Problem Puppy, Help!

K

ktspirit

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I have had dogs all my life and never had this problem, but I can't get this puppy (now 7 months old) to stop jumping up on people. I've tried everything I know of or could find online. It's not like she is stupid (in other matters) just this. I must say I don't think she was well socialized as a baby and I'm not so social myself, but even if she just got excited to see someone new, she shouldn't still be jumping on me, too. Anyone with experience in dealing with this? Thanks :confused:
 
I suppose you have tried this, but if not, here is what I have found works. When she jumps on you turn away from her. Do not scold, speak, or acknowledge her in anyway. Tell any guests or visitors to react the same way. Once she is calm and has all 4 feet on the floor, then you can pay attention to her. As long as she jumps, do not look at her in the eye at all.
 
The suggestion my vet had to someone a few years ago, was to carry around a can with rocks or coins in it, and when the dog was preparing to jump, shake the can. The unpleasant noise would be associated with the action and the dog is supposed to quit jumping on people.

Or you could try something that's worked for me, though it was totally by accident. You could come up with a signal that indicates it's time to settle down and be nice. But how you teach it, in your situation, I don't know, because I don't know enough to advise. Our dogs (outside only) don't get as much attention since my oldest daughter went to college. I try to play with them a little most days, but my time is pretty limited. (My husband is dealing with some serious health issues, so the bulk of the household care falls to me.) Our 65 lb Shephard mix, Dogula, would get so excited when anyone went out to play with him that he started jumping on us. (For my husband and 10-yr-old daughter, that can be pretty bad. It's not pleasant for me, but not too bad.) Well, Dogula loves to play keep away and tug-a-war with his chew rope. I started signaling that I was done playing and it was time for me to leave (so if he wanted petted, he needed to settle down), by raising my hands up by my shoulders, hands open, palms out (that way he wouldn't think I had the rope hidden somehow). I've also done that when I don't have the rope and he thinks I do. The way I taught him the signal was, when we were done playing, I'd raise my hands. If he kept playing (usually bouncing around me, with the rope in his mouth, shaking his head to encourage me to grab it) If that didn't work, I'd keep my hands up and try to verbally settle him, but if that still did not work, I'd leave. He figured out pretty quickly that if he came over and sat near me, he got petted before I left (a reward), if not, I just left (no reward).

The other day, after I hadn't been out to see him for a couple of days, he started jumping the moment I walked through the gate, and without even thinking about it I raised my hands up by my shoulders, and sharply said "No!"; he immediately settled down and sat quietly. He got quite a bit of petting and praise for that. Usually, a sharp "No!" will result in him backing off a little, but not much. I was very surprised by his response.
 
I taught my new puppy to set and stay in just 2 days and this is easy to do,stan in frount of your dog with a dog treat,
move your hand with treat up and over his back and he will automatic set,then give him the dog treat,it works every time.
 
Ok, I'm trying these suggestions in order so I don't send mixed signals, but the ignoring part isn't working well. Apparently Remmy does NOT like to be ignored and becomes more persistent. lol Never had a dog this difficult and she has tripped me up once where I fell pretty hard. I am a little skeptical of letting her jump on me only to sit and get a treat. She has outsmarted me on some other issues, but I finally got the upper hand. So, I'll keep at it. Thanks for all your advice. :)
 
Um, this next suggestion is a bit more aggressive, but will work. You could take a hint from dog behavior and use some dominance techniques. The way adult dogs sometimes discipline rambunctious puppies is to grab them by their scruff, pull them over and pin them to the ground. Adult dogs will sometimes use that on other adult dogs to show dominance. I’ve seen it in my own dogs. The thing is, you’ve got be willing to use enough force to pull your dog down. You also have to realize that this is not being cruel; you are using a technique that your dog understands. You are establishing yourself as a more dominant member of the pack, which is as it should be. Dogs have a pack mentality and need to know what their level in the pack is.

