Doodle Jumping

[DJ]

I am loving my Winton, but some who visit me are startled by his joy at seeing them.

He will jump straight up on their front.. I have read that the "people" should fold their

arms and turn away, but this is harder to get THEM to do than train my doodle!

Any one had this problem and solved it?

 

[Amy Saxon]

Hi DJ,
I posted something very similar to this almost a year ago. Now my goldendoodle is just over a year old and yes, every person who walks in the door is still being greeted by a wet kiss on the face. She can get pretty high, too! The worst is when we go to the dog park and she decides to greet random strangers. I know you're looking for advice, but for me at least, it has helped to hear over and over again that this is so common for the breed. So - hey! at least it's not just you! One thing that has actually worked for our GD, Bella, before we even open the door for a stranger and as soon as we get home from work we make her sit. We kneel down to hug her as a reward for sitting, this is finally starting to catch on a little bit with strangers as well. "Sit. Stay. Okay, now you can pet her..."

Good Luck!

[Jennifer Goaring]

I just searched for this and found a comment on the "Doodle Whisperers" group about this and I replied to it... I don't know if the search function is working quite right (I actually SEARCHED by looking for a group about training and reading through the post titles!)

Anyway, they have some good replies about step by step training for greeting guests and how the guests may need some training also and you need to set it all up to practice. It is good info. My puppy training book says something very similar -- little steps at first -- teaching the dog to chill out when someone is in the room, then close by, then paying attention to them, and so on.

Another poster mentioned "dancing" with the dog... when he jumps up, grab his paws and dance him around a bit until he is somewhat uncomfortable with it -- but smile and sing and be happy about it... it is not punishment, just something that happens when you jump up and eventually the dog may decide it is safer to keep all 4 feet on the ground. I liked this idea and hope to try it out on my doodle. My kids will find it fun too and the turning away thing just isn't always working -- if anything the pup thinks it is a bit of a game -- so he will either like dancing and it won't work, or maybe it will help.

Would love to read more ideas also! :)

Jen G.
"mommy" to 5 month old Sammy!

[Stella]

I did this with our jumpong doodle and it works!  He got so embarrased by being made to dance that he quit jumping!!

[Eva (Lilo and Rocky)]

You could try a remote-controlled citronella spray collar... has cured jumping on people in my dogs. Shop around, they are expensive. Mine is from Premier. Has also cured other problems such as barking at the tv, running after people, and counter surfing. Only use it to solve one problem at a time, of course, or the dog gets confused ;)

[Adina P]

Honestly, as much as everyone (and I used to too) recommend trying to train 'guests' and giving them instructions...I think that for the most part that is absolutely useless. As you say...THEY are harder to train than your dog. You still might need to ask them NOT to pet her when she jumps, but my opinion is that the BEST way is for your to kick butt in obedience training. Work hard to train your pup to sit on command around tough distractions, to stay on command around tough distractions, to heel on command around tough distractions and so on. If you get to a solid place in obedience with your doodle...then all ya gotta do is issue some commands to tell him how to behave when guests arrive and there is no jumping. It might not help at the dog park (but I kind of think dogs get to do what they want there outside of aggression...it's THEIR park not mine) but it will help at home and other times when he's under command.

Essentially IF your dog is solidly trained to "sit-stay" on command and you tell your dog "Winton, Sit-Stay" then he can NOT jump. However, to get to that point of solid training takes a lot of hard work, practice, and training everywhere (not just at home when nobody is there but your family). I think too often "train your dog to sit stay at the door" gets translated to "tell your dog to sit stay at the door." But simply telling your dog to do so won't make mean he does it UNLESS that committed, regular, everywhere training occurs.

So forget trying to change any other person who is a guest in your home. Work so hard with Winton that it won't matter how 'untrained' your guests are =)

[Marianne *OZZY & ZOEY]

I don't think anyone has the answer LOL, Ozzy is almost 2..I have tried everything. When the door bell rings I hold his collar and keep him back, then they can pet him..Doodles JUMP. I have never seen anything like it before..Ozzy can jump like a pogo stick..By now everyone knows who Ozzy is and that he is just happy..I try and will keep trying and hope one day he gets it. Sorry no help here except to let you know you are not alone.

[Sylvia and Malley]

LOL - A pogo stick!!  Exactly!!!  I have never seen anything like it either.  When Malley is at the fence it is hilarious!!!

[Joyce & Wilson]

Ok... this is Wilson to a T !!! The jumping with excitement is how he greets everyone.!! Everyone, accept a friend of mine who has both hips replaced, one knee and back surgery. Since day one..when she comes over or we visit her..he doesn't jump. It's like he senses she can not tolerate it...go figure!! Smart dood!!

[Brenda F]

Glad this question came up because we have been dealing with this issue also. Adina, you are so smart! What you say makes perfect sense! And I will continue perservering on the obedience part.

[Adina P]

I really think that is the best solution. But it's not an easy one and you have to find a method that works really well for both of you so you're not just practicing things that aren't working over and over and over. Do it at the park by the playground. Do it by a duck pond. Do it near the entrance of an elementary school. Do it outside and inside of Lowes. Do it in and out of PetSmart. Do it outside of grocery stores. Do it downtown. Do it as people stand near him. Do it while people run around him. Do it while people look at him from a distance. Do it while people look at him up close. Do it while someone pets him. Think of any and all circumstances where you might want your doodle to obey and practice those scenarios many times over. And ALWAYS remember not to jump too many distraction levels at one time. For example: Someone running up to your dog excitedly to pet him is way harder than someone calmly coming close and softly saying hello ... which is harder than someone coming close and standing near him but not looking or talking....which is harder than someone farther away...which is harder than someone walking past him without stopping...and so on. Start easy and work up.

...which is harder than someone walking by 4 feet away and not looking at your dog is EONS easier than someone

[Jane, Guinness and Murphy]

There is a great discussion on this in the Doodle Whisperers group. I think you'll find lots of great info there.

[Deb Stanton]

Wakefield, my labradoodle, also jumps on people. Hejust loves everyone and is just so happy to greet them. I've been in obedience class with him and training him for his CGC and therapy testing. First time we took the test he failed because he jumped up when meeting a "stranger" (and also cried when I left him for the three minute stay with a friend while I hid around the corner). The trainers had me work with distracting him with treats (after making him sit at my side) when people approached. I've been using that while walking him and we see other people (even at a distance he tries to go meet people), gradually stopping actually giving him the treats and just making the happy sound he normally associates with treats to get his attention. He's gotten much better about it and focuses his attention on me when someone approaches and doesn't "attack" them with hugs and kisses. The second time we tested, he breezed by the meeting a stranger, giving me his attention and letting them pet him without jumping. unfortunately he failed the test because he still whined when we did the separation. But, he's not quite a year yet so we're going to work on this last hurdle to the test. Sorry to run on so much, but I guess my point is with help from the trainers I've found that repetitive training, first with treats, then just the attention noise occupies him enough to allow him to calm down while someone approaches or enters our "space".training when the door bell rings is harder because we don't get much company, but I've been opening the front door and letting him lookout the glass storm door. When he starts jumping and whining about people walking up the street I'm using the same technique and it seems to be working. (I am glad to hear the jumping is a doodle trait and not just my dog's issue. thanks for all the other info on this.