Just 2 of me and Romeo. and a question..
- Thread starter Fran101
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None of my hounds are big lickers - Bob *hates* dogs licking him, so I don't know... I guess we just never let them get in the habit?
Autumn is another story. She'll still try to sneak a few in there, but I think it's because she's my only small dog and I always carried her around and cuddled her as a baby? No idea, really... Abby's pretty bad, too, but I've never met a pit bull that was lick-crazy! And no one but me tries to discourage it, so that might have something to do with it...
Autumn is another story. She'll still try to sneak a few in there, but I think it's because she's my only small dog and I always carried her around and cuddled her as a baby? No idea, really... Abby's pretty bad, too, but I've never met a pit bull that was lick-crazy! And no one but me tries to discourage it, so that might have something to do with it...
chihuhauas tend to be lickers, its how MANY of them are, vixie is an obsessive licker...
in terms fo changing it...
if he licks you tell him no and reward him for stopping.
i also found teaching a "kiss" comand to be helpfull, ive found with many behaviours if you put them on a cue there easier over all to manage
ruby loves kisses but she knows shes not to lick me unless i ask for a kiss, at which point i get one lick and tell her "ok" which is a "stop" cue. now i dont even have to tell her ok, she just does , 1 kiss and done.
vixie however is only mildly under control, all the wowies enjoy cleaning you...you might have noticed they clean their eyes like a cat does washing their paws then whiping their eyes, the breed is meticulous overall and grooming you is part of that...
its also comforting to them, and a way of showing affection. (least in my experience with chihuahuas over the years)
putting it on cue has helped her a little, but if your not paying attention she will sit by your side in the evenings and just lick untill you cant stand it...
in terms fo changing it...
if he licks you tell him no and reward him for stopping.
i also found teaching a "kiss" comand to be helpfull, ive found with many behaviours if you put them on a cue there easier over all to manage
ruby loves kisses but she knows shes not to lick me unless i ask for a kiss, at which point i get one lick and tell her "ok" which is a "stop" cue. now i dont even have to tell her ok, she just does , 1 kiss and done.
vixie however is only mildly under control, all the wowies enjoy cleaning you...you might have noticed they clean their eyes like a cat does washing their paws then whiping their eyes, the breed is meticulous overall and grooming you is part of that...
its also comforting to them, and a way of showing affection. (least in my experience with chihuahuas over the years)
putting it on cue has helped her a little, but if your not paying attention she will sit by your side in the evenings and just lick untill you cant stand it...
The trouble with telling them "no" or scolding in any way, licking is often a submissive, appeasement gesture and if they feel scolded in any way, they just lick more to tell you, "Okay, okay. I won't. I'm sorry. See? I'll even lick you more, to show you that I won't do anything to trouble you, whatever that is..." LOL.
I put it on cue AND use my "enough" cue that I've taught a long time ago and generalized to many different circumstances, like barking or anything they're doing that I'd like them to quit doing. When he licks when cued, give him a little attention (not too much) When he learns "enough," and he stops, pop him a little treat and some CALM praise.
When his licking starts un-cued, (un-asked for) the cue, "enough" (or whatever you choose) is spoken, the dog goes on the floor, off your lap, all attention stops. (no scolding or harsh sounding words...it's all just matter-of-fact) This happens immediately and consistently. Ignore for half a minute and give him another try. Repeat as needed.
It will likely take a couple weeks of absolute consistency for him to get onto it. It's been working fine for him all along....getting to lick and getting reinforced for it. So, the behavior is well engrained. But he can be trained with a well learned "enough" cue. You can also teach him "enough" with other things too, where what he's doing isn't a no no all the time, but you just want him to stop when you ask. Barking is a good example of where some barking is fine. But you want him to stop after a few barks. There are a few good ways to do that. Putting it on cue is one good way so the dog sees a contrast between barking when cued and stopping when cued.
(in a nutshell, not very complete)
Give cue "speak" (IF you're sure you can prompt the bark right away)
Prompt the bark (door bell or whatever gets him barking)
Dog barks
mild praise..(nothing big..."good, great")
Give cue, "enough" or "quiet"
Show treat up close to his nose to prompt quiet...(don't give yet)
3 - 5 seconds of quiet, tell him "goooooood"
Dog is distracted and quiets
After 3-5 seconds of quiet, give treat.
