# How do I get my dog to leave me alone while I work???



## Teale (Nov 24, 2020)

I know GSD's are clingy. I know they require a lot of attention. But how can I get my boy to leave me alone while I'm working?

I work from home, but my boy (who's 10 months old) seems need my attention 100% of the time, so I have to crate him for the majority of my shift (I only work part time though). The only time he leaves me alone is when he's getting into something he shouldn't be.

Toys don't keep his interest on his own. Sometimes he'll chew on an antler, but usually not for very long. And there's only so many Pork Chomp bones I can give him.

We're working on learning Place command, but he's a long way off from staying for more than a few minutes.

Any advice? Or words of encouragement that it will get better with time?


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## SuperG (May 11, 2013)

Might give this a try......requires some patience on your behalf...but your effort today will be well worth it over the long haul.

Sit on the Dog, aka: The long down

The Sit on the Dog Exercise • Canine Life Skills



SuperG


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## davewis (Jan 7, 2020)

I am lucky in that my work is very flexible. Very few phone calls or meetings.

For us, it was a matter of practice.

1. Outside playtime or walk
2. Quiet work time for me.
3. Reward playtime for dog.

Repeat as needed.

Over the course of several months, Ole learned that if he entertained himself for a couple of hours he would get my full attention for a nice play session.

Is pups crate in your workspace? Do you have a consistent routine? If so, I would not feel at all bad about crating pup for longer and longer periods during your shift to help him figure that your worktime means naptime for pup.

If well handled, a crate is not punishment to a dog. Instead, it is a cozy den


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## Jen84 (Oct 19, 2020)

Teale said:


> We're working on learning Place command, but he's a long way off from staying for more than a few minutes.


Once your dog learns what you want, you have to correct him for disobeying. Here is a good video that may help you:









I don't use an elevated surface like in the above video (I use a thick comforter blanket), but it may help you. I also used treats to teach what I wanted. Further, I used a prong collar and long line to correct the dog. This process doesn't take as long as most people think. German Shepherds are smart and learn very fast. The mistake most people make is that they are teaching in "50 shades of grey", where teaching in black and white is often the easiest for the dog to understand.

Be firm, fair, and consistent and your dog will love you for it.


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## Teale (Nov 24, 2020)

Jen84 said:


> Once your dog learns what you want, you have to correct him for disobeying. Here is a good video that may help you:
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Thank you, this is super helpful! I haven't been using the prong collar while teaching Place, but I'm definitely going to start.


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## Teale (Nov 24, 2020)

SuperG said:


> Might give this a try......requires some patience on your behalf...but your effort today will be well worth it over the long haul.
> 
> Sit on the Dog, aka: The long down
> 
> ...


I will definitely give this a try! Thank you!


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## JunoVonNarnia (Apr 8, 2020)

I am with @SuperG 
Sit on the dog. The benefits of this exercise are very useful.

This is a long term exercise and basically teaches your dog to settle when you settle, but it has no commands. It is a way of being. It teaches your dog to do nothing for long periods of time. When I first did this one with my GSD, she took 30 minutes to lie down. It was whine/pull/sniff/pull/give me attention, but now she settles in about 15 seconds and stays in her down as long as I am in my position. If I get up, so does she. 

It's also difficult to ignore your puppy when they are so sweetly hanging out with you, but you cannot pet them.


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## SuperG (May 11, 2013)

Teale said:


> I will definitely give this a try! Thank you!



One other thought....a wise individual in this forum suggested to establish a distinct beginning and ending to many activities...some obvious and some not so....essentially an off switch as well as an on switch......building anticipation would be the "on"...not so pertinent to your posted situation but nonetheless part of the overall equation to clearly define the differences to your dog. Consistency is key... in a clear manner which the dog understands.

SuperG


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## giebel (Jul 28, 2016)

Jen84 said:


> Once your dog learns what you want, you have to correct him for disobeying. Here is a good video that may help you:
> 
> 
> 
> ...


The guy in the video was explaining the "okay" to us and the dog heard it and came down. The guy then acted like the dog didnt remain in its place....then he said ok.....and the dog went down....ummm


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## Jen84 (Oct 19, 2020)

giebel said:


> The guy in the video was explaining the "okay" to us and the dog heard it and came down. The guy then acted like the dog didnt remain in its place....then he said ok.....and the dog went down....ummm


I don't have a lot of time right now to watch the whole thing again. Perhaps, tomorrow.

Can you point at which time on the video you are talking about ?


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## Bearshandler (Aug 29, 2019)

The first part is making sure that the dog gets adequate mental and physical stimulation regularly. Beyond that I think it involves teaching your dog impulse control and being comfortable doing nothing in the environment you expect him to settle in. Most trainers I see do this using a place mat. They send the dog to it and he is only allowed off or rewarded once he settles and is calm. I don’t use one of those. I have a command for my dogs to go to their kennel. I’ll send them there if they are being unruly or over excited. I don’t close it so they can leave on their own. If they aren’t calm when they do, I will send them back. Usually they come slink back out and lay down. In a more public setting I would just use a down and reward calm behavior with praise or food. I would avoid anything like toys or play that would excite the dog too much. I have informal phrases that signal the end of play. They just develop meaning over time. If I say that’s enough they know to calm down.


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## Jen84 (Oct 19, 2020)

@giebel

I just watched the video again and it looks like you're correct. 

@2:40 on the timer Haz tells the viewers that "okay" is the command for dog to come off - dog hears him and comes off place and Haz corrects the dogs for doing what he told him lol

This just goes to show you that even pros make mistakes.

Nonetheless, this a good video for some people to learn a quick method to teach a "place" command.

Using this method, he teaches this command in one day. Most people don't need to work this fast and can modify his method to better suit their situation. For example, you could teach the dog "place" by using treats/clicker into position over the course of a week. After that, you could work on proofing "place" with a prong and distractions as he showed.

Very simple method that can be applied to many other things if you wanted.


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## WNGD (Jan 15, 2005)

There was a point where my adolescent dog would come up and nudge me or stretch and stare at me regularly through my work day (work from home), wanting to go out, they ALWAYS want to go out and it gets worse with the good weather. Dogs would much sooner lay on the deck or in the yard or be on a walk constantly than be in the boring house.

What helps is a repetition consistent schedule. They still come up and remind me when it's 5 o'clock (dogs have incredible internal timers) but I don't cave in off the schedule much so they know there's no point. Still, they get walked 4-5 per day even if a few are just down to the creek to stretch and pee.

I never feed them off schedule so they never beg for the same reason.


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## GSDchoice (Jul 26, 2016)

Maybe a long walk or workout with him, before you start your work hours? 
He might be more wiling to chill out while you work, then.


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## Teale (Nov 24, 2020)

I wanted to give a quick update. I started using the prong collar to correct while teaching Place, and after just one session with a few corrections, his place is now noticeably better!


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## Jen84 (Oct 19, 2020)

Teale said:


> I wanted to give a quick update. I started using the prong collar to correct while teaching Place, and after just one session with a few corrections, his place is now noticeably better!


That's great news.

I just thought I'd give you a couple more videos to help you understand the prong collar better and you might find the videos themselves useful as well:

@ 0:30 seconds on timer he talks about prong







@ 5:20 more info on prong







And this one is something to keep in the back of your mind too:






Good luck with everything and thanks for your report.


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## Biscuit (Mar 24, 2020)

@WNGD 


WNGD said:


> What helps is a repetition consistent schedule. They still come up and remind me when it's 5 o'clock (dogs have incredible internal timers)



My dog obviously didn't get the memo about daylight saving time here. I got one early wake up call. 🤦‍♀️


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