new pup

[meggit]

i have a 9 week old terrier hes a real cutie and have been following the advise on here on how to train buddie and hes doing really well but is now doing things just to get the treats hes figured out if he jumps in the chair i say off and he gets treat when he gets off, so now he will keep doing it, any ideas on where i have gone wrong or am going wrong

[emmabeth]

Hi, welcome to the world of fast learning dogs who seek opportunities to earn rewards. It may seem frustrating at the moment but although its teh 'wrong' behaviour, its a good thing hes switched on and actively trying to figure out what works and what doesnt.

Spend more time teaching him stuff, any stuff really - and also more time playing/socialising and time for him to work at food items like big raw bones and Kong toys, large whole raw veggies, raggy rope toys etc..

The more time he spends doing constructive stuff you have set up for him to do the less time he spends working out things to do for himself.

If you think, once you have really filled up his time with other stuff, that he is attention seeking .... you can just walk away from him. If hes getting on a chair in a sort of 'now im up here you have to ask me to get off and then you will give me a treat yay me'.... walk away go do something in another room. Hes going to want to come with you and see what you are doing so he will get off the chair to do that.

Do be sure though that his mental/physical exercise needs are met, because if they arent he will work out something that you CANNOT walk away from!

[meggit]

oh he is such a fast learner bless him, and i do wish i had found this site when i had my other dogs and had to figure out everything by trial and error and made a lot of mistakes one of which had severe behavoural issues sadly i lost both dogs one to cancer and the other to a brain dissease and have been without a dog for 4 years now but i so missed the love and pure joy from having a dog so went for a small dog this time, my other two were a pyranean mountain dog and an old english sheep dog, so this is my first small dog and am learning a lot allready about the needs of a small dog. food is a problem im having with him at the moment as soon as food went down my other two would eat it straight away so i could remove the bowls but buddy dosnt eat his straight away he leaves it for ages before he eats it so i end up leaving food down for ages so he ends up nibbling all day long there is no regular feeding times so any advise on this would be much appriciated thanks

[maximoo]

What food, & how much? Food should not be left out, but taken up after 15-20 mts.You might be overfeeding and/or he might not like what you are giving him. Read the diet threads-- loads of tips & info.

[Nettle]

There's a world of differences between small dog breeds. You have a terrier, bred for a hard job, endurance, noise and stubbornness. So you have a different set of challenges to come from those you would have from a similarly sized dog bred for a different job. Read up on your breed or breed mix and come back to us with your questions.

[whenhoundsfly]

what you have described is an example of a behavior chain. He jumps on the table, you cue "off", you reward.
As a result you are rewarding the jump on table behavior.

Break the chain by managing the environment so he can't jump up.
Then, randomly reward for him simply maintaining 4 paws on the floor, or laying in his bed, etc.
So many opportunities to reinforce for good behavior - just watch your dog keenly and have some treats in your pocket to catch him in the act of goodness.