Jumping on Kids

[Vin Thomas]

Hey all,

We've had Penny for just about two weeks now. She's great in almost every respect. She's super mellow most of the time and very responsive to me. She's doing really well with basic obedience and I know she's going to be a wonderful dog. However there is one issue that I'm trying to nip in the bud now -- jumping. 

She normally does really well at not jumping up, however when our two year old and four year old get running around she loves to join in the action. She has scratched both of our girls unintentionally now and I know we need to stop this before she gets too big. I've found a couple good pieces of advice online and here's what we've started to do:

• Use a lead in the house and correct her when she jumps up
• Give a click and a treat when she doesn't jump (she was pretty successful using this method)
• Have the girls fold their arms and ignore Penelope when she jumps

This is a pretty new issue for us (last couple days) so it's not ingrained in her yet. I think we can curb it with the methods above, but wanted to see if y'all had any other suggestions.

Thanks!

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

It really sounds like you are on top of the training.  It is really hard for puppies, heck adult dogs too,  not to get overly excited when others are running around.

[Barbara B., Sasha & Oliver]

Let me first say that Penny is absolutely adorable :)   The jumping thing is soooo difficult, both my doodles are 2 1/2 and 20 months and both jump when people come in my house.  I have constantly worked on this but they just get so exited.  And within about 4 minutes they calm down, like someone just turned off the switch !!!   It is very difficult for a puppy to not jump especially since your kids are running and playing she just wants to join in all the fun.  Keep up the good work and be persistant she will eventually get it.  My difficulty is that when my BF and BIL come over they allow my doodles to jump so the humans need correcting too !!!!  Both my doodles get confused, so now I am training both doodles and humans.  Good luck with Penny :)

[Traci -Bexter & Maggie]

Barbara - How big are Sasha & Oliver?  They are adorable!

 

[Barbara B., Sasha & Oliver]

Hey Traci --  Sasha is about 50 lbs. and Oliver is my big boy who is probably between 75-80 lbs.  Its been a while since he has been weighed.  My two loose all control when someone comes into the house, I call them the welcoming committee !!!  I really don't like the jumping and try soooooo hard to break them of this especially since Ollie is so big.  I have put them in their crates when visitors come in, let them calm down and then let them out..... this has worked and I really need to stick with it.  I believe they do better when they are in the "calm state of mind" and the listening ears are on :)

 

Bexer is such a cuttie....  :)

[Traci -Bexter & Maggie]

My Bexter is 10 months old, and he still does this occasionally (depending on who it is...).  When someone comes over, it is still a problem (and this is not good cuz he's getting bigger)!  We either say OFF or give him a sit command.  He's good while he's sitting, but then when I release him, he goes right back at it for the first couple of minutes.  Then he's fine and calm.  However, it will be more difficult for Penny because she has little kids running around right in front of her.  If she is scratching your kids, I would let them play, but if she starts jumping, you might need to leash her or put her in the crate while your kids are playing.  It will probably be next to impossible to keep her from jumping on them when they are playing.  It sounds like you have some good ideas to try though.  Good luck and enjoy your beautiful little puppy!

[Ashley, Ronnie and Ruby]

We are still working on the jumping at 10 months. Ruby used to do really well but in the past month or so, she decided that it was ok to do this. Ruby is also a dog that will stare right into your eyes when you talk to her or she wants to 'talk' to you. We think this is her way to try and look at our eyes. Once we say 'off' she gets down right away. It is as if she is getting so excited, she wants our attention. Usually we don't acknowledge the jump and praise once she is off. It helps a lot for us. Now, someone new, that is usually a different story where she gets super excited. Even asking the new person to ignore her if she jumps does not always work because they think she is so cute (which I agree) that they automatically pat her. I think this is where she is learning it is ok. As much as we train her, we are having trouble trainning the other people in her environment.

[Connie & Bocelli]

Ditto for me.  Bo is going to be a year old next week and he still jumps on people.  I've heard this is very common in the breed. He is so good about everything else.  

[Nicky, Riley & Boris]

Riley too gets so excited when people come over but we have now trained him to go immediately into his crate when the doorbell goes and wait there.  When I come home he doesn't jump but he does on my partner and this is because he welcomes it and it is so infuriating because it gives mixed messages.  He will occasionally jump on people when we are out but never on children perhaps because they are at his eye level.  If I had little children running around the house and flapping their arms and generally doing what children do, then I would have a jumping problem here I'm sure.  I wonder if they ever settle down?  Enthusiastic was how an elderly gentleman at the dog park described Riley the other day as he bounded about the place while the other dogs seemed to just slouch around!

[Nicky, Riley & Boris]

What a gorgeous picture BTW, beautiful puppy.

[Jane, Guinness and Murphy]

Penny is absolutely adorable!  Congratulations on your new puppy.  All of the training steps that you've outlined sound perfect.  The only other thing that I remember learning at our puppy classes is that if the pup jumps up while you don't have a lead on you can try walking forward right into her space (versus turning around)...don't say a word or show excitement just step forward and claim her space.  It usually takes them off guard and they'll stop the jumping.  You can also try giving her a "sit" command and treating when she does it.....she can't sit and jump at the same time.  Good luck and enjoy this cutie!

[Moe]

My doodle is 6mo old. She used to jump on people all the time. I just started with a new trainer and the jumping is all but gone. We practice no jumping activities here are a few: (you could have the kids do these as she gets better, they are super easy and don't involve the clicker)

• Elevator game: hold a treat over your head and slowly lower it. If she jumps it goes back up. If she remains down she gets the treat. You have to go pretty fast in the beginning then as she gets better you go slower. Practice it in a down first, then sit, then standing. 
• Keep away: Put the leash on the dog and just hold it still. It almost works best if you tether the dog to something. Have someone walk up to the dog, if she does not jump they give the dog a treat. If the dog goes up on two legs they walk away. You have to make sure to hold the leash still, you don't want to pull the dog back. Keep repeating until the dog does not jump. As she gets better you practice it in a sit and a down.
• Sit Stay Greet: This is definitely more advanced. We practice this when people come over. It helps to have a friend or neighbor that will help you practice. Your dog will have to know sit and stay. Put the dog in a sit / stay, have someone come in, if they remain seated the person can pet them. (you can click or treat for this also). If the dog jumps the person gets up and moves away, you'll have to have the dog leashed. I practice this when my boys have friends over. I give each one of them a treat and tell them to come into the house and pet the dog and give her a treat if she is sitting. If she jumps they walk on. Last week there were ten 13 year olds over so she got a ton of practice.

I like these training methods because they are so easy. It is hard to click and treat when the dog is being good because it is hard for them to know why you are clicking. I also have all four of my kids practice with the dog so she knows we all expect the same good behavior. When we are out and someone asks if they can pet the dog I say sure but she is in training so if she jumps on you we are going to walk away. They usually laugh and are happy to help you. I also bring her to the local pet store and train her with the employees. This is the ultimate distraction practice.

[Deanna & Desi & Cori]

These are great tips!!  Thanks for sharing...