Help please!!!
I have a 3 and a half month border terrier/lakeland terrier cross puppy who has suddenly decided to attack my ankles/bottoms of trousers periodically when I take him out for walkies. One minute he's fine and the next he turns into psycho-puppy and won't leave my trousers alone! Is there anything I can do????...I've tried holding him off and telling him no but to no avail.
Puppy problems
Moderators: emmabeth, BoardHost
Hi Nic, sometimes we get so involved in trying to 'stop' a problem that we forget that we actually want our puppy to do something else instead - in this case, walk nicely on a leash beside us.
If you try to push pup away or growl at pup, you will probably just make it a much more exciting game, thus reinforcing the unwanted behaviour.
Prepare some small, yummy treats and set about teaching pup to walk nicely beside you. Keep his attention, reward often for walking nicely beside you - this is early days, later you can start fading out the treats somewhat.
Use of a head collar (Halti, Gentle Leader) will enable you to control pup's head to some extent, do not ever jerk or yank on the leash while pup is wearing a head collar though. It enables you to use gentle guidance and keep pup away from your pant legs.
In the episodes of IMOTD that I've seen where Victoria uses a head collar she also demonstrates how to teach a dog to wear one. This usually involves the use of food to build a positive association and to teach the dog to willingly place his head inside the collar.
This step is important and should not be missed, or you will fight an uphill battle every time you put a head collar on your pup. I think the Gentle Leader comes with an instructional DVD showing how to introduce a dog to the head collar.
If you prevent rehearsal of playing with your trouser leg and reward the behaviour you want instead (walking nicely beside you), in time pup will grow out of playing with your trouser leg. If you allow it to continue by not following the steps above, then pup may never grow out of it.
If you try to push pup away or growl at pup, you will probably just make it a much more exciting game, thus reinforcing the unwanted behaviour.
Prepare some small, yummy treats and set about teaching pup to walk nicely beside you. Keep his attention, reward often for walking nicely beside you - this is early days, later you can start fading out the treats somewhat.
Use of a head collar (Halti, Gentle Leader) will enable you to control pup's head to some extent, do not ever jerk or yank on the leash while pup is wearing a head collar though. It enables you to use gentle guidance and keep pup away from your pant legs.
In the episodes of IMOTD that I've seen where Victoria uses a head collar she also demonstrates how to teach a dog to wear one. This usually involves the use of food to build a positive association and to teach the dog to willingly place his head inside the collar.
This step is important and should not be missed, or you will fight an uphill battle every time you put a head collar on your pup. I think the Gentle Leader comes with an instructional DVD showing how to introduce a dog to the head collar.
If you prevent rehearsal of playing with your trouser leg and reward the behaviour you want instead (walking nicely beside you), in time pup will grow out of playing with your trouser leg. If you allow it to continue by not following the steps above, then pup may never grow out of it.
Regards,
Aidan
http://www.PositivePetzine.com
Aidan
http://www.PositivePetzine.com
Hi Aidan
Thanks for the advice, it's greatly appreciated.
I do carry some treats with me when I take him out for walks and constantly give him praise and encouraging words as he's walking along but then he just suddenly turns on my trousers for no apparent reason. I might try a Halti lead though, it sounds like a good idea. I have been using a soft harness on him thus far which seems to stop his neck from being under strain like a regular collar. I'll give it a try and let you know how it goes! Thanks
Thanks for the advice, it's greatly appreciated.
I do carry some treats with me when I take him out for walks and constantly give him praise and encouraging words as he's walking along but then he just suddenly turns on my trousers for no apparent reason. I might try a Halti lead though, it sounds like a good idea. I have been using a soft harness on him thus far which seems to stop his neck from being under strain like a regular collar. I'll give it a try and let you know how it goes! Thanks
Nic x
He turns onto your trouser leg for a very good reason - prey drive 
Some dogs love to chase and play with things that move in a way even remotely similar to prey. That's why they love chasing balls, herding sheep, playing tug, biting trouser legs etc etc
In theory you could tuck your trouser legs into your socks and it would stop this behaviour, but then he wouldn't learn anything useful.
I think it's a very good idea to give pup more appropriate outlets for this innate drive, controlled tug games for example. That way pup learns when and when not to engage in this sort of behaviour and gets the opportunity to release that pent-up energy.
Praise is not always an effective reinforcer. Reinforcement is defined by it's effect on behaviour. If the behaviour isn't maintained or increased, then it hasn't been reinforced.
Praise usually just serves as a 'marker' - "good boy" = "that THERE was EXACTLY what I want you to repeat! Here's your reward, a piece of chicken!" The piece of chicken is far more likely to maintain or increase the target behaviour, the praise simply told the dog exactly what was being reinforced.
Some dogs love to chase and play with things that move in a way even remotely similar to prey. That's why they love chasing balls, herding sheep, playing tug, biting trouser legs etc etc
In theory you could tuck your trouser legs into your socks and it would stop this behaviour, but then he wouldn't learn anything useful.
I think it's a very good idea to give pup more appropriate outlets for this innate drive, controlled tug games for example. That way pup learns when and when not to engage in this sort of behaviour and gets the opportunity to release that pent-up energy.
Praise is not always an effective reinforcer. Reinforcement is defined by it's effect on behaviour. If the behaviour isn't maintained or increased, then it hasn't been reinforced.
Praise usually just serves as a 'marker' - "good boy" = "that THERE was EXACTLY what I want you to repeat! Here's your reward, a piece of chicken!" The piece of chicken is far more likely to maintain or increase the target behaviour, the praise simply told the dog exactly what was being reinforced.
Regards,
Aidan
http://www.PositivePetzine.com
Aidan
http://www.PositivePetzine.com
If the Halti doesn't work, I say you stop and ignore the dog for a while, when he calms down start off again. Dogs don't like being ignored and like young children being bored is the worst thing in the world for them. Once your dog stops praise him gently and keep going. As Victoria pointed out on the show, do not be afraid to look like an idiot in front of other people, because it will save you a lot of hassle on the road.
