Head thumping

[mrsnamsherf]

I have been considering taking Sam to visit a nursing home I visit with my church. He is allowed in with only proof of rabies. He is good with other dogs and people, but has one habit that prevents me from taking him. He thumps me with his head. It is more like banging, really. When I am petting him, he will lean into my hand so hard I have to pull it away. When I remove my hand, he swings his head back fast and bangs it into my hand. (I hope that makes sense.) I would like to stop both the leaning into my hand-it is not just snuggling, he uses all his weight, and the head swinging. He loves to be petted, so I don't really know why he does this, except it seems like a form of excitement. :shrug: Any ideas on how to make him stop?

Marie

 

[R Taft]

if i understand it right without seeing it, it might be his way of making you pet him.
If it happens I would immediately look away from him and ignore him. If this is not enough, I would give him timeout for a few moments........Allow him back in and make him do something before you give him a pet.

Make your petting a reward, so he has to do something to get this reward. he does not choose when you pet him, you choose and you only pet as a reward.

When things settle a little you can be easier, but maybe he has taken charge a little.

I always make Annabelle sit/drop or shake before a pet, because she can be borderline "take charge" personality. She can also demand and we make sure we do not allow it. We currently just ignore, but we used to have to give her the timeout.

They are all different and I find it hard to do this long distance, so it is only a possibility, tha might fix the problem

Also as an observation.....Dogs head thump one another to show they are superior, Annabelle often used to do it to Tessa, we also do not allow that, because of their past history

 

[mrsnamsherf]

Ronnie,

Thank you for the suggestions! :nod: I think you are right; it IS a demand for me to continue petting him because it happens after I take my hand away. I generally do only pet him when I invite him, or as a reward...he is even made to ignore guests who do not invite him. This head-swinging usually happens when I have decided to pet him, and then stop, but am still standing there.

I like the recommendation to ignore...he doesn't care for being ignored. As soon as I see him begin to swing, I'll just turn and walk away.

Thank you again, Ronnie...I'll let you know how it goes! :sunflower:

Marie

 

[Ginny]

Check out clicker training. You can click and treat any and all behaviors that aren't pushing behaviors. Karen Pryor has an awesome website and gives lots of good tips about using clickers to shape behavior.
http://www.clickertraining.com/

 

[R Taft]

Yes I use clicker training.....I love it

 

[mrsnamsherf]

I am also a fan of clicker training, but I am not very experienced. It's a wonder Sam figures anything out! :crazy: I wasn't sure what I would click FOR, exactly... But I'll check it out...maybe I can find an article on clicking in a similar situation.

Thanks, Ginny!
Marie

 

[Sierra Newfs]

I don't know how close you are to Sumner, but there is a fabulous seminar with Kathy Sdao and Michele Pouliot on April 14-15. If you'd like to learn more about clicker training this is a wonderful opportunity and there will be at least 4 Newf folks in attendance. I am traveling from Nevada to attend. I just saw both ladies at ClickerExpo in Portland a few weeks ago and am still wicked excited to see them again. The seminar info is up at: http://www.goodtimecanines.com/Sdao-Pouliot.html

Both Kathy and Michele are on the faculty of Karen Pryor's ClickerExpo. Kathy is a Certified Applied Animal Behaviorist and Michele is the Director of Research and Development at Guide Dogs for the Blind, Inc. Their websites are http://www.kathysdao.com/ and http://cdf-freestyle.com/ respectively. I can't say enough good things about them.

 

[mrsnamsherf]

Thank you, Becky! I am actually less than an hour from Sumner. I've been wanting to take a clicker class for ages...

Marie

 

[ElvisTheNewf]

Elvis does this too! It's usually in social settings - like when we're walking him and stop to talk to neighbors. He'll sit down, and since his head is right there it's easy to pet him without really noticing you're doing it. Once you stop though, he'll ram into you. He's strong enough to knock you off balance. We used to be horrible about just starting to pet him again, but once we realized we were encouraging him we would immediately make him lay down.

Oddly enough, he's fine not being petted if he's laying down, but if he's sitting next to you he thinks he should be petted constantly.

 

[YorkvilleNewfie]

Mila began paw thumping my arm a couple of months ago. Like Sam, she only would do it when I stopped petting her. I thought it was cute, until she did it when Rowan walked up to me for something, I stopped petting her and she thumped Rowan across the face on accident (she meant to thump me, I'm sure). So I did two things:

1. I ignored her thumps. I would stop petting her and if I could tell that she was going to lift her paw to thump me, I stood up and walked away.

2. I used the action to teach her "Paw" so that while I'm petting her, I'll break to give the command and praise her effusively when she complies.

Now she won't do it when I stop petting her and will happily do it when I ask her to.

 

[mrsnamsherf]

Kristen, it was clever of you to put it on cue. :nod:

Maggie, I know what you're saying about petting him without realizing it. Been there, done that. Dogs are great trainers! :roflmao:

It was puzzling to me because it isn't like the usual head nudge...my other dog did that. This looked more like an accident...he is not actually aiming for my hand. It is more like he gets impatient because nothing is happening and starts flinging his head around and dancing on his front feet. Whatever is in the way gets banged into. But, I see now that it is still intended to get my attention so I will pet him again. Goofy dog...so sneaky!

Marie