Has anyone had a pup that paws at you to get your attention when you are sitting down reading/computer etc and how did you stop it or retrain to do something else? My pup is now 7 months and I didn't deter him when he was younger as he was usually telling me he wanted to go potty. But now he's strong enough to drag my arm away (and spill coffee etc) and today I got a hefty whack to my ear knocking my glasses off -want nip that in the bud quick! He's not dominant, so I guess I just developed a habit in him when he was young, not thinking ahead for when he's bigger!.
Anna, I have a 7yo mixed breed that can be pushy when she wants my attention. She used to be terrible about pawing, scratching, or just shoving her head under my hand while I was holding a hot cup of coffee...that sort of thing. I taught her that the way to get my attention is to sit politely in front of me. While she isn't 100% (when she gets excited, she tends to forget), she is, I'd say about 80% better. I did this partly through ignoring her inappropriate bids for attention while simultaneously having her sit nicely, then giving her all the attention she wanted, as long as she was sitting nicely. Occasionally I have to reinforce this, as I have a family who are not all as consistent as I would like. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />
Since I can't edit my post <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/mad.gif" alt="" /> , I just wanted to add that in some cases, ignoring the inappropriate isn't enough, so you might have to use some serious body language, like when she paws at you, fold your arms tightly across your chest, get a serious look on your face, and put your nose in the air like you're just too good for her. That's a pretty clear communication that you don't like what she's doing, while not giving her any attention for it.
Oh, and one last thing. The timing is really critical. As long as she is pawing, do what I said in my post above. The very second she stops pawing, get happy and praise her, and give her some positive attention. She should make the connection pretty quickly.
Thanks, I'll try that. He's also very good at understanding body language so hopefully he'll get out of the habit before I have to start explaining to people its actually a dog giving me black eyes!
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