"Hi how do we stop our ten month old Labrador jumping up at people, we've managed most other issues but this on has me stumped!" Carey.

Adam says:

“Jumping up is such a common problem, especially from smaller dogs who are desperate to see what's going on! It is an attention seeking behaviour (which is why it happens when you are talking to someone else!) and that makes it harder to solve, because whatever attention you give her will be rewarding - even telling her off!

But have a think about it - how often do you tell her she's good for NOT jumping up? We rarely pick out the good behaviour our dogs do and praise it, we tend to focus on telling them off when they do something wrong.

Decide on what you want her to do instead, probably a sit. Then ask her to sit before she gets the chance to jump up. Give her a treat.

And you know what - if she stays sitting, give her another treat! You can still do this whilst talking to someone. That way, you are rewarding her for doing a behaviour you want and she is getting the attention she wants. When she jumps up quietly move away (don't tell her off!) until she stops and then ask her for a sit and repeat the process. It won't be long before she is sitting rather than jumping up, because that is when she gets the attention! Then you can start to remove the treats.”

"Fern is a 3 1/2 year old border collie who is very vocal.She rushes down the garden barking to let the world, ( & the foxes ) know that she is there. She will hold a conversation with you, or suddenly just bark for what seems no reason. When anyone comes she barks at them even after they have given her attention.When she is out she will quite often rush up to another dog barking.Our other dog,Obie, who is nearly 11 years old is a cross Collie German Shepard & barks if someone comes to the door otherwise is silent. Please can you give us some advice as to how we can reduce her barking to an acceptable level & make taking her for a walk a pleasure. Thanking You.S.P."

Adam says:

"Thanks for your email. It certainly sounds like you have got your hands full! Barking is a problem that people often have a problem with, especially in certain breeds - the Border Collie being one. It is important to remember that barking is a normal dog behaviour, and to supress it completely would be unrealistic. What we want really is to put the behaviour on cue, so that we have a dog that barks when we ask them to but will stop when we ask them to as well. The big problem that we face with barking is that sometimes we simply have to attend to it, because it can be quite distressing and socially unacceptable. However, shouting at her or telling her off for barking is very confusing to her. The key is to create what are called "training windows" that you can praise her for being quiet. To begin with, that may only be a tiny window where Fern takes a breath between barks - but that is the point where you need to insert some praise, or a treat. Alternatively, interrupt her barking behaviour somehow. Maybe stamp your foot or pick up her lead. She may only stop barking for a second, but that is enough for you to insert some praise. Should she start barking again, withdraw attention completely (no voice, hand or eye contact at all) and interrupt the behaviour again. This takes a while to begin with, you will have to repeat the sequence many times, but if you persist she will soon cotton on to what you want her to do!

In addition, you can do some training sessions and turn this into a game. Wind Fern up with a toy until she is barking. Then hold the toy still. She gets the toy, or the reward, only for presenting you with quiet behaviour. When she gets the hang of what you want, simply insert the command "quiet" as you hold the toy up. This is a training exercise that you can then generalise to other situations. Soon you will be able to use the word "quiet" whenever she is barking and you don't want her to.

Let me know how you get on. The early stages can be quite frustrating, but keep your training short and light-hearted and Fern will soon get the idea! Adam."

"Hi I have a very excited spayed 2yr old cocker spaniel.When walking her she barks, foams at the mouth. The barking is so bad I dread taking her for a walk. Have tried lots of different training methods and different products such as a spray collar, pet corrector spray. Got so bad paid a lot of money for her to stay 2 weeks with dog behaviourist. when she came back she was worse than before because she wouldn't come back to me. been struggling with this barking problem since she was about 8-9 months. Getting desperate, was advised to get a treadmill for her, don't know if this would be a good idea." Thanks, Gail

Adam says:

Hi Gail, This is quite a tricky one to advise you on, because it is unclear why she is barking. Does she start barking at the very sight of the lead, suggesting excitement, or does she bark when she gets near cars, or other dogs perhaps? Barking and foaming at the mouth are the result of a problem, but they are not the problem itself. Identifying whether her motivation is fear, excitement or something else entirely will allow us to create a successful treatment strategy. Generally though, if she begins barking then the intensity of whatever is causing her to bark is too much. Once she has got to this stage, she will be too worked up to learn anything much at all. Therefore you need to work just below that threshold - even if it is as early as when you reach for the lead, don't go any further until she has calmed down and stopped barking. This takes a monumental amount of patience in the early stages of training, but please trust me when I say that any punitive methods (including spray collars and pet corrector) are only going to make the problem worse in the long run. Likewise, sending her away to a behaviourist is unlikely to solve your problem: the work needs to be done at home and by you I'm afraid. All good behaviourists know this and I would strongly recommend that you invest money in finding a good one (see the APBC website) instead of buying a treadmill. Afterall, that won't solve the problem, it will only prevent it from occurring as you will never leave the house

"We have a 4 month old puppy, her name is Jess, I am trying to train her to sit and come when she is called, but she seems to have a mind of her own and will only come when she wants to, are there any hints on how to get her to come when she is called, as I would like to take her out to the fields for a run. thanks" Thanks, Elaine