Repeat with less and less visability of treat.
Work toward phasing out the shown treat but still furnish treat that you get from a counter top or table.
Repeat with longer and longer durations of quiet before giving the treat.
The sequence is important and it moves from one to the next in the sequence rapidly.
This is one of those very rare situations where you are giving a cue before getting the behavior, unlike most things we train. But you must be quite certain you can get the behavior to follow the cue so they will be paired together.
This is a game and you volley back and forth between cued barks and cued quiet. Same with the licking....cued licking, cued stopping. I don't know why I went into the barking. But anyhow, it's the same principles used.
I put it on cue AND use my "enough" cue that I've taught a long time ago and generalized to many different circumstances, like barking or anything they're doing that I'd like them to quit doing. When he licks when cued, give him a little attention (not too much) When he learns "enough," and he stops, pop him a little treat and some CALM praise.
When his licking starts un-cued, (un-asked for) the cue, "enough" (or whatever you choose) is spoken, the dog goes on the floor, off your lap, all attention stops. (no scolding or harsh sounding words...it's all just matter-of-fact) This happens immediately and consistently. Ignore for half a minute and give him another try. Repeat as needed.
It will likely take a couple weeks of absolute consistency for him to get onto it. It's been working fine for him all along....getting to lick and getting reinforced for it. So, the behavior is well engrained. But he can be trained with a well learned "enough" cue. You can also teach him "enough" with other things too, where what he's doing isn't a no no all the time, but you just want him to stop when you ask. Barking is a good example of where some barking is fine. But you want him to stop after a few barks. There are a few good ways to do that. Putting it on cue is one good way so the dog sees a contrast between barking when cued and stopping when cued.
(in a nutshell, not very complete)
Give cue "speak" (IF you're sure you can prompt the bark right away)
Prompt the bark (door bell or whatever gets him barking)
Dog barks
mild praise..(nothing big..."good, great")
Give cue, "enough" or "quiet"
Show treat up close to his nose to prompt quiet...(don't give yet)
3 - 5 seconds of quiet, tell him "goooooood"
Dog is distracted and quiets
After 3-5 seconds of quiet, give treat.
Repeat with less and less visability of treat.
Work toward phasing out the shown treat but still furnish treat that you get from a counter top or table.
Repeat with longer and longer durations of quiet before giving the treat.
The sequence is important and it moves from one to the next in the sequence rapidly.
This is one of those very rare situations where you are giving a cue before getting the behavior, unlike most things we train. But you must be quite certain you can get the behavior to follow the cue so they will be paired together.
This is a game and you volley back and forth between cued barks and cued quiet. Same with the licking....cued licking, cued stopping. I don't know why I went into the barking. But anyhow, it's the same principles used.
Aww, cute.
Abby is at her most affectionate first thing in the morning. She wants her breakfast. When I open my mouth, she manages to slip a tongue in. I turn away, it is just a reflex.
I am sure I read somewhere that it can be intrepreted as wanting to be fed (going back to when mum would regurgitate food)... I'm not sure how reliable my source is though.
Abby is at her most affectionate first thing in the morning. She wants her breakfast. When I open my mouth, she manages to slip a tongue in. I turn away, it is just a reflex.
I am sure I read somewhere that it can be intrepreted as wanting to be fed (going back to when mum would regurgitate food)... I'm not sure how reliable my source is though.
Well Catsi, I don't think it's always necessarily an appeasement gesture, unlike a lot of people. I truly believe that it is also for affection or other reasons, like maybe you just ate a sweet roll or something. LOL. But yeah, these little dogs often tend to be a little on the submissive side, just naturally, because of their size.
It could go either way with Abby I think... it certainly looks appeasing BUT she only does it when I wake up and she knows I feed her first thing... Maybe she is just excited with the prospect of breakfast.
Whatever the reason, I won't lie... it's lovely to get some 'loving' attention first thing in the morning, tongue or no tongue.
Whatever the reason, I won't lie... it's lovely to get some 'loving' attention first thing in the morning, tongue or no tongue.