Help! 2yo+ bull terrier/jack russell cross behaviour issues

[TheZoo]

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Hi ... I'm posting here in the hopes that someone can advise me or point me in the right direction. We have a lovely, sweet, stupid 2.5 year old female crossbreed who we believe to be at least partially deaf (she is white and have been told that it's a fairly common occurrence) and her behaviour is getting to the point where I need to do some extra training ...

She is constantly ready and alert to whatever is going on around her, which I admit has it's advantages, but when she bursts from a laying position to running just because I stand up, it's getting dangerous when you consider she is a close to 18 kilo rocket. But the main problem, and the one that has me worried, is her jumping. Anyone who comes round, be they friend or family, are immediately jumped upon and it's getting too dangerous, as she is going to knock someone flying very soon.

I have read up on what people advise, and while the advice seems to be along the same line, I wanted to ask actual owners if they had any ideas as to which road I should be going down in order to curb her behaviour.

would it help if I explained a little more about her? If it would then here I go ... she is at the maximum height for an English Bull Terrier and around 18kilo which the vet said is the right weight. She is very active, always running around, and getting involved with us and the kids, but does suffer from separation anxiety which means when we come home from anywhere, she is over us like no tomorrows! She is house trained, spayed and is up to date with worming/flea treatments.

Can anyone advise me or point me to the right place to look, because I'm worried that someone is going to get hurt soon.

Many Thanks

Andy

 

[eingana]

Hi Andy

In your post you don't mention anything about your little one's exercise regime or what you've already tried. A dog's general behaviour can be affected so much by having enough exercise and stimulation during their days, but not doing the most exciting thing ever very often. The most exciting things cause a release of stress hormones that can take up to 3 days to waterfall through and be removed from the blood, so a dog that has just had the most exciting time doing the thing that they find the very most engaging is more likely to lose their training when they get back home when you think they should be calm and quiet after exercise. For this reason most behaviourists advise that dogs that are very 'on the ball' and over reactive only get to do their most exciting and engaging thing a maximum of twice a week.

For most dogs training them to not jump up starts with simple things like only ever giving attention when all 4 feet are on the floor and she's at least passably calm. Then you start with teaching them some commands that you'll later use in combination with each other.

One of the things that pups and young dogs really struggle with is delayed gratification. A way of teaching them a few seconds of delayed gratification which you can then extend is to show them a 'leave' command. Do you do that one already? A treat in a closed fist which enables her to smell the treat but not get at it, and you let her sniff and lick it until she decides that she's clearly not going to get it and then turns away- and at that point she has successfully left the treat and you say 'leave' and give her the treat. Repeat x200 then work to open hand, then to treat on the floor etc etc, and then work up the time she is prepared to leave the treat and you've got a dog that then has control of the delayed gratification thing. My dog, after years of practice, will now sit with motionless with a piece of sausage on the end of her nose, for up to 10 minutes before she's allowed it, and that focuses her when she really wants to run around and generally be in the way.

Then you can work on the 'stop' command, in which you body block her whilst raising your hand like someone conducting traffic, and say 'stop'. If you're lucky (or, like me, you're training a GSD who gets all commands on the second go) she will be able to pull herself up sharp when you body block her as she tries to bounce at someone else, at which point you'll be able to reward her for that and again, repeat x200 and then work that into stopping without needing the body block. The ultimate end of this one is for the dog to stop and sit wherever they are when you tell them to.

Another one you could work on is giving her a mat and getting her to go onto (and staying on) the mat when the door goes. Use very calm body blocking and instruction to get on her mat and then when she tries to leave the mat too early everybody stops until she's returned to the mat and sat down (reward and repeat x200). She is not allowed to greet people until she's asked to come, once the visitors are sat down, and even then she gets no attention or fuss unless all 4 feet are on the floor. The advantage of training her to sit on a mat is that the mat can go with you if you visit other people, so 'on your mat' means the same thing in different places.

These things may not seem to be connected, but they all teach her self control, along with things like sitting calmly for her dinner and sitting waiting to have her lead put on to go out for a walk. Once she's starting to learn the self control you'll have a much better chance to stop her from bouncing at people and the like. I work in GSD rescue and we see the same issues with our dogs constantly. The problems look huge until you start getting her to understand the language of what you want her to do. As soon as she gets the message that she will be allowed fuss but ONLY once she's sat politely until she's called and then behaves herself. If she's not prepared to do that then she gets removed from the room and put in another room until she's calmed down (5 minutes and then another try).

Good luck on curbing your unruly teenager