Christiane Blenski

Readers ask, the author answers ...

... according to the best of my knowledge, after reading (and understanding!) many dog books, attending workshops, doing trainings and having exciting experiences with Jaden. And readers posed questions - here is a brief selection. Just click on the question or read them through from top to bottom..

Our Labrador always hops onto the sofa – what can we do?

My puppy doesn’t cease biting, how do I react properly?

My dog is nervous, barks when the doorbell rings and then jumps up on guests. How can I change this behaviour?

Ugh, my dog eats droppings – what can I do?

You haven’t found the answer you were looking for? Just get in touch with me!



Our Labrador always hops onto the sofa – what can we do?
If you do not want your dog to lie on the sofa, make its place to lie palatable to it. Put some treats there repeatedly and always reward your dog when it is lying there. If possible, shift your dog’s sleeping space near the sofa or put a dog blanket next to it, so that your dog may lie on its blanket while you are sitting on the sofa. If procurable, always close the living-room doorway if you are not staying there. So, your dog cannot hop onto the sofa secretly. This is particularly true when you leave the house. In case your dog cannot reach its water bowl and its basket when the living-room doorway is closed, put them e.g. in the hallway in the meantime. And pay attention that really ALL family members immediately send the dog away from the sofa with a severe: “No!”, when they cop it lying there. Subsequently, tell your dog to lie down on its place to lie by saying: "Down!" and reward it when it keeps on lying there.

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My puppy doesn’t cease biting, how do I react properly?
It is important to keep calm during these biting and gnawing attacks. Try to keep cool and react with brains and do not bristle. This is the only way that your young dog is able to clearly understand the following reactions.
When your dog bites you, give a loud and clear feedback by saying "Ouch!!!". Your dog has to learn that human skin is sensitive and that it cannot play with you like with another dog.
Pull your hand, or whatever your puppy caught, out of its mouth slowly and calmly. Then turn around at once and leave the room, in which your dog is, without a word. Then wait for a while before re-entering the room (or turn away from your dog noticeably and take no notice of it!).
The aim is that the dog hears your cry of pain and learns that you evade it subsequently, leave it and ignore it. Your puppy didn't mean this; it wanted to play but failed this way.
Preventively and supportingly, do not give your dog the opportunity to gnaw at shoes etc. Stow away everything. If you cop your dog gnawing, do not say a word but remove the item out of your puppy’s mouth and offer it a chew bone, a treat or a game (with a toy it is allowed to bite into) instead. By the way, chew bones are the only toy, which may be at your young dog's disposal all the time.
The classic among hints says that a tired dog is a good dog. Join a dog obedience school with your puppy and walk it sufficiently every day (such young dogs are walked more often but always for a short time only). Many dog obedience schools offer puppy playgroups. Take this chance! Thereby, you can learn something first of all and then your dog can sow its wild oats together with the other dogs.

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My dog is nervous, barks when the doorbell rings and then jumps up on guests. How can I change this behaviour?
As a matter of principle, I can recommend you above all the following. When the doorbell rings - no matter, what your dog is doing - keep calm. Do not look at your dog, do not address it, do not call it, and do not scold it. Make towards the door calmly and then tell your dog determinedly: "Thanks, it's enough!". This is the first step, so to speak. Additionally, teach your dog how to execute the commands "Sit!" or "Down!". You told me your dog already knew these commands. Then it would be great if you could proceed two by two.
Person 1 holds the dog on the lead when the doorbell rings (a third person kind enough to ring the bell or a CD with ringing sounds is necessary). Person 2 calmly makes towards the door while person 1 says to the dog: “Sit!”. If the dog sits down, it certainly gets a delicious treat. In the meantime, person 2 opens the door, talks to the "ringing partner" and closes the door. Repeat this several times.
This will not work out in the beginning – your dog will strain at the lead and wants to get to the door. However, you will be surprised at your dog learning so quickly: “I see, I will get something delicious when keeping my seat and my mistress deals with the door.” In the long run, your dog will learn that it is more worthwhile NOT to run to the door and become upset, but simply to keep its seat. The aim is the following. The doorbell rings. Your dog looks at YOU, you tell it to sit down and the dog keeps sitting until you send for it.

It is important and essential to tell your guests to ignore the dog when it jumps up on them. When it jumps up on them, they shall turn away at once and neither scold it nor say anything else to the dog. WHY? The dog must learn that it doesn’t capture our attention by barking, jumping up or something like that. People turn towards the dog not until it is calm – our attention rewards it for keeping calm.

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Ugh, my dog eats droppings – what can I do?
Well, our dogs sometimes do strange things… Some people say that dogs, which eat the droppings of other dogs, lack enzymes. I recommend melding the dog’s food with e.g. pineapple, which is abundant in enzymes. This can help. I haven't had a try (although Jaden went through such a phase awhile, eating horse and human droppings - the latter was really yucky).
In order to change this behaviour and according to my experience, it helps to provide your dog with another stimulus to prevent this long for eating droppings. Do you play with your dog when you are on your way? Do you carry treats? Do you rather always walk the same way? In that case, make the walks more exciting.
If your dog focuses on you, the treats and the ball flying just for it, such undesired behaviour becomes less interesting. In each and every case, I would stop the eating of droppings immediately by saying a common signal word (I say: "Spit it out!"), leashing the dog, thereby taking out the ball attached to a string and then playing with the dog on the lead (and later without the lead). The eating of droppings is often a phase passing by.

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