Nipping and backing up when I need to pick him up!

[Barney's Mom]

It's me again, needing some tips on another one of Barney's naughty ways!!

When I need (or want) to pick him up, he has taken to backing up, running away and of couse, growling that little brat growl! I know you know which one that is.....sounds like "grrrrrrrrow!" I try to grab him without making it a game, but every time I do he swings around to get a piece of my hand, then he tries to lay down on his back, which makes it literally impossible to pick him up!! My daughter is terrified to try and pick him up, and I want him to not be afraid to be picked up either. Whenever I do get him in my arms, he always gets ear scratches and kisses, and of course turns into a little sweetheart. So I don't know what the big deal is with him, other than he just enjoys making me annoyed! I really do think he enjoys it! I know this is becoming a big game to him, but I am concerned that if an emergency arose that I needed to pick him up fast, like something really bad in his mouth, or a danger of some sort, I won't be able to get him and things would get ugly.

I've tried treats to lure him, but he comes up to the treat, then when I go to pick him up, he repeats the whole thing over again!

Help!!!

[Milopup]

My pup has always been the type to be picked up only on his terms, not on ours. He doesnt appreciate it when we pick him up at our own whim.

[Tracy A.]

Hhhmmmm

Well, rolling over on his back, with his belly exposed is a sign of submisson. I wonder if he is trying to play with you, or if he is fearful of being picked up...... I know that i've seen my boys do both as puppies... esp the fearful of being picked up thing after a vet visit or something unpleasant that resulted from being picked up- like anal gland cleaning

If treats don't work to lure him in, try a Squeaky toy or something else that he just 'loves'.... or perhaps cheese or liverwurst..... once you find the magic bait... rinse and repeat just like a training session to learn sit.

Tracy

[bradl]

Step on his leash. Then reel him in.

[goforette]

Step on his leash. Then reel him in.

I like this idea.... HA! Luckily my girls haven't done this yet, I'd be so hurt if they growled at me when I wanted to mush all over them. But if they started to - I'd definately try this.....

[tena]

step on the leash, reel him in and put a harness on him. Sophie lives in her harness it makes it easier to handle her all around

[Tracy A.]

Step on his leash. Then reel him in.

LOL I forgot about doing that!

[AllAboutPetey]

Sounds like obedience classes might be in order and SOON. Can your daughter also go as his handler? Sounds like little Barney needs to be reminded of the pecking order...

Belle also wears a harness all the time (except at night when sleeping in her crate). We call it her "handle". It does come in handy for grabbing her, as she sometimes runs away too when being called or if she has some sort of prize in her mouth. We are teaching her "drop it" and to "sit" to be hooked up to the leash, but it's been a long process. True harness story: Last week Belle was outside with DH while he was cleaning the pool. She always tries to jump up and grab the leaf basket on the long handle, and while doing so fell in to the deep end. She's not a water lover or a swimmer, and she went in head first. She did swim to the surface, and DH quickly grabbed her by her harness. Thank goodness she was wearing it!

[Mollyrocker]

Cricket has given us a bit of grumblies when we pick her up when she is "busy"...I was responding by holding her tight and ignoring her behaviour and not putting her down until she settled and on our terms. Last week I posted in B&H about her upping the ante and responding twice by nipping and snarkiness..well I won't tolerate it and she was given a sharp "no" and a timeout in her crate. It got me upset enough to make an appointment to see our trainer to deal specifically with this problem in a postitive/clicker based way...my appointment isn't until this Thursday so over the weekend I started thinking about how I can improve her response to being interrupted and being picked up..

I clicker trained my Lab and I have started clicker training Cricket.This weekend I thought about ways to use the clicker to change this behaviour without resorting to harsh correction. I decided that I would pick Cricket up often and in a variety of settings this weekend and if she didn't grumble or fuss, I clicked(marker) and treated with a yummy piece of hot dog. My husband was to do the same. And if she was "busy" digging or exploring, we would first get her attention by saying her name and when she looked at us we click and treated. Then we would pick her up and click and treat and put her back down and allow her to resume whatever she was doing..this works great! I hope this continues!

She is learning very quickly that being picked up means good things are coming to her. I see immediate improvement in just a few days.

We have been practicing recall informally, pay attention to me, and sit and downs..and come with me, this way..etc ,all with the clicker. SHe is a very eager student..she really gets into it.

This Thursday, I am sure they can help me improve on my techniques and offer some other advice.

My advice is get in some puppy training classes and practice NILIF methods to make sure Barney sees you as a leader.

Good Luck and I would like to hear how you progress.

[Barney's Mom]

Sounds good, but I am not sure what NILIF methods are. Can you explain?

[Mollyrocker]

I am bad at explaining things and I am not sure I can link to articles on this forum..

basically NILIF stands for "Nothing in Life is Free" and it is a method to teach your dog that you hold the key to all that is good in his/her life and puts you in charge and control. If you google "NILIF" you will get articles about it. Basically,your dog has to work for everything she/he gets, pets, treats, even food, meaning she will have to behave correctly and appropriately.

For an example, I make Cricket sit before feeding her meals. She must be in control and polite. Only then does she get to eat.

If she coes running to me for pats and attention, I ask her to sit and then say "good girl" and then I lavish her with the attention she wants..

[Barney's Mom]

I would say we are practicing the NILIF technique for the most part. Barney must sit before he gets his food, sit before a treat, sit before I throw his toy for him to retrieve it, etc. The only problem with sitting for a toy is that his excitement goes from his sitting bottom to his mouth because he starts barking like crazy! When he barks, I put his toy up where he cannot get it and pause the game for a while. Then I make him sit, and I then retrieve the toy and we start playing again. It seems to work pretty well.

This pick up thing is the one that is really bugging me. Does this sound like a good process? I create a command word for picking him up, like simply "up, Barney!". First make him sit, then give the command. If he lets me pick him up with no problems, I give him a treat. The only problem is, I won't always have treats! Just give lots of praise I guess.

Regarding the harness, I have one for him that said it was for small dogs, but when he was smaller, even at the smallest adjustment, it seemed to overpower him. I will try it again and if it fits better, I may just leave it on him all the time. That sounded like a good idea.

Thanks!

[robbie380]

back when i first got my cairn, chico, he wasn't trained at all and he was about 10 mos old. he was horrible with biting and nipping. as we know cairns are very strong headed so i had to make it totally clear when nipping and playful biting was appropriate. i tried simply closing his mouth and saying no biting when he would start, but that didn't work because he thought we were still playing. eventually i realized i had to hold his mouth closed until he started squelling (sp?) so he would be uncomfortable and say "no biting". this has worked great. we still allow play biting when we are rolling around but when he gets out of hand he understands what "no biting" means.