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ClaireandDaisy
Dogsey Veteran
ClaireandDaisy is offline  
Location: Essex, UK
Joined: Jan 2008
Posts: 14,147
Female 
 
27-02-2012, 09:47 AM
Originally Posted by Wild Rose View Post
Keeping SA dogs off furniture actually works quite well. I hardly think keeping dogs off furniture and asking for a sit is going to ruin the dog-owner relationship. It gives structure to the dog's environment and makes her feel that someone is in control. I always keep new foster dogs off the furniture until they have been with us long enough to get comfortable and I can assess them. All dogs will learn "off" and most of them will earn the right to sleep on furniture. Toffee may "earn" the privilege of being on the furniture- after she feels secure enough to stop her nipping behavior.
You know, a dog really doesn`t care about furniture. They see no difference between a grubby old crate with a blanket and leather sofa. So shouting at them when they go where you don`t want them to merely teaches them that bad things happen when they go to certain places.
This method increases anxiety, which is why I prefer to teach an alternative behaviour.
Training a dog and rewarding him for `getting it right` strengthens the bond, and gives the dog confidence. Bellowing at a small animal does not. It simply frightens the dog into running away from things (in this case the sofa).
I recommend the OP reads a good training book that uses positive methods (The Culture Clash by Jean Donaldson is good. This will help you understand why your dog is doing this and how to help her become confident enough to get over it.
The real problem with using shouting (stern voice / No! etc) to change behaviour is that it simply displaces the original fear. The dog does not stop being anxious, simply stops being nippy in that way. The behaviour then changes to chewing the walls or pooping on the carpet. It is a symptom of stress. Stopping the symptoms doesn`t stop the cause.
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Wild Rose
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Location: Michigan, U.S.A.
Joined: Jan 2012
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28-02-2012, 09:22 PM
I never said the dog should be yelled at. Yelling at a stressed dog is not productive. A simple "off" works quite well, and praising when the dog goes to his own mat.
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pippam
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Location: n/a
Joined: Jan 2011
Posts: 1,938
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28-02-2012, 10:01 PM
I take it you dont have a crate???

If not then I would suggest getting one, you could put her bed in it, make it nice and cosey (provide her with no other bed))

to teach a dog to go to its crate make sure its bed is inside the crate,make it nice and comfy ensure that any children in the house understand they are not to shair the crate with the dog as the crate is supposed to be the dogs special safe area.

Reward when she goes in her crate make lots of fuss, make it a fun place that she can relax and she will do so when you leave. When your dog is happy about being in the crate you can introduce a command like In or Crate and then reward when she goes.

Crate training is very eas and handy especially for situations like yours but in order for it to work both you and your husband need to work at it. It may seem meen at first but once your used to the idea of the crate you will wonder what you ever did without them.
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Ben Mcfuzzylugs
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Location: UK
Joined: Mar 2008
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28-02-2012, 10:06 PM
Can I ask how you teach the dog what the word 'off' means?
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marley123
Dogsey Senior
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Location: zeals uk
Joined: Oct 2010
Posts: 547
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28-02-2012, 10:39 PM
Originally Posted by Wild Rose View Post
Keeping SA dogs off furniture actually works quite well. I hardly think keeping dogs off furniture and asking for a sit is going to ruin the dog-owner relationship. It gives structure to the dog's environment and makes her feel that someone is in control. I always keep new foster dogs off the furniture until they have been with us long enough to get comfortable and I can assess them. All dogs will learn "off" and most of them will earn the right to sleep on furniture. Toffee may "earn" the privilege of being on the furniture- after she feels secure enough to stop her nipping behavior.
your method made my dogs SA worse by miles,
they like being close to me, stoping that made them unhappy all the time,
i now have kongs and toys that they only get out
when they see me getting ready they get exited and wait in the kitchen to get their toys and kongs,
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