How do I get my dog to stop jumping on people?

1. 79

   cindyvineposted 14 years ago

   My german shepherd labrador cross is 5 months old and is driving me mad jumping on people and leaving muddy pawprints on them.  Especially my next door neighbour who gets a lift to school with me each day and always wears white pants.  Smokey doesn't jump on me cause as she runs towards me I just shout "No!"  But even though my next door neighbour and visitors say no and even smack her, she still does it.  Please give me some advice!

   replyreport
   1. 71

      rhamsonposted 14 years agoin reply to this

      Take her to obedience training. More than training the dog you will be trained as well.  I had a dog who was uncontrollable around other animals especially cats.  He was a large black lab and was very friendly.
      
      The way I got him to stop jumping up on me and other people was to put my knee smartly in his chest and sternly say no when he jumped up on me.  It only took a few times for him to understand and he associated no as a stop command as well.  I learned this in the school.  There are many more things you can teach the dog from going to a good school.

      replyreport
   2. 59

      Vindemiatrix_1972posted 14 years agoin reply to this

      Any form of "touching" when the dog jumps gives the dog the impression that it is ok to jump.  When a dog jumps you simply turn away from the dog and not say a word.  You don't scold, nor touch the dog, you need to ignore the behavior.  When you scold the dog your giving the dog attention and in this case any attention is good attention in the dogs eyes.  You need to stay consistant with this.  You never touch a dog when you are traiing them NOT to do something, you only touch (like pat or pet) a dog when you reward. Believe me, this works.  Simply turn away from the dog when he/she jumps and ignore them. This dog probably has other problems with his behavior resulting in this jumping on you at the door.  It has a lot to do with them not realizing that you are the boss.  You need to look at everything you do with this dog to help its behavior.  Just remember, do not touch unless you are rewarding.  Do not let the dog come to you when they want, rather make them wait for you to be ready for them to come to you.  Show them that YOU decide when the dog gets attention not them.  When you walk in the door, you should never allow the dog to come to you immediately, it is a must to ignore them for at least 5 minutes or until the dog looses interest that you are home and THEN call the dog to you for attention.  Again, remember, you are the leader of the pack and the decision maker...not the dog.  Think about reading some simply dog obedience books to help you with these training guides and believe me you will be glad you did.

      replyreport
      1. 81

         Sally's Troveposted 14 years agoin reply to this

         Cindy, Vindemiatrix_1972's advice is the closest to what has worked for me and my old Goldie, who was 8 years old with more than a couple of bad habits when she came to live with me.  Working with a trainer, I learned to turn my back at the first hint of a jump-up, crossing my arms over my chest as I turned, ignoring the dog until she calmed, making sure there was no eye contact. The arm crossing removes the possibility that hands might appear to be toys. It took Cinnamon only a dozen or so "lessons", administered by me and anyone else who came through the door, to get the message. With this technique, you are doing exactly what Vindemiatrix_1972 suggests...letting the dog know who is boss.
         
         Good luck with your wonderful dog!

         replyreport
         1. 57

            yoshi97posted 14 years agoin reply to this

            Here's what worked for my Shephard ...
            
            We tried all the regular stuff, but he was a stubborn brute (or deaf, perhaps). At any rate, one day I got frustrated when he jumped up and held him there (gently) while asking him why he constantly jumped up on me. Well, I doubt the conversation did much, but the holding of the paws deterred him for a moment. It was almost like he was demanding attention and then received too much of it.
            
            By too much ... I mean that I held him there gently until he motioned to pull away. I then released him. Thnking I was onto a good thing I kept doing this every time he jumped up on me and the epsidodes became less and less until one day they stopped altogether.
            
