Jumping up on kids

jksjkc · #1 11-08-2005, 01:10 PM

We are going through a bit of a jumpy stage. Butch has been jumping on people, especially children when he meets them. I tell him off, but he seems to be so distracted and wiggly that I can't get him to focus.

He really gets nuts when there is a baby. OMG, he will constantly jump on whoever is holding the baby just to get his lick in. He loves to lick baby hands and feet.

I don't know what to do. He got my neighbor all dirty the other day before she was heading out to dinner, because she was holding her infant and he couldn't keep his paws off of her. When I held the baby he went on me too. I say "off" and he gets off only to jump again in a few more seconds.

How did any of you stop this bad habit? I don't want people to think he's dangerous around their kids. He only wants to love everyone.

tesster · #2 11-08-2005, 01:22 PM

Get, read, and live by The Dog Listener by Jan Fennell. Seriously, my dog stopped jumping on me in 2 days after reading her book and implementing her methods. I know I sound like a TV ad, but for this particular problem, the method works like a charm.

Basically, whoever he typically jumps on (strangers, you, kids, etc.) should completely ignore the dog until it calms down. Don't look at him, don't acknowledge him, speak to him, pet him, nothing. If he's jumping, don't say "No, stop it! Get off me!" Just turn your back to him and look up if you can't manage not to look at him any other way. When he's calm, the person can call him to her, ask him to sit, and then give him attention. If that results in jumping, ignore him for a few more minutes.

It takes a lot of training of your guests, though. So many people, when you say, "Please ignore him when he jumps on you," return with, "Oh, he's OK! I don't mind." You really have to explain to your guests that they must ignore him until he calms down as part of your training plan and you really need their help.

This is where I've been unsuccessful. My friend, Tammy, who really doesn't want my dogs jumping on her, actually listened and ignored Conner when I asked her to, but everyone else recites the same old line, "I don't mind!" and lets them go bonkers on them. Do you know that Tammy is the ONLY person the dogs won't jump on besides us? So, really practice a nice way of training your friends.

The key is not to reward the behavior and to show him that you're boss. Any kind of acknowledgement of it is a reward. Read the book for more details about the theory behind her method and for more specifics. I tell you, it works.

In the meantime, before you encounter other people, put him in a down/stay and train your friends not to pet him until he's staying nicely.

Good luck!

tesster · #3 11-08-2005, 01:54 PM

Just to clarify, although the ignoring part stinks, you have to keep doing it for it to keep working. We had a relapse of the jumping when I started slacking off.

mydreemdog · #4 11-10-2005, 12:37 PM

All the replies are good and well, but didn't really address the problem of jumping on small children. My 4 1/2 month old pup loves and wants to play with my grandchildren. They however have become afraid of him because when he jumps up on them he is the same height as they are; especially my 5 year old granddaughter. I have tried everything I can think of including keeping him on his leash while haveing the kids pet him, but he wiggles and squirms so much they give up and I end up crating him. I don't want him to hurt the kids, but I don't want him to think that they are taboo either by having him crated when they are here. He has yet to start his puppy classes. What can I do in the meantime? My grandkids ages are 7 years old, 5 years old, 10 months old and 5 months old. Help!

angleheart · #5 11-11-2005, 11:20 AM

Try an anti-jump harness. The idea is if they wear it long enough, eventually they will stop trying. I think you can get one from Dr's Foster & Smith. Check out their website. type "jump" in the website search box and you will find it.

Vela · #6 11-11-2005, 11:40 AM

You don't need an anti jump harness, you need to spend time with your dog training not to jump. It takes time and patience and yes, the posts did address the problem of the dog jumping on children, and anyone else. The Dog Listener is one of the best book you can use to help with undeireable behavior but YOU have to spend the time to train your dog not to jump. ANY dog can be trained not to jump if you take the time to do it. You can also do a search using the search feature of this board to look up jumping on children and read about how others solved this problem. This has been answered before many times and there is planty of information already right here to read about. My dog jumped on people, I took the time to teach him not to, and I didn't need a harness. It takes time and patience, dogs don't come already trained and they certainly don't become well bahaved, well trained dogs overnight. It takes a lot of work sometimes.

angleheart · #7 11-11-2005, 11:46 AM

Moderator - are you saying that you feel an anti-jump harness is a bad thing?

tesster · #8 11-11-2005, 12:45 PM

The older kids can take part in the "ignoring" training as well. For the little ones, I think that until you get it under control, you probably should keep him on a leash until he has a number of experiences with people ignoring him until he calms down. He will apply it to all people if consistently, he's not given attention unless he calms down and doesn't jump.

My problem is that of all the visitors, only one person, who doesn't come over often, complies with the house rules of "ignore the dog unless he's calm." So, he gets a lot of reinforcement of bad behavior from 90% of the people who come over.

If 90% of the people he encounters ignores him till he calms down, he'll figure out (in time) that being calm is more rewarding than jumping and going bonkers and he won't jump on the kids either.

Vela · #9 11-11-2005, 01:52 PM

I'm saying that an anti-jump harness isn't going to fix the problem. Dog's aren't stupid. Sure it might not jump when it has the harness on, but it will merely learn that it can't jump with the harness on and will still jump with it off, just like a dog with a citronella collar won't bark if its on but has no problem barking when it's off because it will know it won't get sprayed. It's a gimmick "tool" that just isn't necessary. It's a lazy easy way out but what dog is going to live full time in a jump harness? Unless you train the dog to respect you and do as you ask, then you aren't the pack leader. If you take the time and train a dog, you don't NEED things like a jump harness. My dog used to jump, now he doesn't. I spent time training him, and any dog can be trained, some just take longer and need more patience. Quick-fix gimmicks are not going to get to the root of the problem, and your dog still isn't going to respect you as pack leader if you have to use things like that rather than training time.

tesster · #10 11-11-2005, 02:34 PM

Kind of. You don't praise her for not jumping. Jumping up on you when you return home is a dominant and rude behavior. A subordinate pack member would not behave this way towards the alpha. By ignoring the behavior, you're showing the dog that you are in charge. You will accept their affection on YOUR terms, not theirs.

When you come home, just act as if you don't know she's there until she's behaving in an appropriate way. Turn your back on her when she jumps. Don't say anything, don't look at her, just turn your back and go about your chores for 10 minutes. Walk around, read your mail, put a load of laundry in, whatever you would do if you didn't have a crazy dog jumping on you. I've found it easier not to sit down during this time, because it's fairly impossible to behave as if you're unaware of a 60lb dog in your lap.

When she's been calm for about 5 minutes, you call her to you and then give her affection and attention.

It takes some time. My Tess picked it up right away and never jumps anymore. Conner, my anxious critter, is taking a bit more time.