Difference between revisions of "Troubleshooting"
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== Jumping and Mouthing == | == Jumping and Mouthing == | ||
Revision as of 20:39, 28 January 2012
I want to preface this section with two caveats:
- Dogs are not perfect. Nobody's dogs are perfect. When I first started getting into training, I thought that professional trainers' dogs must surely be impeccably behaved near-robots who never barked at strangers, always executed their cues with total precision on the first request, and probably didn't even shed. Yeah, no. Turns out they bark and blow off commands and leave hairballs everywhere, just like my mutts. Dogs are dogs. Expect them to act like it.
- Most troubleshooting in foster care is about management. The dogs that come through WAGS generally do not have serious behavioral issues. Most of what you'll be dealing with is relatively simple stuff: chewing, counter surfing, nuisance barking, and so forth. These issues are best dealt with by not giving the dog a chance to practice bad behaviors, i.e., by managing his environment to keep him out of trouble. That's really all you have to do; nuisance behaviors tend to die out on their own if the dog doesn't have the chance to practice and get reinforced for them.
In the unlikely event that you end up with a dog whose issues go deeper than the basic problems discussed here, please consult with your foster coordinator. Severe fearfulness, aggression, or separation anxiety may warrant professional intervention and are certainly beyond the scope of what the average foster caregiver should be asked to handle. Under no circumstances should you have to keep a dog whose behavior puts you, your household, or the dog herself in danger.
Also, please do not hesitate to reach out if you are feeling overwhelmed by any problems. If they're causing you serious stress, they're not "minor" issues -- and please believe me when I say that it is much, much easier to intervene before a behavioral problem develops into a habit. It's never too early to ask for help if you have any cause for alarm.
You can always rely on the foster network for advice, help, or just to vent. We all love our foster furballs very much, but we also all recognize that they can be a giant pain in the ass sometimes.
With that in mind, here's a quick guide to troubleshooting some of the most common problems you may encounter.
Jumping and Mouthing
Jumping and mouthing are two separate behaviors -- there are dogs who jump at you in greeting without mouthing, and there are dogs (especially puppies) who are very mouthy in play without jumping -- but they often occur simultaneously, they both derive from uncontrolled excitement, and they're both addressed in similar fashion, so I'll cover them together here.
Dogs usually jump and mouth because they're excited to see you (which is why this behavior so often occurs when you get home from work) and want to reach/lick your face. It's an exuberant greeting behavior, and in a way it's a good problem to have, because it indicates that your foster dog is delighted to see you, so your bonding efforts have met with some success. But it's still pretty annoying and it's not likely to endear your foster dog to prospective adopters, especially if he's a big dog, so you should take steps to correct it without damaging your relationship with the dog. Don't punish him for being happy to see you.
The solution to jumping and mouthing behavior is to withdraw your attention completely the instant your dog starts to rear up. Stand up, cross your arms, and turn your back on the dog. If he comes around your side and tries to jump on you again, turn again. You might have to spin in slow-motion circles, but keep your back turned on the dog, don't make eye contact, and keep your arms folded (this prevents your hands from being a target -- many dogs will nip at your hands in an effort to get your attention, and that in and of itself can be enough fun to keep them going). Ignore him utterly.
When your dog finally settles down, reward him with gentle, soothing words and praise. If he offers a Sit, that's awesome! If he has all four feet on the floor, that's good enough -- you can shape him to an even more polite Sit later. It is likely that when you finally deign to pay attention to him, that will be so thrilling that he'll start jumping and mouthing again, which means you have to deliver another dose of the silent treatment. But each episode should be shorter than the last, and eventually (which may be a long eventually, if your foster pup is an excitable high-energy dog or has a long history of being reinforced for this behavior in the past) the polite Sit will become his default greeting.
If your dog is mouthy but not necessarily jumpy -- a common problem with puppies who like to play in this manner and have sharp little baby teeth -- then troubleshooting involves a slight variation on the same theme. Whenever the puppy's teeth come in contact with your skin, even if there's very little pressure, say "Ouch!" loudly and act like you were actually hurt. Stop playing immediately and ignore the dog, standing up with arms folded if necessary to get your point across. Wait for the puppy to offer some calm, conciliatory behavior, then praise and reward him for that.
It might take a while, but responding as outlined above should discourage and eventually extinguish jumping and mouthing behaviors.
