Friendly Pawing

[sandgrubber]

Goofy is an oversized, extremely friendly 3 yr old ESS who has learned not to jump up. In general, he's a good boy who wants to please.  He's also sensitive. 

 

Unfortunately, he has replaced jumping up with pawing.  This hurts, especially if you're wearing short pants, and tends to add dirt streaks to clothes.  Lots of feedback in various forms (kids yelling, screaming and avoiding; adults giving calm reprimands or holding at neck) hasn't gotten the message through. It's as though he doesn't connect what his paw is doing to the feedback he's getting.  I can't imagine he's getting any reinforcement.  No one appreciates it and he constantly gets mild negative responses to the behavior.  How do you stop friendly pawing? 

 

Note. Training the kids may be harder than training Goofy.

 

[Mairead]

He probably is getting reinforcement in the form of attention. If he doesn't get enough exercise and training otherwise, he will likely continue the game. Good luck with tiring out an ESS.

[Dogsfevr]

Get a stuffed dog .
Springers luv their humans .
Springers luv to spring ,Springers luv to be close to there humans.
So what exactly does the dog get to do that the humans like??
What form of human touch is it allowed ??
 

[BDJ]

I am not familiar with ESS's, but agree that pawing bloody hurts.  Unfortunately he is getting a reward, your (and the kids) attention.   A sensitive dog often responds to what I refer to as 'disappointment' (yes, a human emotion but best way to explain it).   Give a sad|disapproving look, shake your head, and turn your back and walk away (look and head shake less than a second,  very quick).  He want to please and if done every time and at the first paw touch he will get the message.

 

Yes, plenty of mind and body energy expending activities needed etc.  There are plenty of other ways for him to get your attention and play with you (or just snuggle and hang out), but pawing is not fun - and can be bloody dangerous for the young and old,  nails and paws can shred tender skin and/or cause significant bruising.  The dog has no intent to cause harm, but trust me, I know from experience that a 'pawing for attention ' can put a grandma in hospital for a few days (and no the nails weren't long or sharp, just bloody hard).  A nuisance for most adults but not for everyone 

[Little Gifts]

Albert paws but it is gentle or he paws the furniture you are on instead of your body. I've never had a dog who needs so much physical contact and lots of it was in ways that could injure (I got bruised ribs to show for it one time) so we've had to adjust our bodies and redirect to protect while still meeting his needs. Now we invite him in for contact with open arms and bending over and creating a safe space for our organs, we talk to him softly, acknowledge him regularly when he is lying calmly, we give full body rubs/massages most mornings before we even get out of bed, we let him lean into us but shift our bodies if he turns around scrambling with his legs, we touch all his favourite spots (which is really his entire body). We also welcome him whenever we get home, like we are as pleased to see him as he is to see us and strangely he is less over the top because he knows what's coming rather than just seeking it. So I guess we are trying to meet his clear need for contact throughout the day rather than waiting for him to seek it and being pushy. It is not always possible though. I work from home and can have a hectic few hours and turn around to find the lounge and floor covered in naughty things he has collected trying to get my attention. He's also featured on a few Teams meetings pawing me on the shoulder to turn around to him.