            Will this work for anyone? I don't rightfully know - I just know it worked for me, and I didn't have to smack my dog or yell at him, which are two things I just won't do ...

            replyreport
   3. 53

      de'Arabposted 14 years agoin reply to this

      You can get some helpful tips from Animal Planet's "Ii's me or the dog" or
      National Geographic's "Dog Whisperer".

      replyreport
   4. 61

      Jane@CMposted 14 years agoin reply to this

      When we had our Lab at training they taught us to squeeze her paws firmly when she jumped, say no when squeezing, put her paws back on the floor.  Works wells.

      replyreport
2. 60

   Jamie Harveyposted 14 years ago

   First and foremost, smacking the dog is not the way to go!
   
   A firm "no", rather than a shouted "no" is more effective.
   
   Here are two scenarios: 
   
   1) You come in after a long day of (work, school, whatever) and your dog comes flying at you ready to jump.  You say "No." firmly, and she jumps anyway.  GENTLY, you use one hand to move her into a sitting posture on the floor.  Once she is sitting, you tell her "Good job" and pet her and love on her. 
   
   2) Your neighbor (Sister, cousin, friend, whatever) comes over and your dog flies at them ready for some loving attention.  Have a set of keys or any small metal objects handy.  As your dog is running toward your visitor, say "No" firmly and drop the keys to the floor.  The noise SHOULD get her attention and distract her from jumping.  If not, you know to drop them harder next time.  Simply walk over and again, guide your pooch to the floor. 
   
   Do this EVERY SINGLE TIME.  It will take a while:  Dogs, like children, learn through consistency and repetition.  It will take some time but it WILL work.
   
   In no case should you ever strike the dog, or any kind of physical attack.  The keys should hit the floor, NOT your pooch.  If visitors feel the need to strike your pup, tell them firmly that you are using a new training method, and they are not to strike the dog.  If they can not or will not listen, I would recommend asking them not to visit until your pooch is trained.
   
   Hope this helps! ^_^

   replyreport
   1. 71

      rhamsonposted 14 years agoin reply to this

      As I said you should smartly bring your knee up not as to strike the dog but as an immeadiate response and nudge the dog away with it.  I also did not say to shout but use a stern voice.
      
      Perhaps my way is a bit more agressive but does not require a scenario or other people to help.  It does work and my dog was not afraid of other people and did not jump up anymore.

      replyreport
3. 0

   Janettaposted 14 years ago

   When she jumps, try bending your leg at the knee and pushing your knee out into her. It knocks her back down w/out hurting her or you and keeps her from getting to the person she's trying to reach. Or you could turn your back tyo her anytime she comes up to you and starts jumping. Don't face her again until she calms down and sits.
   Tell your guests to do the same when they walk in and make sure they don't talk to the dog or give her any eye contact until or unless she is calm.

   replyreport
   1. 71

      rhamsonposted 14 years agoin reply to this

      This is a much better explanation. Thanks Janetta

      replyreport
   2. 59

      Vindemiatrix_1972posted 14 years agoin reply to this

      I disagree.  Do not push your knee into the dog, all your teaching it is that anytime it jumps that if the person doesnt put their knee up it will be ok to continue the behavior.  You also do not want to use any type of loud noise to scare the dog.  All you will be doing there is scaring the dog and putting fear into a dog which leads to aggression. You startle a dog, they will bite.  You try to cure a dog from jumping by rattling keys the dog will always cowar when he hears keys.  Good luck getting the dog in the car to ride to the vet or the park. Please consider reading what the "experts" say on dog obedience, you have a young pup that will and can be be an aggressive breed that can take advantage of you later if you do not train it right to begin with. Go to real trainers and real dog obedience classes for help with this one.

      replyreport
4. 79

   cindyvineposted 14 years ago

   Thanks for the advice.  Definitely no dog obedience classes out here in the wop wops in Tanzania, but I will try the knee thing when the weather is good.  It's been raining a bit and she is very muddy, so the knee thing would result in us all having muddy paw prints on our pants.  I'm thinking of getting some gravel in an old coffee can and shaking it like a rattle and saying No every time she wants to jump.  Do you think that might work?  She has been much better this week since my neighbour has started saying No as she approaches.  Before, the neighbour always only said No after she'd already jumped, so Smokey thought it was a game.

