Help! I'm fed up w Honey's PAWING!

[wAggie]

not only does she do it to Chocolate, but me as well!

Yes, it's a form of attention, and she gets plenty of it.

I've tried pawing her back, that obviously hasnt worked for a moment, she probably treats it as a game. it's a habit or worse, something beyond her control

anyone have suggestions on how to reduce, if not eliminate, this behaviour?

[Luba]

Choco will have to sort it out himself

When she does it to you ignore her. Turn your back on her or get up and move away from her.

Holding on to her paws, staring at her or giving her any sign of attention if even a verbal 'no' gives her some attention.

Ignoring it is the best thing you can do.

Like the pic of her and the new beau...she shouldn't be jumping up

He's rewarding her by holding her paws like that. Should just turn and ignore her behaviour. Say 'off' and ignore it!

If she gets the idea of the word 'off' when she jumps up on you then you may eventually begin to use that when she's really pawing at choco a lot.

Honey's always been pawsy and pokey...she wants to have the centre of attention. She would constantly bug me even at the computer, poke poke and paw and jump up. Just to get my attention. So I made no eye contact or communication with her...just ignored it and eventually she walked away.

A few mins later I would approach her or call her to me and give her attention that way.

It should work but ya have to be consistent. If she has been allowed to get away with it for a long period of time she'll wonder why suddenly she can't do it any longer. Will take time!

She's a good kid! So are u

[wAggie]

Luba, ur not that old, are you, calling me a KID?


Anywho, what disappoints me is that after a month w u, she was still pawing.... and now that she's been doing it soooooooo many months later, it's gonna be an extra long elimination process


*chanting*

I think I can, I think I can...

thanx luba,


are there any suggestions for quicker results?

[Luba]

Well golly geeze thx, I wouldn't mind being called a kid!

Oh funny thing, some lady said to me the other day what was it now...pondering (memory going lol)...

Was talking with someone in general conversation, she wasn't all that much older then me maybe only 10 yrs and she said to me 'Well aren't you a good girl'

I raised my eyebrow (you know like how John Black does on Days haha) then thought okay well thats alright, I won't care about that one, woo hooey!


About Miss Honey Bee well, I don't think you're gonna have any quick results my dear. Persistence and time I think! She was really really bad when I first brought her from the shelter but a LOT of shelter dogs are like velcro, they wanna be next to you always!

By the way has this gotten worse since your new boyfriend has been in the picture? Seems like if it has could be a change in the home thats bothering her. Getting attached to someone they leave etc... it affects them like it would us, through emotions.

Just a thought.

Seriously try ignoring her completely when she does it. But when she isn't doing it, give her attention!

'Kid' lol

[Goldenmom]

I have 3 Goldens that do this. One not too bad, the other a little worse, but the new one Ricki! Whew! My arms and legs look like I have got beaten. As she is about 7-yrs old, there is no way to change her habits now. This is not only an attention getter, it is a stress reliever for her. When a storm is coming etc... the pawing gets worse. We just had her groomed and her nails shortened, but oh my, they hurt! My husband is threatening to duct tape her paws to the floor (just kiddin for those that think otherwise )

We thought about socks and a few other things. With my other golden girls, we started to squeeze their paws a little harder and they are doing much better.

Heather, Shelby, Lexi and Ricki

[glasslass]

My mom's toy poodle, Corky, was begging at the table (barking). We taught him to say "please" and he stopped the barking. Guess he figures he won't do it for "free". Maybe if you have him "shake hands", the reverse psychology will work as well. Just a dumb idea.

[babykitty]

My black lab Sindar used to do this alot until I started acting more dominant. I would make sure that I would ignore her like Luba said, then I would make her lie down and ignore her for a few minutes then give her attention when I wanted.
I also started making sure that I was more dominant than her, like making her wait at the door so that I could enter first, and eating first and then feeding her. As I became more dominant she stopped the pawing, and now lays beside me waiting for attention.

