May 16, 2013
My 3 month old puppy is lunging at my face and redirecting doesn't work. She also jumps at the side of her ex pen constantly. I'm raising this puppy for protection and schutzhund. Nothing I do is making a lasting impact, suggestions?
Full Question:
I have a 3 month old professionally bred working line GSD. She is high drive with a tenacity to learn. I have both 8 weeks to 8 months and Working Puppy. While both videos are extremely helpful I still have 2 questions.1. We have "conquered" ankle and pant leg biting and work relentlessly on redirecting with hand biting. Little progress has been made there - but it is the lunging at the face that concerns me most. Once she begins the lunging it does not quit until I leave. She wears a lead at all times out of the crate, we use marker training and redirection - it simply does not work in this scenario. I am raising the dog for protection and schutzhund work. What suggestions can you provide?
2. I use an Ex-pen as you describe including use of toys, etc. I have been unable to stop her from constantly jumping on the sides. I saw Cindy handle Endy from the side not the top and tell her no when the behavior begins but nothing makes a lasting impact. Suggestions?
Thank you!
Cindy's Answer:
Where are you when the puppy lunges at your face? If you are down on the floor then I would recommend not getting down on her level. I don't know too many puppies of 3 months old that can reach an adult’s face if they are standing up.
I'd also give her some more mental and physical exercise. I'd be teaching her engagement for food, The Power of Training Dogs with Food.
You can also be teaching her the mechanics of bitework which will give her an advantage when she starts real bitework later on, Foundation of Puppy Bitework.
Both of these activities will drain some of her excess energy and give her constructive things to work on, as opposed to correcting her or trying to redirect all the time.
If she can't behave in an ex pen then she’s going to have to spend more crate time. We go over more day to day living with the puppy in our newer release Living with your Puppy.
Michael also talks about it here, in this video Q&A.
Once your puppy understands marker training and learns that staying on the floor earns rewards, you should see a fading of the jumping behavior. Simply saying NO isn't going to work, the puppy needs to understand the marker system and how to get what they want (rewards). If she's continuing to jump then it's likely you are accidentally reinforcing the behavior in a way that she likes. I'd rather NOT use an expen at all if you have a pup that is really disruptive and rowdy to the point of getting out. Endy was one of the most challenging puppies I've ever raised but learned the rules fairly quickly and I made sure she was really tired before I put her in there.
Cindy Rhodes
I'd also give her some more mental and physical exercise. I'd be teaching her engagement for food, The Power of Training Dogs with Food.
You can also be teaching her the mechanics of bitework which will give her an advantage when she starts real bitework later on, Foundation of Puppy Bitework.
Both of these activities will drain some of her excess energy and give her constructive things to work on, as opposed to correcting her or trying to redirect all the time.
If she can't behave in an ex pen then she’s going to have to spend more crate time. We go over more day to day living with the puppy in our newer release Living with your Puppy.
Michael also talks about it here, in this video Q&A.
Once your puppy understands marker training and learns that staying on the floor earns rewards, you should see a fading of the jumping behavior. Simply saying NO isn't going to work, the puppy needs to understand the marker system and how to get what they want (rewards). If she's continuing to jump then it's likely you are accidentally reinforcing the behavior in a way that she likes. I'd rather NOT use an expen at all if you have a pup that is really disruptive and rowdy to the point of getting out. Endy was one of the most challenging puppies I've ever raised but learned the rules fairly quickly and I made sure she was really tired before I put her in there.
Cindy Rhodes
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