Doggy Manners?

K

Kelsey

Forums Regular
I have an eight month old sheltie rescue who is such a love but also came with some bad habits and could use some manners! I’m not sure if these are common puppy/sheltie issues and it has been seven years since I’ve dealt with “puppyness." However, Henry is not only a puppy, but he’s a BIG puppy (already 35 pounds), so the puppy phase combined with his size exacerbates the issues:

1. Henry is a JUMPER. Our previous sheltie had hip problems and never jumped, so we’ve never dealt with a jumper and are not quite sure how to train him NOT to jump.

2. He is such a sloppy drinker and dribbles water and slobber all over the kitchen floor. Is there a method to cut down on/eliminate the constant dripping? Again this is an issue we've never dealt with before, as our previous sheltie was very dainty.

3.He has no concept of personal space (what dog does?!), but I’m constantly tripping over him and getting slimed by his wet nose because of his close proximity. I love that he likes to be so close and I have lots of snuggle time with him, but I’d prefer not to be tripped and slimed constantly. :ick

Thoughts/Ideas??
 
You sure Henry doesn't have Golden Retriever in him, or maybe he grew up around a Goldie because it sounds like the bad habits of a lot of retriever puppies I see.

Jumping. There's two approaches to that. First one to try is to turn your back - this works for many dogs but it makes some persistent dogs worse (they'll just keep following you around and jumping). The other approach is 'stand like a tree'. No talking, no looking at them, just stand completely still and remove all attention. When all four are on the floor and they are acting calm you can give them a pat. But keep it low key.

Sloppy drinking. It's really unusual for a Sheltie to sloppy drink because they do tend to be delicate drinkers. Has a vet checked him to make sure it's not an abscess or something else in his mouth? However, I will say my male, who has an extra long nose and small underbite drinks by hanging his nose over the far rim of the bowl and sipping that way. I assume he has to drink like that because of underbite so he doesn't have to stick his nostrils in. So maybe it's from the shape of your dog's mouth. Or he could be obsessed with water if he didn't have ready access in the past. I'd suggest slowing down his drinking. You can buy slow-drink or anti-gulping bowls to do this. Also, if he drinks too fast or too much at once just gently pull him back or get his attention to break the focus.

Personal space can be a pain. It could also be separation anxiety. I have a male like this too - as soon as I dress he's next to my leg in case I go out. He's pretty good now but having sep anxiety I need to regularly reinforce the distance stuff. There are lots of different things you can do for creating the distance.

There are several commands that are useful for this. First is teach him to a formal stay. Start close and short, increasing the distance and building up the time over a period of weeks. Another useful command to teach him is 'go to your mat' and praise him when he's on the mat. These commands help him realise he can be safe and see you without being attached to your leg. You should also teach 'back' which is done by stepping into them.

When he is too close and you want him to back off immediately step into his personal space. A dog's personal space is front on, so just step into his face (slowly). If you add the word 'back' when you do this he can learn the back command at the same time.

How food focused is he? If he likes his food have a container of treats or kibble handy (nothing too rich because you'll use a lot). Keep it somewhere nearby but not on you and throw small handfuls away from you so he goes to look for treats instead of hanging by your side (if it's on you he will keep going back to you, you want him to hang around the treat container). Eventually, when you have a good stay, you can move the container to another room and have him stay by the container with you just going regularly back into the room to give some treats then going back out.
 
As usual Caro, your advice is always spot on! You always give great and detail advice. REALLY helps in times where sheltie owners are stuck and can not figure out behavioral issues.

I have to say, Caro that my Chance drinks the same way since he also has an under-bite. However, he does not seem to slobber. All my shelties, past and present have never been slobbering dogs. Seems strange.

Hope Henry will adjust with these detailed instructions. I have seen all of them used in my obedience classes with dogs having these issues.

Good luck and let us know how it is going! :fl
 
My Enzo is a sloppy drinker--only because I think he's in such a hurry to move on to the next thing that he just sloshes it everywhere! There are some bowls you can buy that will slow them down/keep down the mess, but I just put a placemat under the bowl and wipe up any messes.
 
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