Triptych Posted March 30, 2006 Share Posted March 30, 2006 I have a beautiful 6 month old golden lab, he is for the most part, really well behaved and a pleasure all round. However, he has developed a habit of hitting and jumping at the sliding doors when he knows it is almost meal time/s. This means at 6pm every night, and at 7am every morning, he whacks himself against the door, or hits it with his paw repeatedly til he is fed. I have tried not to reward it, tried to tell him no each time he does it, but so far, no good. I am just not sure of the best way to effectively address the problem because at this point, I know I am not dealing with it the most effective way! I am also a bit worried that next week when daylight savings is over, its going to be 6am that he is waking me!! The door is right next to my 2 year old sons bedroom too, and he is sometimes woken by the banging. As I said, in most respects we have no dramas, this is driving me nuts though, please help! PS but isn't he SO adorable?! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nekhbet Posted March 30, 2006 Share Posted March 30, 2006 (edited) ahhhh attention seeking. Fun isnt it Its hard but do not make any contact with the dog AT ALL while he is doing this. No food, comment, or even going near the door. No animal will bash itself for no reason so if he sees he gets nothing for this action he will stop. Dogs are weird creatures, even something like being told off is attention hence a reward. Yes backwards I know but thats how they see it. It may be hard at first but if you hold off every time he does it he will improve quickly. If any of you are tempted to even yell out NO or make some sort of contact its 3 steps backwards. Conversely trying to stop this behaviour with loud noises/soaking with the hose or other methods can terrorise the pup for other things. I know its annoying but sometimes you have to do a bit of tough love. Wont hurt the puppy in any way. Plus labs being so food orientated if he knows that being a quiet, good boy means food he'll learn even faster! Give him a couple of minutes after he settles down, go outside but say nothing. He should be sitting for his bowl by this stage. Make sure he sits, leaves the food until you praise him for being good then he eats. If you have a toddler in the house its safer if the pup learnsself control at an early age too. My two learned to eat on command early for safety reasons more then anything else. Its never too early to teach a puppy basic obedience, so a little more of this may control silly things like this from popping up again. Remember with puppies, be consistant and persistant. Back and white is the key to success! Plus a LOT of patience on your behalf Edited March 30, 2006 by Nekhbet Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Triptych Posted March 30, 2006 Author Share Posted March 30, 2006 Thankyou for that, it is sound advice. He does sit for the food when I take it out and knows not to move until I command him to "take" so thats something! Had to laugh, I employ the same ignoring tactics for my 2 year olds tantrums... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LuvMyBC Posted April 1, 2006 Share Posted April 1, 2006 My dog also use to do this. I just ignored it (as horrible as the thumping sounded!), and she stopped doing it soon enough. Good luck with it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rugerfly Posted April 1, 2006 Share Posted April 1, 2006 oooooooooooooohhhhh naughty gundog. You will have to mix up his feeding times, piggy gundogs are terrible at expecting when you have a routine set up. You will probably have to try to mix up his feeding times, not so regimented. Does he like water squirted at him? (probably ) you could try a water squirter when he does it you have to catch him at it though. A big firm noooooooo with a growl followed by a whallop if he did it again fixed a dog i used to have that did it. Gotta be firm with them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Triptych Posted April 1, 2006 Author Share Posted April 1, 2006 Thanks all. He woke us all again this morning... but when I got up he had gone from the door so I hid behind the curtains, lol. When he came back and whacked it again, I jumped out and yelled NO!!!!!! heehee, he leapt in fright.... still, it didnt last long! I think mixing up his mealtimes is a very good idea too, and I will definitely do that as well as ignoring him and see how I go... Thank you again! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rugerfly Posted April 2, 2006 Share Posted April 2, 2006 oh im laughing at this hiding, i still do that too when mine winge...getting them out of the morning routine is hardest, its when they first see you and are anxious about gettting their food. It will take a while, but he will get used to you rising at different times and dont feed him first thing when you get up. Good luck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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