# Pawing on us while sitting HELP PLEASE



## FlyingQuizini (Oct 24, 2006)

When she comes over, why not ask her to do a down stay. Then she can't paw at your, but she's still near you.


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## cwidick (Aug 26, 2008)

She will stay down but if she is close she will paw at you while lying down. If she is lying down away from you she does not stay for long and if you are on the floor she will come right back over and start pawing you. The person who had her before did not work with her at all.


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## Oaklys Dad (Dec 28, 2005)

I'm with Steph. (Flying Quiz) on this that you need to practice long (1-5 min) down stays with your pup. Start small and work your way up to 5 minutes with your dog on leash the whole time. It is very common for female goldens to paw for attention but if they don't get what they want they will eventually give up the behaviour. Good luck to you.


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## cwidick (Aug 26, 2008)

Thanks so much for your help! I guess we need to work on the longer stay down. While we are working on that I need some advice if you have some. When you are standing its easy to ignore the behavior , how do you do it when you are sitting? I feel like we cant sit in our house without the pawing. Do we just avoid sitting around her till she gets better at the down stay? Thanks Again


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## FlyingQuizini (Oct 24, 2006)

If she's pawing at you, she's not doing a proper down stay. Just remind her with a calm and gentle "eh-eh, down, stay" when she goes to paw. You can put your hand on her shoulders to gently remind her as you say it. You can also try giving her a bone to chew to give her something to pass the time while she's in the down stay.


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## Celeigh (Nov 29, 2007)

Reading your post sounds like you are writing about my dog Lily (she was a rescue as well). She is a big time pawer for attention. Obviously she learned from experience that if she hits you, you'll pet her. She also throws your hand up with her snout to get it on top of her head for petting. It's hard to do, but I have to ignore her when she does it and say "ouch!" loudly as I would do if she were biting too hard. Then I make sure to give her attention when she is not asking for it. I also will look at her sometimes when she paws and say "I see you" in a neutral voice with eye contact, but without petting. That seems to work in that she gets attention, just not the kind she wants (petting). As soon as she's calm and has her attention elsewhere, I pet her.

Aside from that, the only advice I have is keep her nails short. That has helped a lot since it doesn't hurt as much when she does paw.


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## cwidick (Aug 26, 2008)

Yes our whole family has red scratch marks on our arms and chest. Thats with clipped nails.
Everyones advice is wonderful. Teaching Sarah to stay down for long periods by rewarding her will help so much in the long run. A few days ago we got her a Kong toy and I like the idea of letting her play with that when we practice down and stay. It seems hard for her to stay down for long.
It sounds like time is going to be our friend old behaviors are hard to break and she has a new home and getting used to a new life. Giving verbal recognition when she is pawing might help her. My DH says she is very needy and wants to be petted all day and if your not she paws at you till you pet her and does not give up. I will start giving extra attention when we are going about our day and Sarah is following me around. Sounds like if she starts to just say No and get up and not pet her and walk away. 
It makes me feel better that our Sarah is not the only one that has/had this issue. She is a sweetheart and we know she loves us and it will all be worth it. 

Thanks Again


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## Celeigh (Nov 29, 2007)

For the nails, you might also try using a Dremel on them to file the sharp edges. It does make them less likely to welt I've found! Good luck!


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## cwidick (Aug 26, 2008)

We will have to get the Dremel tool out this weekend and try that. We are looking a little battered. 
Thanks Again and have a wonderful weekend 
Carrie


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## Wilson's REAL Mom (Nov 10, 2006)

Here's one trick that I've used with Shelby, who does the same thing (is it a girl thing, maybe?). She really hates to have her nails clipped, so I keep the clippers right with me, and as soon as she starts putting her paws up on me, I say in the nicest way, "Oh, so you want a manicure!" Then I get out the clippers and clip at least one nail before she goes and plays with her toys. Might want to give it a try!


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## GoldenJoyx'stwo (Feb 25, 2007)

Tucker is a nudger and will slap me in the face with his paw to wake me up in the morning. Shadow does the paw thing, too. I think it's part of a Goldens behavior because so many of them do it. 

I find they will continue to give me the paw for attention until I decide I've had it. I don't know exactly what my body language is at the time, but the tone of my voice must let them both know I've had enough. I know I do turn away from them. I think the change in my focus does more than the words I mutter.


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## DPLOGGER (Sep 11, 2009)

*Pawing Problem*

So have you had any luck with the pawing? I have just started fostering for a golden rescue. The female I have now is my second foster. She, and the male I had previous to her, both pawed. The male gave up pretty easily if he did not get attention, but the female just starts pawing harder and faster if you ignore her. Is this a common golden trait? I have not worked with this breed in the past - always wanted to just didn't have the opportunity until now!


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## Willow52 (Aug 14, 2009)

My Bridge Kid, Maggie, did the paw thing as well, so much so that we had to put her in the laundry room when my elderly parents or in-laws were visiting. Her nails were just too rough on their already thin skin. Unfortunately we were never able to break her of this habit. Not sure if it's a golden trait but none of my other breeds did that.


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## LibertyME (Jan 6, 2007)

Lexi came to us with this annoying habit too...It is the main reason I don't teach paw or shake..

The minute she would lift her paw we would get up and go to the bathroom without her...didn't take her long to figure out that the paw = us leaving the room....the opposite goal of what she intended..

Not a very practical plan for you unless you gather up all the kids and leave the room!


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## Elisabeth Kazup (Aug 23, 2008)

Our Penny will do this too when she wants to be petted. usually it's when we've already been playing and she wants me to continue.

Your DH is right about the motive. When I want Penny to stop ANYTHING I say "that's enough" and hold up my hand with palm towards her in the halt position.

I think "that's enough" sounds nicer than 'no'. The word doesn't matter, it's just a cue for the behavior you want. She can learn either word.


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## kaysy (Jan 9, 2010)

Did you stop the pawing and jumping? I don't know how old this thread is. We are having big problems with Marty with both behaviors. Getting him out of the car, he paws, in a down, he is flat down and then paws, my feet, the cats paws, whatever. Today in a pet store he jumped (at me) and while trying to get him to sit tried to paw me in the head. Not good...Thanks for any suggestions.


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## rappwizard (May 27, 2009)

Wilson's REAL Mom said:


> Here's one trick that I've used with Shelby, who does the same thing (is it a girl thing, maybe?). She really hates to have her nails clipped, so I keep the clippers right with me, and as soon as she starts putting her paws up on me, I say in the nicest way, "Oh, so you want a manicure!" Then I get out the clippers and clip at least one nail before she goes and plays with her toys. Might want to give it a try!


I was just going to suggest that with the dremel!


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## Muddypaws (Apr 20, 2009)

Kirby will use her foot when she wants scratches, I tell her "no foot" and put in down. When she is quite for a minute I will then pet her, if she lifts her foot I take my hand away and say "no foot" again. She is getting it slowly which is odd for her because she learns things fast. Sunny used to drive me nuts with the pawing. Darby has never used his foot, he just flops down on top of me. 

OakleysDad - I didn't realize that was a common "female" thing. Very interesting.


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## cwidick (Aug 26, 2008)

*Yes She stopped*

What worked for us was simular to what others did. When Sarah would start to paw at us we would get up and turn our backs to her. She would turn away and then we would sit again. It takes everyone in the house to do the same thing and do pus away this is attention! 
Good luck. We feel so lucky our Golden found us and joined our family. They are wonderful companions.


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