[wAggie]

OMG, goldenmom, I think u hit it on the nail!!!!!!!!!!

Honey is quite anxious and prone to stress. She shakes a LOT when she is excited, and it's even difficult to calm her down. And when I say this, I'm refering to a situation when there's someone at the door. She is barking and jumping non-stop. I ask the person on the other end to wait a moment and bring Honey and Choco into another room to calm them down. Choco sits and stays calm, Honey's twitching her bum, she CAN'T calm down, she gets anxious and whines........



glasslass, I tried reverse psychology on her as well ( ) and unfortunately, it hasn't worked. if anything, she was probably encouraged to continue doing it bc i gave her the attention... or game (but not in the sense that she became more hyper) ...


I'll ignore her as much as I can in order to eliminate the unwanted behaviour and at the same time try and reduce her stress levels...

my poor girlie

[Luba]

Honey's trembling is more excitement I think, cause she does this when she's 'on point' as well looking at a bird for instance.

A lot of pointers do that, esp if they've been trained as hunting dogs type deal. They get fixed on holding their pose and are so excited to 'go go go' they can't stay still the adrenaline goes goes goes!

She's full of energy that girl!! Bottle it Aggie and you can make a fortune I tell ya a fortune!!

[glasslass]

If you figure out how to bottle it, it'll probably be illegal. I'd like to buy some!

[pointerfan]

From my experience ( I have a pawer & a noser), the best thing to do is ignore her. It's easier said than done. Amelia often starts nosing me (pushing my hand with her nose) when I'm using the computer. When she doesn't get the attention she wants she eventially walks away. Julia is a pawer. I've suffered many scratches and nearly a black eye from her paws. My Mom calls them "lethal". I've grabbed onto her paws and smacked them (lightly) telling her no! When that didn't work I just dodged her advances and ignored her & she eventually stopped. They still do it but I know how to stop them now. Time & patience! Good luck!

[wAggie]

Luba, honestly, Honey doesn't possess the same kind of "energy" that Chocolate exhibited when he was younger...

she doesn't show intense excitement on walks as Chocolate, she's as eager to get to the yard as she is to get back INTO the house...

... games, food, treats, .... again, she's not as wild as Chocolate has been.

All her "energy" goes into barking at neighbours coming and going out of the house. (Somebody should have told her she wouldnt pass as a very good guard dog )

OR it's surpressed and the energy comes out through her shakes.

[Spoiled]

I don't know if this has been mentioned before because I haven't read all the posts, but try shoving her off you and then ignoring her. Also try a lound "NO," "OFF" or "STOP THAT" with her. She'll catch on.

[Luba]

That's because Honey would rather be hunting

[wAggie]

Yeah right!!
Honey haunts Chocolate, not "hunts"

[Luba]

Now THAT is funny!!!

You got your wit on! go girl!

[chico2]

My Chico(black cat)actually does the same if he wants attention,it is cute and of course easier to deal with since he is much smaller than Honey,but Chico does it to me when I am in bed too and sticks his wet nose in my face,if I don't react he'll paw me.I often fall asleep with his paw in my hand

[jenjen]

I know it must be annoying (my cat has a habit of lying on your hands) but it is so darn cute!!!!!!!!!!!!

[wAggie]

no, no, no! it's not cute

*whining* make it stop... make it stop


Luba, actually it was da hubby who came up with the idea

[jenjen]

I'm sure you are very frustrated. Pets are like toddlers they can drive you bananas...............but it is pretty cute.....I liked the pic you posted.

[Catt31]

Holy crap!! Brick does that too, especially when I'm on the computer. Noses my hands and paws at me, and jumps up...scratches the living poo out of my arms!!! He does it to Tim too, and has been known to place his paws in umm, unmentionable places, causing a great deal of pain!!

We've tried the "NO", "off" and "GET" commands, but they only work temporarily. We will now try to ignore him completely, see if that works!!!
Thanks for posting this one Waggie!!

