Hi! My name is melody! I just got a new german shephered puppy. She is almost 11 weeks old, I got her two weeks ago. She has had great progress with my husband and I but has some behaviors that we are confused by and need help. When we sit down on the couch for the evening she goes crazy. She jumps and puts her feet on the couch aggressively and repeatedly and when we push her of and say off she growls and barks relentlessly. This is generally the only time she is every like this.
. I have tried a few things with minor 'success'. What do you think? Ideas? How do you teach off?
New to this!
Moderators: emmabeth, BoardHost
Re: New to this!
Hi there!
Congrats on your new puppy, enjoy!
So, I take it that you have thought about allowing her on the couch, and decided not to? This is perfectly fine.. Just like allowing a dog on the couch is perfectly fine too. It's a personal preference, but neither one is "right" or "wrong" from training perspective.
But keep in mind that the couch is a very attractive place for a dog - it's close to her humans, smells of them, off the ground, nice, warm, comfortable, safe. So, it's no wonder that your GSD girl wants up there!
Now, re: "off".. You may want to take a look at this thread:
viewtopic.php?f=4&t=12423&p=83537
But in general (and this will apply to many situations as your puppy grows up) - try not to think in terms of "I don't want her to do this or that, how do I stop her from doing it?". A much better question is "What DO I want her to do instead?"
Example:
- I don't want her on the couch
- When she tries to climb up, what do I want her to do instead?
- I want her to lay down on the rug
- Now "off" command means "go to the rug". You teach it the way you teach any other command, rewarding the desired action. So initially "off" = "Go to the rug and get a ton of delicious treats". This is easier for the dog to understand and associate than "off" = "For some unknown reason i just can't get to that nice and warm and safe place, next to my humans".
These are my 2 cents. Perhaps I would repost the question under "Dog Training Advice"'section, that's a more active area of the forum, you will probably get more responses there.
Cheers!
Congrats on your new puppy, enjoy!
So, I take it that you have thought about allowing her on the couch, and decided not to? This is perfectly fine.. Just like allowing a dog on the couch is perfectly fine too. It's a personal preference, but neither one is "right" or "wrong" from training perspective.
But keep in mind that the couch is a very attractive place for a dog - it's close to her humans, smells of them, off the ground, nice, warm, comfortable, safe. So, it's no wonder that your GSD girl wants up there!
Now, re: "off".. You may want to take a look at this thread:
viewtopic.php?f=4&t=12423&p=83537
But in general (and this will apply to many situations as your puppy grows up) - try not to think in terms of "I don't want her to do this or that, how do I stop her from doing it?". A much better question is "What DO I want her to do instead?"
Example:
- I don't want her on the couch
- When she tries to climb up, what do I want her to do instead?
- I want her to lay down on the rug
- Now "off" command means "go to the rug". You teach it the way you teach any other command, rewarding the desired action. So initially "off" = "Go to the rug and get a ton of delicious treats". This is easier for the dog to understand and associate than "off" = "For some unknown reason i just can't get to that nice and warm and safe place, next to my humans".
These are my 2 cents. Perhaps I would repost the question under "Dog Training Advice"'section, that's a more active area of the forum, you will probably get more responses there.
Cheers!
-
Mrsmelodylake
- Posts: 7
- Joined: Sat Nov 17, 2012 7:34 pm
Re: New to this!
Thanks will try to move her bed there when we are there because we have hard wood floors around the couch 
