Help needed with barking and jumping...

[Guest Anonymous]

Hey- Have not been here in a while, I've been crazy busy, Dresden is very slowly improving but if you all have time to answer a question I'd really appreciate it.

First of all, just so you know, she's six months old.....she's getting bigger still (she's close to 40 pounds but is quite tall and skinny) and all her adult teeth are in. As Hobbit diagnosed her she is an Australian Cattle Dog/Catahoula Leopard Dog/Possibly Doberman mix......Very smart, VERY stubborn, and is extremely slow learning new commands (or I guess she just decides she doesn't want to obey them..). After two months of sitting and staying EVERY time she goes in and out doors she still tries to break her stays 75% of the time.

Second, I've tried all the stuff I've seen to teach dogs not to jump on people but none of it has worked......Making her sit and petting her, ingoring her (she's getting big for that ), telling her off and pushing her down..........etc etc etc. Any suggestions ? She does it incessantly and it is very annoying not just to me but to everyone she encounters (and I've tried having her sit while on a leash when she meets people but as soon as she gets any slack she's all over them)....She is also still biting at people a lot and actually nipped at this (annoying) man who was at our house the other evening....Puppy behavior or something to worry about ? I know I need to be socializing her but most people get irritated with her unless they are dog people.

Third, she is still barking at everyone all the time. She stands in front of them (her victims) and just barks and barks at them, she usually has a very smiley playful look on her face and she does not seem to be being aggressive towards people but it seems pretty strange and is very hard on the ears. She has an earsplitting bark with this high pitch in it that makes your ears ring.......She also still barks at me when I correct her, like when I tell her off when she's checking out the dinner table or counters etc........

Thanks for reading this and if you have any suggestions it would be wonderful.............

[Shannon_C]

Do your visiters respond to her actions or ignore her ?....it sounds like she is attention seeking.
What you could do when she is barking or jumping up at them, is get your visitor to give your dog a biscuit only when she as stopped.
When all paws are on the floor and she as stopped barking, then can she have the treat.

It will take time and patience but it will be worth it!

GOOD LUCK!

[Guest Anonymous]

The Dumb Friends League has a lot of really great free articles on training and behavior problems. Their web site is www.ddfl.org.

Andrew
www.lostpetfoundpet.com

[yellowlabsrule]

When she jumps on you lift your knee and say sit, if you lift your knee everytime she does it, she might get sick of it.

[Guest Anonymous]

I think your best bet for training and for socialization is to get her into a formal obedience class immediately, and if she truly is ACD/Catahoula mix, here in lies the slow to learn factor which is not what it is at all. Both these breeds are very smart, but very stubborn and the personality of each breed is something that must be worked on continuously. I would not recommend a Pet store obedience class. both breeds need a strong but gentle trainer and someone who is familiar w/the breeds and has been around a while. Good luck. She sounds like a conquerable challenge and very interesting.

[eric]

I saw one trick for dealing with dogs that constantly jump up on some problem pet type show on Animal Planet.

What you do is this: When the dog jumps up on you, grab her front paws and don't let go. At the same time, don't look at the dog or pay her any attention. Look off to the side, talk to someone else, whatever, but completely ignore the dog.

After being held for a several seconds, the dog will become uncomfortable and will start to squirm to be released. Don't let go and continue to restrain the dog for a short period of time (I'd say probably no longer than a minute). Release the dog and repeat whenever she jumps up.

This is supposed to work on two levels. 1) The dog is not getting the attention she is seeking 2) Most dogs do not like to be restrained in this position. Soon, she will hopefully learn that: "Man, everytime I jump up this person does something I really don't like, so I'm not going to jump up anymore."

A temporary solution for when guests come over is to have her leash on before guests come in. Simply lay her leash on the floor and place your foot on it where it naturally contacts the floor. When your guests come in and she tries to jump, she is basically anchored to the floor and will be unable to jump.

Barking is a more difficult behaviour to correct, especially with certain breeds. The one thing I have read which appears to work is, ironically enough, to teach them to bark at a given command. Teach her to "speak" and give her lots of praise for speaking, then introduce a "quiet" command and give her lots of praise for that too. With some practice, you should be able to gain control of her barking.

I am not too familiar with the breeds you list, although many guard dogs are naturally barky, especially if there is alot of stimulation. The doberman may have some influence on that. I have a German Shepherd who is very prone to barking. If he hears something or sees something out of the ordinary, he starts barking.

My lab/shepherd mix is usually quiet as a mouse, and will only bark if somebody is actually coming up to the house. It's funny, if Travis starts barking we usually wait to see if Sam will start barking. If Sam doesn't bark then Travis is just barking at nothing.

I just mention these points because the breed (or mix of breeds) of your dog may mean that she is naturally more vocal.