behavior problems

Question
I have a 10 month old brindle boxer and i cant get him to calm down he is into everything and will not listen to commands he jumps up on you all the time.....What can i do please help if you can

Answer
Hi Chris,

The first step is to take a deep breath. :)  This is typical of a Boxer puppy - they are exuberant and curious and intelligent and that often leads to mischievousness.  I've found the best way to deal with problem behavior is to first think about what I *do* want the dog to do, and focus on that, rather than on what I don't want the dog to do.  So if you don't want him to jump on you, for example, what do you want him to do?  Keep all four feet on the floor is a common alternative - so you start reinforcing all instances of four feet on the floor instead of jumping . This might take precision timing - you need to consistently mark and reward the split second that all four feet are on the floor.  You also ignore him when he is jumping - you can even turn your back on him; this is a removal of attention - even bad attention ("No! Off!") is attention, to a dog.  

Make liberal use of time-outs, either in a crate or a dog-safe room; if he's too wound up to learn, there's no sense trying to teach him.  Give him a brief time-out until he settles a bit, and then try again.  He'll soon learn that crazy behavior earns him some crate time, and calm behavior earns him some family time.  (This is different than using the crate as a punisher, and it's all in how you approach it; for a time-out, you must remain unemotional - just calmly put the dog in the crate, close the door, and go about your business.  No yelling, no "bad dog", no lectures; the point is to remove all the things the dog finds reinforcing so that there is less likelihood of the behavior recurring in the future.)

Also be sure to manage the situation so that you're setting him up for success.  Don't leave shoes on the floor in a room to which he has free access, for example - that's just begging for him to chew up the shoes!  Don't give him free roam of the house if you're not able to closely supervise him - use crates, baby gates, etc., or keep him on a leash that's attached to your waist.  Be sure to praise heavily for good behavior - even if he's just sitting or lying quietly, let him know that's something that you want him to do.  The more you reinforce desirable behavior and prevent or ignore undesirable behavior, the more the desirable behavior will recur.

Here are some articles which discuss teaching self-control  - the basis of all other lessons!
http://www.clickertraining.com/node/596
http://www.clickertraining.com/node/1721
http://www.flyingdogpress.com/selfpg.html
http://www.shirleychong.com/keepers/archives/settle.txt

Good luck!