Hi All
My dog will jump aggressively towards people, even going so far as to bear his teeth or try and bite them if we try to give someone a hug or kiss etc. So far he has been given sharp No, may have been on the lead so pulled back and used pet corrector compressed air, all of which work to a degree, but he still does it. Bit of a concern, he will also do it to the people in the house (i.e me, partner and kids) albiet to a much lesser degree. It is worse when people come to visit.

Any ideas would be very welcome.

Merry Christmas BTW everybody.

Many Thanks
Brian

Hi Bryan

Our old Pointer used to try and push his way between any of us hugging, always with his tail wagging, and no teeth or jumping, I used to say it was him being jealous, but I was probably guilty of humanizing!

I would take a very big guess at it being him trying to call the shots, like he is demonstrating he considers he ‘owns’ you, but I am a rank amateur at these things, and I am sure you will get a more accurate answer from one of the more experienced folks.

Brian,

Hmmm... I have no clue what "pet corrector compressed air" is but...

In the first instance, I presume you want your dog to be around you, as a pet, and to be enjoyed by your family and, so it seems, anyone who visits who you want to give a hug and peck to.

So, is the dog trained? Will it place, sit, down on command? If it will, the problem is essentially solved. A person visits, the dog is placed and/or downed, and the greetings begin with the dog watching.

You are either the leader of the parade or you are not. The dog either is conditioned to its position as subordinate to humans or it is not. Again, I am presuming a pet is the objective.

If the doorbell rings, the dogs bark, I let them bark a few times, I silence and place them, I go to the door, I greet my visitors and ask them if them if they would be more comfortable with the dogs out of the picture. I don't expect people to endure the dogs' poking and prodding.

If people in the household are not first in the pecking order, and the dog conditioned to accept it, you have a basic training problem.

To teach: verbal commands 'NO' 'SIT' 'DOWN' 'PLACE' 'OUT' 'DOWN' 'ENOUGH' etc.

The doorbell rings, or a knock on the door, manage the dog first.

If the dog tries to dominate a family member, training.

When you sit your dog, it should stay until you release it, and the same goes for any command.

If you are correcting with little result, you have not trained the dog.

"If people in the household are not first in the pecking order, and the dog conditioned to accept it, you have a basic training problem."

I so agree with the posts above mine.

Even though the dog is calling the shots here, I'm guessing it's because the human (1) lets him in all kinds of daily situations and (2) hasn't trained the WANTED behavior.

My own preference is usually (almost always, in fact) to train what I want rather than just try to correct away what I don't want.

"The doorbell rings, or a knock on the door, manage the dog first."

Ditto. "Just a minute," and manage the dog first, because the dog does not yet have "visitor behavior" trained.

Also, do you know what NILIF is?

Can we help with teaching proper doorbell behavior and practice/reinforcement?



ETA

I see that I have really only ditto'd Mike's post.

Edited by Connie Sutherland (12/16/2012 10:46 AM)
Edit reason: ETA

Just an observation here. Are you sure this is jealousy as opposed to a protective instinct? I had a dog many, many years ago who would show similar behavior if a visitor to my home gave me a hug, and I believe it was because the dog was misinterpreting the hug as possibly an attack or assault on me and was doing what his breed had been developed to do, protect his owner.

I'm not a dog behavior expert, have not seen what your dog is doing, just offering another POV based on my previous experience.

MHO is: very very unlikely.

Also MHO, I think that a whole lot of "protective" behavior is resource guarding behavior.

This is just my opinion, again, and our world views are colored by what we ourselves have experienced. If you have experienced a naturally protective dog, then that will be part of your POV.

I personally doubt (very strongly) that this is what the O.P. is seeing.




eta
I know that Cheri knows I'm debating an opinion and not quarreling with her.



Edited by Connie Sutherland (12/16/2012 11:21 AM)
Edit reason: eta

Hi everyone
Thanks for all your advice. I will try to teach him better manners when people visit. People at the door is a big issue. When someone knocks, he goes mad jumping up and down at the window and no matter what i do or say he is completed fixed on the window / door. If i see them coming before they knock, i can block his way with my body, but he will try to get around me to jump up on the couch to get on the window cill.

So yes Connie - advice with teaching proper doorbell behavior and practice/reinforcement? would be excellent.

