OUR DOG IS TOO EXUBERANT

Dear Jubilee:

I have an Airedale that is just over 2 years old, Duke! He is a very, very energetic dog and loves to play, and I have been trying for some time now to teach him when play time is and when the time is to be calm. He just never really seems to be calm. If I am around he is jumping and licking, and whining if I don't give him attention.

What Can I Do?

Dear What Can I Do:

It sounds like Duke has you very well-trained! I have a male who when he was five months old was a real pest: whenever I put him out, he would bark up a storm to be brought in. I was bringing him in because I did not want him disrupting the neighborhood, and as it got worse and worse, I realized that I had made it much worse because by bringing him in when he barked, I was rewarding his bad behavior. I was able to take him to a breeder and leave him in her kennel for a month. While there, his barking was not rewarded, and he returned home less prone to do that. Oh, he tried (he knew he had my number), but every time he did it, I marked the behavior with a negative "eek" sound and squirted him with a little bit of water from a squirt bottle to get his attention. Now all I have to do is pick up the bottle, and he finds something else to do.

As for Duke: He obviously does not respect your space and he needs to learn to respect it. He should not have been allowed to jump on you as a puppy, but I am sure you know that now. I had the same problem with a female that I allowed to jump on me as a puppy. But what was cute when she was three months was not cute when she was two years old. Once I decided that was going to stop, I learned how to approach her and it did stop. So here are some suggestions:

1. When he jumps on you, turn your back to him. Keep turning away from the jump, even if he jumps on your back. He will get confused and frustrated and will either stop or even sit down to figure it out. Reward the cessation of jumping (remember yelling at him or pushing him off to stop his jumping is a reward in and of itself, and you will get what you reward).

2. Yawn at him. Yawning is a dog calming signal. Turn your head away from him. Turn your entire body away from him, break eye contact. These are all calming signals. Older dogs do these things to calm rambunctious younger dogs. All dogs around the world know the language of calming signals. Consistently applied, they work. I have two very wired younger dogs who would love to jump on me but I stand still and do not push them away. Instead, I yawn, turn my head, turn my body. When they settle, I pay attention to them. If they resume the jumping, I repeat the calming signals. To learn more about calming signals, you can get a video entitled Calming Signals of Dogs that will give you a lot of other ideas.

3. Catch Duke being good. This will be hard in the beginning and take a lot of patience. Stand perfectly still and do not make eye contact with him Wait out the bad behavior and when he has all four feet on the ground, praise him. If he resumes the bad behavior as soon as you praise, go back into the standing still. Always end this exercise when he has all four feet on the ground. My two younger dogs will jump on the gate or the door when I go to let them in the house. I do not open the gate or the door until they have all four feet on the ground. If they settle and I start to open the door/gate and they resume the jumping, I take my hand off of the door/gate and wait until they are calmer. They are not stupid, but they are pushy. They know that if they continue to jump, I will not give them what they want.

4. Keep a squirt bottle filled with water handy. When Duke jumps on you, make the unpleasant "eek" sound and gently squirt him. He won't like this, and he will learn that bad behavior has uncomfortable consequences!

5. What would you like Duke to do instead of the bad behavior? When you train, you cannot train a negative, you can only train a positive behavior. So think about what you would like him to do, and then reward that behavior. For example, when you go to feed him, make him sit and stay before you put the food down. When you come to him and he jumps on you, make him sit and reward the sit. He has to know that you will reward his good behavior and that his bad behavior will not get attention
6. Never give him attention unless he works for it. In other words, do not let him demand attention. If he comes to you to be petted, have him do a sit or a down, and then praise him and pet him. Same when he wants food. Same with anything he wants. You have to work to provide yourself with your food and your pleasures; he needs to do the same. I have a friend who has been in dogs for over 50 years. He says, every dog needs a job. What he means is that the dog needs to have something positive to do, and if he doesn't, he will make up a job for himself. It sounds to me like Duke has made up some very negative jobs for himself, and that you have been "paying" him by pushing him off of you, etc. I am sure in the beginning, it was totally unconscious on your part: he would jump on your legs and you would bend down to pet him.

7. Don't give up on Duke. Remember, it is never too late to train a dog, especially an Airedale. Really rambunctious, untrained, older dogs come into Airedale rescue and they become very good house pets in their new homes with dedicated, patient owners. It is really up to you, and your consistency in expecting and demanding good behavior. Duke needs to learn what you want him to do: Airedales love to please. Duke does not know what will please you because he has not been shown what will please you. He does know that his jumping gets your attention.

Now you have to show Duke how to get your attention with more positive behavior. You can do it. We all had to learn how to do this, and most of us did not learn as kids: it is something that we learn and get better at with time and patience and understanding of the dog's behavior.

In addition to the video, The Calming Signals of dogs, I will recommend that you get a book entitled Culture Clash (go to www.dogwise.com and search first on Calming Signals and then on Culture Clash to get the real titles and authors). This book will give you more understanding of the differences between how we perceive the world and what is expected and how dogs perceive it. It is fascinating.

Then, if you have time, I suggest that you put all of Duke's exuberance to good use. Get involved in training him in something like agility, or tracking, or search and rescue, or flyball or a canine Frisbee club. You will be amazed: he will have you all to himself while you are doing this and you will both be working on something that will use a lot of his energy. Even going out in the yard and throwing a ball will help him use up his energy.

So think about rewards and consequences and take a whole new look at your relationship with Duke. Start now and be patient. It has taken two years for him to get to where he is now. It may take a few months to get him where you want him, but celebrate every step in the right direction. Oh, and don't let friends let him jump on them. Have them do the turning away thing and have them keep their hands down so he doesn't jump up to get at their hands. Be firm with your friends. Especially the ones who say they don't mind because they love dogs. Just tell them that you do mind because you love your dog.

Keep in touch and let me know how it works out.
Jubilee