I’ve been working with my pup on teaching basic commands and some fun ones in order to exercise his mind and to expel some of his energy. I’ve been trying to keep them short and fun (15min or less usually). The things I seem to be having the most trouble with is behavior training.

Here’s what I’ve been having trouble with. I’ve been working with him on the biting/nipping, jumping, and barking. All of which can be quite annoying, and sometimes rude. When I get home Dexter starts to jump on me, I tell him off (help him off if he doesn’t listen) and praise him when he does so. That used to work, but now I get home, he jumps I tell him off, he normally listens to the off but then starts to bite at my clothing, I tell him no bite, so he starts barking at me (I’m assuming because he wants to play) I’ve tried flat out ignoring the behavior to wait until he calms down, but it’s hard to do when he nips at your clothing because you don’t want holes in you work clothes (or any of them for that matter). At this time I haven’t had the chance to take him on his walk because I just got off work and walked through the door and I know he has tons of energy that he needs to expel. Regardless of what his energy level is, I still see this as unacceptable behavior and would like to figure out a way to remedy the situation. He will also do this when we are playing together, he’ll start to bite and I correct it by either muzzling his mouth with my hand or thumb on the tongue and tell him “no bite”. He stops biting and starts barking. Most of the time the barking can be stopped by putting something in his mouth, but sometimes it gets to be a bit much. Should I be sticking him in his kennel when he’s doing this? Seems like he barks for really only a few reasons, he wants something you have (mainly food, and I don’t give him people food, but sometimes he steals it off counter tops which is a whole other issue that I can’t seem to figure out how to get it to stop, I normally watch him like a hawk whenever there is any food around so that I can break this behavior, but sometimes he breaks through my eyesight), he’s board, or can’t get free because he tangled himself up on his exercise line.

Have any of you had the same issues? And how did you break your pup from them? I’ve been very consistent with him, is it something that he’ll just “come around to” or should I try something different? Also, where do you guys place your dog when you eat? I kennel him sometimes, but I want him to get the point that food on the table or food that others are eating is not his.

I tried doing a search for this, but I wasn’t able to find any information on here. If these questions have already been addressed please feel free to point me in the right direction.

Thanks in advance for all your input. I should have some more vids to share sometime soon I hope.

I'm no expert(a first time dog owner), but I have had similar experiences when I come home (barking, chewing, just generally "rude" stuff).

The ignoring method works for me when I come right in the door. That means no touch, no talking, no eye contact, nothing. In the beginning, if this means having to leave the room, I do that too. It's not until the dog lies down and is calm for a full 5 minutes do I call him over. More about this method is written in the book "The Dog Listener" by Jan Fennell.

Can't say too much about the barking when playing as I'm still working on that. So far I've been trying to teach "Bark" and "Quiet" on command to get him to differentiate between the two...

Shorthairs are opportunists and unfortunately for us they have lots of things they like and find rewarding for us when it comes to countersurfing. My oldest shorthair is now 8 YO, but I call her Perfect Belle because I could set food on the floor and she would not touch it until I told her it was ok. Not even if I left the room. She was born that way. Then I got Halo and same thing. Then came my first taste of reality, my outlaw boy, Ringo (named after the real outlaw, Johnny Ringo). He has made me a much better trainer because he has challenged and tested me every step of the way. He also was successful at partially retraining Halo so he would have a partner in crime. Not so much luck with Belle, and Belle will come tattle to me on the criminals when they get into mischief. Ringo is now training his niece, Fauna, but fortunately for me she is not into countersurfing and so far Uncle Ringo has not be able to persuade her to join him and her mother, Halo, in the game. Needless to say with two very sneaky countersurfers I have to stay on my toes. Good news is the persistence has paid off unless I slip up and leave something really tasty on the counter, then it is back to square one.

kpwlee - I agree. I love redirecting all that energy and showing them how to behave and get the reward. In the end, all the GSPs I have been around want to please. The stronger the bond the harder they work to please you. My "outlaw" is one of the nicest working GSPs in obedience (If I can just get him to quit visiting his neighbors during the long sit), and he is very competitive. Both he and his older half sister were very head strong, but now willingly work for me to the point when we are heeling I have to pay attention or I can run them right into something that we heel past. That is focus, and I love it, but it is not something that is achieved lightly. You have to earn the dogs trust and respect and vice versa. It is a team effort, never forget that.

Love to hear about success with a challenging pup, and remember they harder the dog is to train, the better a trainer you will become.