# Pant Leg Pulling & Tips to Prevent Overuse of Commands



## MattL (Feb 17, 2011)

Greetings everyone:

So I brought home my 8 week old boy Ace last friday. He was really good the first couple days but he has gotten into the mischievous phase and has become quite a handful. I had orientation for a puppy class yesterday and it looks like the trainer wants to use " Leave it" as the signal for the puppy to leave something alone.

I want to try and train his tendency to pull on pant legs out of him so I started to tell him to "Leave it" with mixed results. I switched to telling him leave it and enticing him to chew his plush toy which worked better. The chain was Pull Pant leg->Leave it->switch to plush toy-> Click and treat. I did that a few times and tried to get him to do it without the plush toy without too much luck.

I decided that I would try to teach him "Give" with his toys to see if that would make make things easier but the main concern I have is overuse of commands. How often should I say it if he is not doing what I want him to do? I could see my repeated use of "Leave it" poisoning a very useful command or even teaching him that a pulled pant leg equals a treat.

So am I right to start with "Give" and go from there? Any other tips or feedback would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks everyone!


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## MaggieRoseLee (Aug 17, 2001)

Well there are 2 different things going on.

1) is that PUPPIES ONLY KNOW HOW TO PLAY BY USING THEIR MOUTHS! So it's not that they are being 'bad' or 'aggressive' are not listening. They want to play. They want to play with YOU. And the only, absolutely only, singular way they CURRENTLY know how to play with their mom, littermates and YOU is with their mouth. And we WANT them to play with us. They just need us to TEACH them a new way to PLAY PLAY PLAY PLAY PLAY! So think if the pant biting as your puppy inviting your to play, and YOU want to play but with a NEW GAME. So teach the new 'game' with the redirect but you don't just 'give' the toy. click this --> http://www.germanshepherds.com/forum/training-our-puppy-basic/134407-teaching-bite-inhibition.html

You need to give the toy and then PLAY WITH THE PUPPY AND THE TOY!!! That way they learn toy = play (what they want). Pant leg = no play 

You should be doing a whole lot of this with your puppy each and every day! ---> click this http://www.germanshepherds.com/foru...ime-owner/162230-engagement-key-training.html


2) is clicker training. You are brilliant cause you've already figured out when we use our voice/commands all the time it's confusing (and doesn't work). Generally in clicker training we NEVER use the word until AFTER our pups start understanding what we are trying to teach. Watch these 2 great videos about teaching the 'leave it'


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## Cassidy's Mom (Mar 30, 2003)

MattL said:


> I had orientation for a puppy class yesterday and it looks like the trainer wants to use " Leave it" as the signal for the puppy to leave something alone.
> 
> I want to try and train his tendency to pull on pant legs out of him so I started to tell him to "Leave it" with mixed results. I switched to telling him leave it and enticing him to chew his plush toy which worked better. The chain was Pull Pant leg->Leave it->switch to plush toy-> Click and treat. I did that a few times and tried to get him to do it without the plush toy without too much luck.


I'm not thrilled about how your trainer is having you teach "leave it". For one thing, you're using a command that the puppy does not know yet. I think it's better to get the puppy doing what you want, and THEN adding the command because you always want your commands to be associated with doing something correctly. If you keep saying "leave it" and he is able to get what he's supposed to be leaving alone, he's not going to make that correct association. Also, when you're training the leave it command, the situation needs to be managed so that the dog can't actually GET the "leave it" item, so I like to start by teaching it on leash (you don't need to pull the dog away from something, just stop short so that they can't get close enough to it) and then mark and reward when the dog stops trying to get it and turns back to you. Or you can do it with a treat on the floor that you can quickly cover with your foot to prevent him from getting it - mark and reward when he stops digging at your foot and looks up at you instead. 



> I decided that I would try to teach him "Give" with his toys to see if that would make make things easier but the main concern I have is overuse of commands. How often should I say it if he is not doing what I want him to do? I could see my repeated use of "Leave it" poisoning a very useful command or even teaching him that a pulled pant leg equals a treat.


I use "give" for something they've already got and "leave it" to prevent them from getting something in the first place, or in the case of play - give up the ball and then leave it, meaning don't pick it up again. Again, you don't want to tell him to "give" when he doesn't know what it means. I start by putting a yummy smelly treat right up to the dog's nose while holding onto the other end of the toy. When he drops it to eat the treat, I mark it ("yes!") and give him the treat. Once he's consistently dropping what he has for the treat, THEN you can say "give" right before that, and mark and reward. I also stop putting the treat up to the nose as soon as I don't need it anymore, and just treat from my pouch or a pocket. Showing him the treat is a lure, which you do not want him to become dependent on, so it's a good idea to fade the lure as early as you can or it will become part of the cue and he won't obey if he doesn't see it.

With the pant legs I'd probably just say "ah ah" or "ack!" and redirect to a toy, or shriek (LOUD and SHARP) as if what he's doing is painful.


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## MattL (Feb 17, 2011)

Thanks for the suggestions I saw those videos earlier and was starting to think the "leave it" Command wasnt being used properly. I have already paid in full for the training class but we will see if I end up going with this particular trainer for more classes down the line...

Cassidys Mom:

Thanks for the input I will work on the "give" command using your method and see how it goes.


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## Stosh (Jun 26, 2010)

Be patient! Ace is just a baby! He's going to do lots of biting over the next few months but it sounds as though you're on top of it. Congrats on the new puppy


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## Iannotti (May 17, 2009)

I got a pup too named Ace, he is one strong willed mofo!


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## RebeccaSierra24 (Jul 25, 2011)

I think all puppys are like this, and the best advice I can give you is stick with what you're doing. "Leave it" has worked really well with my boy, but I don't use it when he bites or pulls.. I just say "no" and ply his mouth off of it and as soon as he's off I say good boy. If he gets too much, I put him in time out. 

I don't mind my boy mouthing on my hand but if he's pulling on clothes or biting too hard, I won't put up with it. 

For me Bite Inhibition doesn't work but, it depends on the puppy. My boy is VERY STRONG WILLED! 

In saying all that, I've found that whenever you're walking around and he isn't pulling on your pants etc. say "good boy".

I say "good boy" whenever he is doing the right thing.. even if that is just laying around or letting me play with his belly.

I also think teaching "give" is a very good idea.

Ace is a cute name, good luck!!!


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## MaggieRoseLee (Aug 17, 2001)

MattL said:


> I have already paid in full for the training class but we will see if I end up going with this particular trainer for more classes down the line...
> 
> .


You can still go to class. Puppy classes are about the socialization, fun times out with your pup, and meeting other great pups and people. The car ride and structure of a weekly class are great.

You can supplement what you are learning here with what they are suggesting there. Best part about clicker training and all the positive work plus treats is at worst, your pup may not learn as fast. But it won't be 'ruined'.

The videos on 'engagement' are KEY at this age. And almost all of us do NOT do this as well as we should, and don't realize it until our pups are around a year old! The clicker trainers I put up also have tons of other videos you can use for reference.


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