tethering. And didn't do it with family familiar people first. It pretty much just made him restricted as I ordered him to sit/stay but it made him even more excited. Silly me - 'cause I believe in treat training. That might be why it didn't work well, and went to crating - which worked, 'cause he always gets a treat when he jumps in his crate. Dohhh!!! My bad… :o I am going to try this ASAP. Thanks - I'll let you know in a few days how he does.
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I recently gott a squirt bottle, mainly because he has a terrible counter surfing habit. Now, when I a baking cookies, all I have to do it say his name, grab the squirt bottle, and he gets downs, no squirting needed. Praise, treat, finish cookies.
My friend had a squirt bottle with her dog (not a b) apparently it stopped working when the dog saw the squirt coming and just opened her mouth to catch the water.
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I dont use the squirt bottle method. Although it does annoy him and he stops doing what he wasnt suppose to be doing, he then just starts barking at the water bottle.
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My girl Calli (heeler mix) will actually snap and drink the water from the water bottle-so it's useless for her anyway.
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A squirt bottle has been the absolute best bad behavior deterrent for us. It helps with mouthing, getting into people things, and scratching. We rarely use it now and "wanna get squirted" usually works now.
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When first working on discipline with Colbey we ended up using the squirt bottle with him when he was ignoring commands. I had to get after my room mate several times because he would squirt Colbey and then give him the command, instead of giving the command first and only squirting him if he continued the bad behavior. Now we rarely use it. We still keep one out and handy for the times when he is ignoring us from across the room. Now I simply have to say his name and touch the bottle, and Colbey immediately behaves.