Hi Mike - The dog is a family pet of just 1 year old BC. He can sit, down, stay, wait and heel reasonably well. But if he is focused on something like the above he goes deaf. He gets regular excercise, training whilst playing with the ball as a reward, as well as training throughout the day. Thinking about it now though he needs more training specific to the house to teach good manners, rather than the basic OB stuff. I use NILIF all the time, so i think he is just a very determined little dog.

He will go in his crate at night no problem and sleep right through, but doesn't like being in there in the day. I have tried teaching him to go in for treats, which he will do, but will not stay in there willingly. I have put his kong in there with him, but again prefers to be out and will scratch and cry. If i leave him he will eventually stop and settle down. So if i have to put him in his crate in the day, he may try to snap at me to stop me.

BTW he has also been neutered.

Many Thanks Everyone

 Quote: Connie Sutherland

MHO is: very very unlikely.

Also MHO, I think that a whole lot of "protective" behavior is resource guarding behavior.

This is just my opinion, again, and our world views are colored by what we ourselves have experienced. If you have experienced a naturally protective dog, then that will be part of your POV.

I personally doubt (very strongly) that this is what the O.P. is seeing.

eta
I know that Cheri knows I'm debating an opinion and not quarreling with her.

Yep, I know that, Connie, and I take no offense! We all have had different experiences. I've just looked at some of Brian's previous posts, and it appears the dog in question is a Border Collie, not a breed designed for personal protection.

In any situation like this, regardless of the dog's motives, I definitely agree that training and proper management are essential!

eta: Brian and I were typing at the same time.

Edited by Cheri Grissom (12/16/2012 11:41 AM)
Edit reason: eta

"In any situation like this, regardless of the dog's motives, I definitely agree that training and proper management are essential!"

The most important thing here.

 Quote: Brian Sheppard

Hi everyone
Thanks for all your advice. I will try to teach him better manners when people visit. People at the door is a big issue. When someone knocks, he goes mad jumping up and down at the window and no matter what i do or say he is completed fixed on the window / door. If i see them coming before they knock, i can block his way with my body, but he will try to get around me to jump up on the couch to get on the window cill.

So yes Connie - advice with teaching proper doorbell behavior and practice/reinforcement? would be excellent.

Hi Mike - The dog is a family pet of just 1 year old BC. He can sit, down, stay, wait and heel reasonably well. But if he is focused on something like the above he goes deaf. He gets regular excercise, training whilst playing with the ball as a reward, as well as training throughout the day. Thinking about it now though he needs more training specific to the house to teach good manners, rather than the basic OB stuff. I use NILIF all the time, so i think he is just a very determined little dog.

He will go in his crate at night no problem and sleep right through, but doesn't like being in there in the day. I have tried teaching him to go in for treats, which he will do, but will not stay in there willingly. I have put his kong in there with him, but again prefers to be out and will scratch and cry. If i leave him he will eventually stop and settle down. So if i have to put him in his crate in the day, he may try to snap at me to stop me.

BTW he has also been neutered.

Many Thanks Everyone

" He can sit, down, stay, wait and heel reasonably well. But if he is focused on something like the above he goes deaf. He gets regular excercise, training whilst playing with the ball as a reward, as well as training throughout the day. Thinking about it now though he needs more training specific to the house to teach good manners, rather than the basic OB stuff. I use NILIF all the time, so i think he is just a very determined little dog."

He does need basic Ob stuff. If the basic Ob stuff was actually complied with, we wouldn't have a thread.

That is, if you said "down" and the dog complied, how would the dog be doing anything you talked about in the original post?

What Mike says here:
"When you sit your dog, it should stay until you release it, and the same goes for any command. ... If you are correcting with little result, you have not trained the dog."

So my question to you is, how did you add duration to these commands and how did you proof for distraction? Because a command that he does "reasonably well" is useless. It usually means that "he'll do it unless he feels like doing something more interesting."

For now, and I cannot stress this enough, you need to manage the dog before you open the door. This is a situation that is going to get worse without intervention.

I have to go train, but I'll happily look up threads about doorbell behavior. And I know you'll get more feedback here; experienced folks are concerned.

Kudos for recognizing the problem and seeking help.