[nagdu] Improving House behaviors

[Nicole Torcolini]

Okay... I am sure that others will have more to say, but here goes.
	As various people have said on the list, you need to be proactive
instead of retroactive. First, if you do not have a way of showing him where
he should be, I would recommend getting a towel/blanket or a dog bed. Train
him to go to that area on command (e.g., call it blanket). Reward him for
going there and staying there. Give him lots of rewards and praise for going
to his blanket. Whenever he gets up off of it without permission, send him
back to it and reward. Okay, now you have somewhere to put and send him, so
onto the next step. Tell him to go to his blanket and stay. Phrase and
treat. Get some human food and walk slowly toward the couch, telling him to
stay the whole time. If you hear him get up, put the food back and send him
back to his blanket. Eventually, he will learn that being on his blanket is
more rewarding than trying to eat your food.

As for taking things, I would recommend not using the word no. No does not
have any meaning to a dog. No. No what? As much as possible, try to keep
things out of his reach. Does he know drop it or leave it? When he picks up
something that is not his, tell him to drop it, and then tell him to go back
to his blanket, rewarding him for doing it and possibly giving him one of
his toys. You could also try just outright distracting him with one of his
toys without even telling him to drop the object that he stole. Also, make
sure that his dog toys are not stuffed animals or fabric like. Will he pick
up stuffed animals and clothes if you are monitoring him? If so, you could
do a training session. Does he chew on the items that he takes? Does he have
plenty of toys of his own? Do you think that there is a reason that he finds
your things enticing?

I know that others will have more ideas, but these are my thoughts for now.

Nicole and Lexia who does not kidnap stuffed animals

-----Original Message-----
From: nagdu [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Julie McGinnity
via nagdu
Sent: Friday, August 01, 2014 10:07 PM
To: NAGDU Mailing List,the National Association of Guide Dog Users
Subject: [nagdu] Improving House behaviors

Hi friends,

I feel a little ridiculous even asking some of these questions, but my dog's
house manners are not acceptable to me.  I've only had him for too months,
so maybe I'm expecting too much out of him, but I hope not.

First of all, if I eat a snack or a meal while sitting on the couch, he is
all over me.  I tell him to sit, and nothing happens.  At that point, I want
to put him on tie down, but I also don't want tie down to be a punishment.
I do not currently have a crate and honestly don't have the funds to buy him
one right now.  The other thing is that I want to deal with the problem; I
want him to be able to lay down by me while I eat a meal or a snack.

The other problem is that he picks up stuff-clothes, stuffed animals, stuff
like that.  He does it sneakily, but even when I've found him taking things,
he has not learned.  I tell him know and put the thing away, but he is not
learning that this is not ok.

Any suggestions?  Sometimes I feel like when I take something away from him
or give him a command, it doesn't even register in his head that I'm telling
him to do something or telling him he can't have something.  BTW, he listens
well when we do obedience, and his guide work is great.  But I have high
expectations when it comes to house manners, and I want productive ways to
work on them.

Thanks guys!

--
Julie McG
National Association of Guide dog Users board member,  National Federation
of the Blind performing arts division secretary, Missouri Association of
Guide dog Users President, and Guiding Eyes for the Blind graduate 2008 "For
God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who
believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life."
John 3:16

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