My brother and sister-in-law sometimes spend the weekend with us. When they do, they bring their dogs. Chewy (Chewybacca) is a large Lab mix, her head comes about to my waist, and I’m 5’5”. She is also an obedience school failure. A few years ago, when my youngest was about 8, Chewy kept jumping on her or almost jumping on her. Almosts got a sharp rebuke, but once, Chewy jumped on my daughter, knocking her down, and my inner mama bear me roared to life. I had that dog by scruff the moment her feet hit the ground, yanked her down and held her there until she yelped. She did not jump on my daughter or me for the rest of the visit. She was downright submissive and subdued around me for about 10 minutes after that, before her exuberant Lab personality reemerged.

Then there was the time Dogula was excitedly racing in circles around me. He got too close once, and his shoulder clipped the back of my right knee, and down I went – on top of him. My rib cage and his back had an abrupt meeting. I have never seen that dog as submissive as he was at that moment. I think it was a good two weeks before he’d race in circles around me, and they were bigger circles.
 
Thanks! I've never been the alpha dog type, and never had to be too much with other dogs. Don't know what it is about this pup unless she is just too aggressive or something. I will try anything safe because I am already attached to her, but please Remmy girl BEHAVE!!!!! EGAD!!
 
We used a spray bottle, say about 1/4 filled with vinegar and the rest water. Put it on "stun" (also known as "stream"). You have to carry it around with you ALL the time or it won't work (or get multiple and place them in each room). When she jumps on someone spray her immediately in the face. Frankly, you should practice it... stage it so every 5 or 10 minutes someone can come through the door (or whatever situation where she jumps on people) so she gets lots of time to see how she SHOULD act. And when that situatino ocurrs and she doesn't jump - PRAISE PRAISE PRAISE and even a cookie! She will probably smell like a pickle before it gets better, but mine learned using this method. Also worked for other behavior issues... whining in the crate, barking in the crate (for no reason other than attention), etc. We haven't had to spray the bottle in years, but just the sight of the bottle brings out their best behavior now! Good luck, and hopefully you'll find something that will work for you! :)
 
We use a spray bottle of water (no vinegar) for the cats. A couple of them cringe when they see the bottle in hand.

ktspirit said:
Don't know what it is about this pup unless she is just too aggressive or something.
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What breed(s) is Remmy? Some breeds are more docile than others, while some will trample you unless you assert yourself as the alpha. The afore mentioned Dogula is a large Shephard mix, several people have suggested he may have some Rottweiler in him. While our other Shephard mix, Ella, is much smaller, with longer hair and is much more docile than he is. Our Lab mix, Oreo, needs to know who the boss is. He tends to submit to people faster than Dogula, but is trying to be the alpha 4-legged pack member. My brother's Lab mix, Chewybacca, needs a firm hand. She is more docile with me than she is with my sister-in-law, who is a naturally meek person. Their other dog Sy Snoodles (named for an obscure Star Wars character) is much smaller and rather docile.
 
What our trainer told us to do was to place our arms across our chest with a hand on the opposite shoulder until Soxy sat. Don't say a word, but do that. It closes you off from the dog and for some reason they sit. We had visitors try this also and it worked. Somehow she instinctively knew not to jump on little kids or our older relatives. But for adults, we can still get her to sit just by her doing the crossed arms.
 
Remmy is a mutt, but I now believe she has some pitbull in her. She is very strong for her size, about 45 pounds or so at 7 months. I've always had large dogs, Labs, German Shepherds, but it's hard to figure out what I do that excites this dog. I can take the garbage container to the street or check the mailbox and she will sit and stay until I get back, then attack me like I've been gone forever and abandoned her, it's weird. She can see me the whole time. Tonight I took the garbage out and she started in on me so I just ended up wrestling her to the ground (no small ordeal, lol) and held her until she stopped fighting me, but geez that was rough. I have to admit I was just really mad and wanted to get control. I don't know, but I'll try anything because in other ways she is so sweet and smart. I got her at about 6 weeks old, but she's always wanted to play rough and really doesn't like to be loved on much, just likes to be close. Anyway, thank you all for your input 'cause I definitely need it!! lol
 
@ tropical breeze - that sounds like a really good suggestion. It asserts dominance without the level of physicality of my suggestion. I'll have to pass that on to my sister-in-law. It sounds like something she could actually do.

