# Humping and biting after training



## Mrs_Mac (Mar 2, 2011)

Hi all, 

We've been getting on great with Fez, he is now 7 months old. He's very responsive to training and easily picks up commands, however, over the past few weeks, we've found that after around 15 mins of playing or training, his focus will move from the toy or treat we are using on to the person he's interacting with. He will then stop what we are doing and start to nibble toes, hump and nip at us.

This period of craziness will then go on for quite a while. We have tried putting him in time out, but he just seems to take ages to calm down.

We just wondered if there is a better way of dealing with this, or if it will just pass in time?

We are just keen to find out the best way of finishing a play/training session without him going nuts!


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## tanners_mama (Sep 22, 2011)

Mrs Mac -

I have noticed that Tanner (who is 4 1/2 months) responds much better to training when he is more tired out. I give him a good run/play session outside first, and then work on the training. I also know that I can only keep his attention for about 15 minutes at a time, and anything after that his crazy V mind starts to wander :

I would suggest a few 15 minute sessions throughout the day to help keep him from getting bored. Also, what has worked for me is training with Tanner when he is hungry. We do a lot of treat training, and then I usually will feed him after we do our training sessions in the AM and in the PM. This gives him something productive to do, and he will ususally be calm after he eats.

I may not be the best to give advice as I am still learning myself, but this is what has been working for me.

Also - humping usually means asserting dominance. Make sure he knows that YOU are alpha and that he gets no attention/affection if he acts that way toward you.


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## mswhipple (Mar 7, 2011)

It sounds like Fez is just becoming over-stimulated. Remember, he is still quite young. Maybe you could try shortening up the length of time you spend on each session. Instead of 15 minutes, try 10 minutes. You could then incorporate more sessions into the course of a day -- just shorter ones.


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## KonasPop (Aug 9, 2011)

As others suggested - get the nutz out first. Then focus on play and training. Exercise should come first. 

Does he get the zoomies? Try and get those out first before working with him. We usually worked very early in the morning or in the evening (post zoomies and a drink of water).


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## Mrs_Mac (Mar 2, 2011)

Thanks for your replies. I should mention, it's not just after training, but also after he's come back from a walk. He gets at least an hour in the morning and the evening. He just can't seem to wind down very well.

Other than putting him in his crate, I don't know what else we can do? It's impossible to ignore his behaviour.


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## Suliko (Sep 17, 2011)

15 minutes is a long time for a puppy! Well...at least for my extremely energetic Sophie it was. We did her training in 5 - 10 minute intervals. 5 minutes training, 5 minutes break, 10 minutes training, 5-10 minutes break. We also discovered that the treats we were using for training had lots of sugars in them and were making her antsy. She would start out fine and after a while would just get more and more agitated. Once we changed the treats, she was much better. 

Our Sophie was almost NEVER calm in or outside the house, even after hour-long walks, doggy day care, adventure walks...  So, you might just happen to have a little bundle of energy in the house! We made sure Sophie has plenty of things to chew on - toys, kongs, bones, bully sticks, etc. It kept her occupied for a while and gave us a moment to take a breather :


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## datacan (May 15, 2011)

When it's time to stop play and Sam is still what I consider over-excited I take him into my arms, hold and stroke his body for a minute. This has always worked on this dog and previous dog as well. 
Also works if he's unruly or just barks out of boredom or he just needs attention. May take a minute and during that time I make him sit and lie down after. Usually he also falls asleep. 
Don't know if there is any science behind it, though. 
But I believe that when you train a behavior, you ALSO train the dog to feel the emotions he felt while you trained the behavior ???


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## finch (Sep 19, 2011)

Datacan - What you are describing (holding and stroking him) is very similar to the Tellington Touch (aka t-touch) and it can do wonders to calm a dog down. This might work for you Mrs_Mac. When we started Finch in puppy socialization class, this was one of the techniques we all used to stop our dogs in the middle of play and calm them down for a minute or two and then release them to play again. It was a nice "timeout" and they learned how to bring themselves to a calmer mental state after being stimulated. I don't have to do this too much with Finch anymore (I find she can calm herself down easily now and takes her own timeouts while playing), but it is definitely useful tool to have. Here is more info and you can find lots of books and videos on it too: http://www.canismajor.com/dog/ttouch.html

Also, when Finch does get jumpy/nippy at me, I just turn my back on her and walk away, totally ignoring her. It usually only lasts for 2 jumps then she realizes she's not getting any attention and she moves on.

Good luck!


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## Mischa (Feb 17, 2010)

datacan said:


> I believe that when you train a behavior, you ALSO train the dog to feel the emotions he felt while you trained the behavior ???


That is an interesting point. It always works best when the training is fun for them. Part of the reason I'd never bother with the force fetch.

When my girl is restless, sometimes I stroke her snout from her nose up to her eyes. She can fight the sleepy eyes momentarily, but can't stay awake for long when I do that. 


Mrs Mac, when you say time out, do you mean putting him in a room alone?
My way of punishing a dog is to make them sit/down, and not move for a few minutes while I stand in front of them. That makes them get that they've done wrong instead of just being bored in a room alone.

When it comes to humping and nipping I choose to go above the sit/down punishment though. 
Dominant behaviour from my dog buys her an alpha-roll.


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## datacan (May 15, 2011)

I agree force fetch sucks the way some hunters train them. Toe hitch and ear pinch. I am inclined to train hold and fetch the way Malinois and GSDs are trained. 
I love the way Bart Bellon trains dogs: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GxzTRfVgFJ0


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