I need some help with getting my dog to stop jumping up on people, he gets way too excited whenever you come home and jumps up trying to lick and bite your face. any idea?

I have been tackling the same problem with my dog and what I've found is starting to work is to yelp when he bites simlar to how his mates would, seems silly but is starting to work... apart from the times he thinks im playing About the jumping, haven't figured that one out yet myself!

the idea is to get people you know and who are willing to help you is to turn their backs to the dog until it settles when the dog calms the person responds to him, the other is to try and get the dog to sit when it does your friends greet it, if he gets excited again they back off, this continues until it learns to behave, unfortunately, when out and about you ask people to do the same but their attitude is ohhhh I don't mind it's only a puppy in a silly squeaky voice and the dog goes nuts again but be firm with people and it pays off telling them your dog has to learn as you want it well behaved and to learn at the end of the day a child could get hurt, good luck and keep at it.

Yes l must admit l did the turning my back to my dog when he jumped up it worked a treat although hes only small so it must be difficult with a larger dog. It is difficult trying to get other people to understand that you are trying to train your dog and to get them to do it to

I guess it all comes with time huh!!

Dusty had a big problem with jumping up when he was younger so here is what I did with him. I taught him how to give "hugs" and "dance". Basically I taught him how to jump only when I say too. He gets praised when I give him the hand signals and gets ignored if he does it on his own. He is usually pretty good about it and will never jump up on strangers.

Oh....here is a description of what each command is:

Hug:
I give him a hand signal and he jumps up and puts his front paws on me, a hug.

Dance:
I give him a slightly different hand signal, he jumps up faster, I grab his front paws and he and I move forward and backward....thus dancing. He loves to lick my hands while "dancing" dunno what that's about but he LOVES it.

I could provide so many suggestions as I am familiar with and have used them all (and debate the pros and cons to the use of any) using one or variations of the 4 quads in operant conditioning but I will choose to offer a suggestion that most people are either unfamiliar with in the correct approach or against for a host of reasons.


Generally The fastest and most reliable method/tool to extinguish this unwanted behavior is to use a correction based approach so that the dogs learns instantly that this behavior is not only exceptable but should not be repeated again.. On a young pup I would use a more positive approach in most cases.

If interested in this particular approach on a 6month or older dog I would suggest acquiring a *quality grade* prong collar and learning how to fit it and use it properly. When used correctly it will only require the handler to pair the word "off" with the downward correction and the dog learns immediately to associate the remote command word with your desire for a variety of circumstances.. When used properly regardless of breed or size of dog it should only require a few corrections /sessions above the threshold to modify the behavior and then the use of this collar should no longer be needed.
I have used this method/tool on hundreds of different dogs and it has worked EVERYTIME within one or two 10 minute sessions using a proofing scheme.. When used correctly the problem should be solved within minutes,not days,weeks ,or months as other methods can and do. Just my 2 cents and should anyone need help with this particular approach I would be glad to help.


cheers

Thinking about what the dog wants it is pretty simple to correct. he wants attention, that is his reward. so walk in the door he will jump up. As soon as his feet leave the floor turn you back to him and COMPLETELY IGNORE HIM. Don't speak to or look at the dog. Wait until he stops trying to jump. Then turn around and go to give attention. As soon as he goes to jump again turn right around. If you wish you can wait until he sits down to give the attention. He will quickly learn that in order to get attention he must not jump or he must sit down. Once he does it for you you can get friends to come over and have them do the same thing. there is no command needed for this simply because it is not the type of thing that needs to be told, it is an expected constant behavior it will teach him self control. Now if your goal is getting him to sit then make sure you only give the attention when he is sitting. Also remember to teach a release word when you are done giving attention so he knows he does not have to continue sitting there.

I would also point out that if your dog is inflicting injury by scratching you with jumping up on you or others in your environment that you might want to modify your approach of ignoring the behavioir as I have had students (adults and children) show up for there first obedience class with cuts and scratches because they were told to turn there back and ignore the dogs behavior no matter what . They did this for a entire week and too my surprise continued to allow this..

cheers

I agree with turning your back and ignoring. I would also pair it with teaching the "off" command. When they learn off, it can be a bit easier. I would also suggest using your deepest voice for the command.

With the bigger dogs, if they are consistent jumpers, I would suggest walking toward them as soon as you see them start to jump. As you walk toward them, say "off". The alpha dog gets to take up the most space. If you claim your personal space, you are reinforcing your status as the alpha.

Puky LOVES to jump on people, even if she doesn't know them. And i don't think i can teach her not to at this age anymore (she's 2 years and 7 months old)

And i don't think i can teach her not to at this age anymore (she's 2 years and 7 months old)

Don't be fooled, ANY age dog can learn not to jump. That "you can't teach old dogs new tricks" thing is a myth. Also keep in mind you may not be bothered with the jumping but your guests may, I would train her or remove her from the greeting area when you have guests who you don't know how they feel about jumping. I actually think with a lot of the behavior modification stuff such as not jumping, the older dogs have a better control of themselves in my opinion where a puppy could not contain his enthusiasm so well. So don't loose hope!

I agree any dog can be taught not to jump up almost regardless of age or past experience/habit in presenting this behavior and with the use of certain methods even younger dogs can be instantly taught that this behavior is unexceptable. Again it is all a matter of approach and which methods you will consider in using as to how fast and reliable your dog is in understanding the boundaries in presenting this behavior.

cheers

Wolfwise wrote:

And i don't think i can teach her not to at this age anymore (she's 2 years and 7 months old)

Don't be fooled, ANY age dog can learn not to jump. That "you can't teach old dogs new tricks" thing is a myth. Also keep in mind you may not be bothered with the jumping but your guests may, I would train her or remove her from the greeting area when you have guests who you don't know how they feel about jumping. I actually think with a lot of the behavior modification stuff such as not jumping, the older dogs have a better control of themselves in my opinion where a puppy could not contain his enthusiasm so well. So don't loose hope!

You have a good point of view. I really thought in the thing "you can't teach an old dog new tricks", but the truth is i didn't bother too much to teach her that jumping on people is not good...

Wouldn't it be easier on the guests to, instead of ignoring dog, tell the dog to sit when company arrives?

She doesn't know commands like "sit" or "stay"... i didn't want to train her as a puppy. I like a dog with own personality
And my guests aren't bothered of her behavior. Only my friends and my family come to visit me so they know Puky already and learned to live with the idea of jumping

i realize this is an older thread but what works for me when a new dog tries to jump on me i hold my open palm to their snout and say down or no. then i bend down to greet the dog when he obeys. almost all dogs get that i do not want them up in my face. also the reason they jump is because they want to smell you. particularly your mouth. at least this is what my dog trainer told me. to keep my dogs from jumping up, i just went down to their level and let them smell my mouth. problem solved for us. hope this helps to anyone new reading this post.