   replyreport
5. 53

   Shalini Kagalposted 14 years ago

   Hi Cindy - we have a Lab cross (called Smokey too!) and somehow, they are even more active and playful than Labs. We tried everything - the 'Nos', the chaining up, the knee - OK never too hard because he's such a loving and lovable dog. We had a great dog trainer too - as long as he was around, Smokey was on his best behaviour - then, back to normal. Someone told us no matter what we did, it would take 2 years for him to calm down. Then, when he was a little over a year old, we got him a companion - a cocker spaniel, Ella (managing 2 big dogs would have been too tiring!) He calmed down a bit - he adores her. He's approaching two on Christmas Day and it's unbelievable what a gentle, wonderful dog he's become. There are lapses into 'boyhood' with his favourite people but on the whole, he's an angel.
   So should I say 'Patience' ??

   replyreport
6. 69

   Beth100posted 14 years ago

   Hi Cindy,
   
   Another thing to do is to remember to reward Smokey after he has not jumped up on you or your visitors.  Dogs, like most animals, will respond quickly and positive with positive reinformcement (and in the case of dogs, a special treat works wonders).  It won't take long before he realizes that his "no jumping" will earn him a treat.

   replyreport
   1. 0

      sneakorocksolidposted 14 years agoin reply to this

      I tried that with my wife and she beat me with the box! I'm buying softer treats next time!

      replyreport
7. 59

   bojanglesk8posted 14 years ago

   Spank him.

   replyreport
   1. 0

      sneakorocksolidposted 14 years agoin reply to this

      But it still a month till my birthday and I may pick a different present!

      replyreport
8. 53

   Shalini Kagalposted 14 years ago

   

   replyreport
9. 75

   glendoncabaposted 14 years ago

   Thank you for this thread.  It reminds me I ought to get a dog for my family again.  Our Labrador died when we moved to another town  about 7 years ago.  We returned to our home a few months later but I havent bought another dog since.  My wife does not like dogs.

   replyreport
10. 60

    Ilse De Jongposted 14 years ago

    A gentler and more effective way of disciplining a boisterous pup is to use one of those fine plant water spray bottles and a quick squirt in the face when the crime is committed of cold water works a treat, you have to get into the habit of carrying it around with you though - violence begets violence and you need to earn respect from animals with out hurting them or using physical force - this works for me except when the mail is delivered! Good Luck!

    replyreport
    1. 81

       Sally's Troveposted 14 years agoin reply to this

       Please do not use a water spray. My retriever, a water dog, is completely terrified of any kind of water, running or still, because her early training (not done by me) included a spray of water in the face for bad behavior.

       replyreport
11. 63

    Has_aWayWithWordsposted 14 years ago

    if it is a large dog I have always used the knee method, basically as the dog rises up to jump gently lift your knee so that the dogs makes contact with your knee, this will not harm the dog if done properly and the dog will soon learn not to jump because he or she will only be greeted with a knee to the chest. Obviously this doesn't work with small dogs but I had 2 boxers and a rottweiler that this method worked great for.
    
    Also greet the dog first, the only reason they are jumping is out of excitement to see you. Greet the dog and give it some much needed attention as it has probably been left alone or ignored for a while, once the dog gets the attention it is likely to go back to it's business.

    replyreport
12. 60

    theirishobserver.posted 14 years ago

    My Border Collie has been trained from pup not to jump up, stand tall over him and say down in a firm stern voice....works real good

    replyreport
13. 83

    rebekahELLEposted 14 years ago

    I watch two of my neighbor's children two nights a week while she is at work. their big shepherd/sharpei mix jumps on me every time I go to the door. I know both breeds are very protective. they have not trained him, he was rescued at 2 years of age. since that is what he is allowed to do, I just tell him down and won't pet him until he sits, but it is very annoying as he's huge!

    replyreport