jumping puppy, any advice? - Page 2

If this is going to be a working or sport dog, I  agree with Yellow Rose 100%.  The other thing about the squeezing of the paws thing can backfire, resulting in a dog who doesn't like his feet handled making  nail trimming, etc.,  kind of a drag  Usually when a dog jumps on people it is because it gets a reaction.  Redirect - Redirect - Redirect!

I had one like that...the best thing I could do for her was "Sit!"  She had a very good sit, and sitting is not compatable with jumping.  If I had her sit before she could launch, it put a great stop on it.  Using my knee in the chest helped, but she was so physical and temperamentally hard, that when I tried most of the methods reccomended above, it just became part of the game.

Veronica

I agree that it should not be discouraged directly, but channeled.   This is not possible completely, but don't get into the habit of shouting no! or nein! at your pup.  I am raising my 11th, and I think I average about 5 "No's" per pup per puppyhood, and I always get confident and happy dogs out of it, and they live in the house.  I know people who shout "no" everyday at their poor dogs. 

At a training seminar I went to, I heard a suggestion to use food for a dog with high food drive.

If she goes to jump when you are standing drop food by your foot - she'll soon focus on the floor, try something similar with food or a toy - dont make jumping up something that gets rewarded but that she needs to focus on the floor so drop kibble or a toy that wont go too far from your feet when you drop it.

Make a big fuss when she focuses on the new item, usually works well.  Another you could try when standing is to turn your back and only turn round slowly when she has all four feet on the floor.

I was told to never use the knee to the dog's chest thing as it can be dangerous.   The person who told me said he'd accidentally dislocated his dog's shoulder!

Lots of good suggestions here. Bella has both high food and ball drive. She already has learned she won't get either unless she is sitting. She will stare a hole through me when I am holding her ball. She will retrieive the ball and put it in my hand, then sit and wait for me to throw it again. So she does have good focus when she is motivated. I know Bella is looking for attention when she jumps, but ignoring the jumping only makes it worse. As soon as she sits I praise her. And I spend a LOT of time with her.

I'll have to try carrying her ball or a treat around with me. I don't want to break her spirit but she has to learn not to jump on people. It won't be long and she'll be knocking people over. The leash idea is good also, and squeezing the paws is also an interesting idea. I think I'll try the toy/treat first and go from there. Bella is a smart girl and I can tell by the look on her face after she jumps that she knows better. She just gets so wound up I think she can't help herself sometimes.

Trio,

Really great advice. As a trainer myself, I prefer the methods suggested by Two Moons and a few others.  At 4 months, I use a lead for training indoors. A quick,hard, correction(tug) on the lead with perhaps a pinch collar and at same time firm off should do the trick.You can also use your knee in conjunction with this method.In my experience if  attempt to transfer this behavior to a game of tug what you're left wih is an  adult dog(down the road) who may perhaps weigh 85 # or so STILL jumping on folks,just now it's because he/she wants to play tag.At Bella's age I find it helpful to tie the lead to my belt loop only allowing enough slack so jumping is impossible, yet she is still comfortable. Keep us posted.

Regards,

Ravenhak

P.S. These methods I have used  to date are not and have not been used in the training of working and show dogs, simply obedience.Due to my near future plans I will be modifying my techniques for my own dogs. Having no experience in that arena(schutzund training) I'm not sure how my suggestions will work on a working dog.Like Rugers,I have children, but anyway find jumping unacceptable. Thank you.

if you want to try a complete different approach you can try teaching her the name for what she is doing - "name it" - every time she jumps on you or better yet just as she starts jumping up say: "jump up"; and praise her: "good girl"; treats, pats, give her a toy whatever.  keep doing this then when she is standing there not jumping ask her to "jump up".  while teaching "jump up" on command you can teach her the 'counter' command like "off" or i like "4 on the floor" so now you have both behavior on command.  now when you see she might jump up on you or on the counter or on a visitor you can reminder her "4 on the floor bella" and thank her for being so polite. you can use the "name it" with anything e.g. body parts - very useful when doing things like clipping nails - you can ask for "right paw", "left paw", "right foot", "left foot"; and other grooming needs "turn you head to the right", "turn your head to the left" "open your mouth" ... it's a great way to exercise her intellect:)

you said: She just gets so wound up I think she can't help herself sometimes.

self control is hard for puppies to teach themselves so i highly recommend teaching "easy". i posted about it on the 7 mo male thread. it's a perception modification technique and has so many applications.  i learned this from  'sats' - you can learn about it on the synalia website. it's a fun, effective, and bonding method to teaching you animals.  kayce covers and others explain this far better than i can but for me it's basically the same as "name it".  you start by waiting for her to be truly relaxed state and say very quietly "easy" and if she can stand being touched without getting ramped up very gently pet her just to mark it.  keep doing this and in time she will associate the word "easy" with that physical state, then when you say "easy" or "get easy" she will make the connection and bring herself into that relaxed state - great for social situations, dog encounters, introducing new noises etc.

hth good luck with bella she very cute,
susan