: How can I help my colleague train her dog to behave in the workplace? I work in a small office of eight people, one of whom bought a Cockapoo puppy a year ago. In the main it's a great set-up (for Twiglet and us), but recently

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How can I help my colleague train her dog to behave in the workplace?
I work in a small office of eight people, one of whom bought a Cockapoo puppy a year ago. In the main it's a great set-up (for Twiglet and us), but recently we've been having some problems that we're finding difficult to solve, made worse by some people in the office not being 'dog people'.

Twiglet's a sweet dog, quite small, with a wonderful attitude towards people and other dogs. He's not hyper but he has a lot of energy which he uses up playing and running in the park next door to our offices, which various people from the company walk him in throughout the day. When he's in the office someone will often sit and play with him for a while, hiding treats or toys and getting him to find them, teaching him tricks, etc. I know that problems of understimulation are associated with having dogs in a work environment, but I really think he's doing okay on that front.

THE PROBLEMS

Most people in the office love having him around and interacting with him but recently he's been displaying two behaviours more and more: jumping up for attention and unbearable whining when either his owner, Jacky, or a man called Ed to whom he has developed an inexplicable attachment, leaves the room even to go to the toilet.

PROBLEM #1

I think I understand the causes of the first problem: some people love him jumping up and encourage it by hugging and petting him. We have made it clear in the office that it is not to be allowed, and in the main he has been getting better. But there is one woman, who is NOT a dog person at all, who just doesn't get it, and who, by pushing him down quite strongly whenever he jumps up, makes it much worse by exciting him. I just can't get through to her politely what she must do in order to get him to stop. She just can't help it: she's quite well strung. I sympathise but I just don't know what to do. If she can't join in with the rest of us in not rewarding him with attention when he jumps up, I don't things are going to change. In the meantime this lady and the rest of us are very tense and nervous, as she can't sense him coming and he gives her a terrible fright. She is quite elderly, perhaps not in years (I think she's less than seventy) but a little frail.

PROBLEM #2

Despite being happy in the office and being great friends with the rest of us, Twiglet only really has eyes for Jacky (owner) and Ed (friend). Whenever one of them shows signs of leaving the room, as indeed they have to, often at the same time, for work reasons, or just to go to the toilet, Twiglet goes a bit mad. He whines, often developing into barks, runs around the office, looking out of windows... it's a bit hard to deal with. What should we do when this happens? Should we try to ignore him? Usually we sit with him and try to calm him down by stroking him, or getting him to do tricks like Paw or Lie Down, which distracts him slightly. But I worry that this is rewarding the behaviour with attention. However, is it behaviour that is the problem, or an emotional state? ANY advice on this would be very helpful.

QUESTIONS IN BRIEF

How to deal with the following situation: training a dog not to jump up at people while they're working when one of those people doesn't understand or appreciate the importance of ignoring the dog. She simply reacts quickly and to an extent violently by pushing him down, which gets him excited and leads to more jumping. Very tense situation all round.
How to deal with a dog that whines unbearably when his owner or a friend whom he has an attachment with leaves the office. Should we give him attention? Ignore him? Is there anything else we could do?

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