@ ktspirit - I will think about your situation some more and talk to other people with energetic, big dogs to see if I can get some ideas. It sounds like Remmy was just happy you didn't leave. But we've got to find a way to curb her enthusiasm.
 
Buy a cheap leash and cut off the loop. Clip it to the Remmy's collar and let the her drag the leash around while in the house. When someone walks up to her and she is ABOUT to jump, grab the leash and yank it down while saying OFF or NO or AH AH firmly. Be consistent. Give praise when she doesn't do it. Very important to give the contrast of right and wrong - correct the undesirable behavior and praise for the right thing!! Also getting a reliable sit-stay and down-stay to give her something to do instead of jumping will help.
 
I have Dalmatians - big, energetic dogs that LOVE their people! Based on what ktspirit said about leaving for 5 minutes and the dog acting like you've been gone forever, I'd say she's much like mine are. They can still be so very happy to see you, and not behave badly! I don't need the squirt bottle anymore, so I no longer have jumping to contend with, but I generally do not pet my dogs when I first come in the door. I say hello, they get all excited, I put down whatever I might have in my hands, and tell them to go to their bed. Only when they get on their bed will I pet them, but then I'll pet them and waller on them and be excited with them! That way, they know they have a place where they can be excited, and if you control that place, you might also limit their actions based on the place you choose, or if you come down to their level, they no longer need to jump.

I'm not sure it helped any, but we taught one dog to "hug"... so that he could jump on us (well, stand on his back legs and put his front paws on us) on OUR COMMAND... but only when WE said it was ok. To me, that sort of gave him an outlet, but again, in a controlled environment (where WE control the environment, rather than the dog controlling the environment!).

KathyZ is right - consistency is paramount to having an obedient dog! Patience ranks right up there, too. :)
 
ktspirit said:
Remmy is a mutt, but I now believe she has some pitbull in her. She is very strong for her size, about 45 pounds or so at 7 months. I've always had large dogs, Labs, German Shepherds, but it's hard to figure out what I do that excites this dog. I can take the garbage container to the street or check the mailbox and she will sit and stay until I get back, then attack me like I've been gone forever and abandoned her, it's weird. She can see me the whole time. Tonight I took the garbage out and she started in on me so I just ended up wrestling her to the ground (no small ordeal, lol) and held her until she stopped fighting me, but geez that was rough. I have to admit I was just really mad and wanted to get control. I don't know, but I'll try anything because in other ways she is so sweet and smart. I got her at about 6 weeks old, but she's always wanted to play rough and really doesn't like to be loved on much, just likes to be close. Anyway, thank you all for your input 'cause I definitely need it!! lol
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The dominance thing does work, but is best to begin in in early puppyhood, before they get too big and strong. It always worked for me, but then I was doing it on Chihuahuas!
 
LOL, too bad I don't have a 5 pound dog! And she is too fast for me, she knows what's coming (a knee to her chest, me trying to grab her collar, etc.) and moves just out of reach. She thinks she has it all figured out, but I will outsmart her!!! lol
 
LOL Apparently Remmy is not a water dog, especially if taken by suprise. She likes to briefly play in the sprinkler or a puddle when it's hot, but that's about it. This morning I had a cold drink in my hand and when she jumped, I poured some on her head. It's still early, but that is working so far, no more jumping and I was able to run around and get out of sight before she came running over, saw the drink in my hand, and played like a good girl! Guess I'll have to get that spray bottle out guilty pleasure and b2curious!!
 
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