[Goldenmom]

Nobody can understand the frustration that the "pawing" can cause. There is no stopping it, I don't care what anybody says! In my 3 yr old and 1 1/2 yr old, yes, we have been working on it and they hardly do it now. However, the 7-yr old that we just adopted, no way, no how! It will never stop. If we ignore her, she will bruise me non-stop. I have resorted to having a pillow nearby at all times. I have one in the vehicle and this has helped greatly. It appears that if she can't "touch" me, she doesn't want to paw me. Again, its a stress reliever for her. No amount of "no, stop-it, leave-it" will do, believe me!

Heather

[trescanis]

Our Rottie X "paws". She does it to bring attention to her self, as alot of Rotti's do.

Canines do not have alot of attention getters, and some breeds and cross breeds do the "paw" thing. I would/will NEVER tell her to stop. It seems to be the only outlet for that "whatever thing she's got going on".....who knows for sure?

Is she a Pointer? Or of that breed? Perhaps you should look into the genetics of the breed? They are a "hands on" breed.

Hoping you can appease this....

[wAggie]

hahaha, ya she's pointer something or other hands on... shesh, her brother aint like that. in many ways, they're similar, while others, not.

she prefers pointing at/watching birds, he cats. (like today, OMGggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggg he woke us up before the sun came up and was whining off and on for 2 hrs! i took him outside thinking he's GOTTA have to go pee, but noooooooo, a cat was in our yard earlier and all he did was sniff, and sniff... and... so back in the house, the b@st@rd was back to his youthfull days )

anywho. honey's reduced her pawing for some unknown reason this wknd (i think it's the heat). she's not attaching chocolate to play as much either.

then again, maybe she's growing up...

Catt, when the Ho's pawing at my lap, i lean over to the other side so that her paw falls on the couch, and then sit back on it. just so it seems I'm the more dominate one, without actually letting her know so plainly as physically removing her paw off my lap w my hands...

i'm learning that Omission is better than negative reinforcement.

[Cactus Flower]

Both of my dogs are paw-ers. The Finnish Spitz is very delicate and dainty with her pawing, but I still tell her "NO" after the first pawing and she's just stops and resorts to nosing.....repeat cycle. Again, not a big deal with her as it is so gentle and she is not a big dog.

DIFFERENT STORY WITH MY GREAT DANE.
Those paws should be registered as lethal weapons.
Lethal, I tell ya.
I have not yet lost an eye to the pawing, but come close. Scratches, yes. Bruises, yes. Near concussion....possibly.

"NO" was ineffective. "STOP" and "DOWN" simply made her lie down and paw me. Ignoring her caused hyper-pawing. Stepping away from her made her paw the air. But I finally solved the problem. Here's what I did:

I turned it into a "trick". Every time she pawed, I would jump back out of reach and tell her "Wave!", leaving her pawing at the air. Now, she does this for treats. And ONLY for treats. I tell her "wave", and she waves in the air. You see, her "tricks" are reserved for treats, and vice-versa. These days she wouldn't think of pawing (now it's "waving") if I don't have a treat dangling before her. She thinks it is a priviledge to do this for me, and she won't do it for free.

I would imbed a picture of her doing this, but I don't know how (please please someone tell me). The attachment is too big, but I've seen people imbed photos this large.

This might work with certain personalities.....good luck.

[wAggie]

I wish that would work on Honey... she thinks she's too "smart" to fall for "tricks" like that...

*sigh* it doesn't help that she's got little interest in treats as well... she's definitely not a big eater...

[TalonsMa]

My two cats do it when they want attention, well Talon paws and Sades will nose us. It can get very annoying especially if you're trying to read a book or something. I usually just ignore them, and they will stop. Once they stop, I will give them lots of loving Seems to work..

[wAggie]

awww, Honey's been good lately, we'll see how next wk goes.