Rotti pulling clothes off the line - HELP!?

Question

I have a 2 year old rotti & he continuously pulls clothes of the line - I can't hang anything out anymore. Does anybody have any tips on how to stop this?

Answer 1

I have a basset that does this (honest!). I just don't let her out when I'm drying laundry, or I hang it somewhere else.

Answer 2

Training the dog to stop pulling the clothes off the line will be a long, difficult, painful process for both of you because you are trying to stop a behavior that's already well established.

Plus, something flapping in the breeze is such an enticement to any dog or cat that its almost unfair to expect him to suddenly learn to ignore his instincts.

I would suggest not putting the wash out at the same time as the dog. If that won't work, read on...

If you punish the dog when you see him attacking the clothes you are teaching him not to attack the clothes when you are there, which is helpful if you can be outside with the dog and the wash. It is not helpful if you can't be outside at the same time.

I would recommend talking to a trainer, read up on Karen Pryor's clicker training information and start small. (Clicker training is how aquariums teach killer whales to jump through hoops. Some people frown on it because its rewards-based. I say if you can get a killer whale to balance you on its nose, feel free to say it doesn't work:)

Does he know the command "leave it"? "Leave it" means you cannot have that no matter what. Talk to your trainer (call the local SPCA and they'll help) about this command. It will take a while to teach, but its worth it.

Once he has the "leave it" command down you can drop a piece of chicken on the floor, walk by a dead animal on a leash, move away from another animal, and the dog will know to "leave it" alone.

BTW I think it will be much harder to teach him to leave the laundry alone than to teach him to ignore the chicken. Prey drive is wired into dogs.

Answer 3

This is what the dog trainer said to a lady with the same problem in my dogs obedience class.
Dogs learn patterns. The lady washed every third day. The dog would pull the clothes off and the lady would tell the dog off. Chase it, yell at it etc etc. The dog thought it was good attention! So, the trainer told her to alter her washing pattern and when the dog pulled the clothes off. Ignore the dog......don't even look at it. Pick up the clothes. Go in the house and close the door. Draw the curtains. The dog will quickly learn that pulling the clothes doesn't get the attention it wants.
When you go in the yard and the clothes are OK, make a huge fuss of the dog. Play with it! It's called positive reinforcement.
And it works a treat! The ladies dog stopped attacking the clothes line after 3 weeks. So you have to be persistent and repetitive in you actions toward the dog. Ignore it when its bad, turn your back on it, no eye contact! Praise it when it's good. They are pack animals and they want the Alpha male/female of the family to like them.

Answer 4

a way to stop your dog from doing pretty much anything is this ....
and please don't say I'm mean because it's similar to your mom washing your mouth out with soap!!!
try a drop of tobasco sauce on the end of a Q-tip and touching this to the tip of your dog/puppy's tongue.
They will soon stop whatever it is that they are doing WRONG.
My dog is 13 and only got this treatment about 6 times total in his lifetime (at least 8 years ago was the last time) and he still to this day knows what it means when I pull out the bottle from the refrigerator. He growls and walks away as if to say No Thank You.
and that's it!!
Good Luck

Answer 5

You can try to tie some plastic bag with full of water or water bomb, as soon as your rotti jump up to pull the bag, then he will get wet and shock. Also he just want to play, try to give him some toys or play with him with some challenge game. It may help!!

Answer 6

Don't know but have heard tying them to the line is of some assistance.