Jumping tips needed, especially something new.

[Amy & Bernie]

I need your help folks. We have yet to find a technique to keep Bernie from jumping.

We've tried everything we've been able to find on basic web searches, generally they all have the same tips: turn away, ignore, sit first - affection second, etc. but he's proven to be quite adaptable.

We turn away, he realigns his next jump. We move out of the way, he just tries again. We ignore, he'll jump 50 times in a row if needed, and progresses to barking at us. We make him sit, wait, then give him affection and then he jumps! It's insane. We tried the leash method, leaving it on him, using that to keep him on the ground, but the one time his leash isn't on and he gets the urge to jump, there he goes! I am a huge advocate of positive approach and not using force but we're running out of passive options - or at least as far as I know.

And if he's this bad with us I won't even go into how much more excited he is with strangers. I'm embarrassed to go back to the dog park.

Do any of you have any unique tips, methods, or processes that have worked for you?

[Adina P]

Does he jump all through the day or only upon first greeting after not seeing you for a bit?
How long do you make him sit before he jumps again? Does he have a strong 'stay' trained?

[Amy & Bernie]

Definitely more with the first greeting or after a separation. During the day he'll do it when he gets feisty, like during play, but not, "hey you left the room and came back, I need to jump on you!" When we make him sit, we tend to give a quick head pat then ignore him, not too much affection, we want him to calm down. So I guess as soon as we start walking away he'll jump on us from behind - which hurts me, because he's already so tall on his hind legs. It honestly feels like he'll jump until he's gotten his fill of affection. And that's why the ignoring, etc. hasn't seemed to work because his stopping point is when he feels he's gotten enough - even if there's a 5 minute gap between jumps. The 'stay' thing is something we're working on. He knows it when we're in the middle of a training session, and does well, when he's focused, but it seems to lack relevance when he's excited. So I'd say definitely not strong yet.

[Jane, Guinness and Murphy]

For some dogs this one takes a very long time. My mini Doodle, Guinness, has always been a jumper. There's a lot of poodle in this dog, and he loves to be up on his hind legs "jumping and sort of dancing". From the time he was a puppy he would jump whenever I came home....very, very excited to see me. He's had a lot of training and does really well...he passed his TDI, so he's clearly able to control himself. Still at times though, especially if I've been gone for a while, he'll get excited and jump when I come in the door, even though he knows I won't acknowledge him until he's sitting. If he does this, I go right back out the door, and he HATES that. Now, when I come back in he's sitting and waiting to be petted. Give that a try...and you may have to do it several times before he starts to think "when I jump, my Mom leaves".

[Amy & Bernie]

I'll try this Jane. I work from home, which cuts our opportunities in half, but my husband is going to start doing this, and I'll prep friends for participation when I know they're coming over. Any thoughts on what to do if he's been in his crate? He's too young to leave alone so he's crated when we leave for the evening. Do we put him back in if he starts jumping or should we walk out and shut the bedroom door? I guess either of these would get the same point across, jumping doesn't get him what he wants.

[Jane, Guinness and Murphy]

Here's what I did when I was coming home, and he was still in the crate. I would grab a treat before I even opened the crate door; I would show him that I had the treat, and then open the door and immediately tell him to "sit", and at that point he got his treat and I got down on the floor and gave him lots of "lovin". Because he was always good about sitting for a treat, even as a young puppy, this usually worked.

[Amy & Bernie]

Good one, he's definitely treat motivated. And he's very good at sit, we can get him to sit from across the room by holding up our 'sit' hand signal. I like the idea of using a command he's confident with, I want his learning to not jump to be as positive and rewarding as possible. Thank you

[LG & Sadie]

Yes; maybe! This sounds similar to how our Sadie was-until we discovered how much she loves to work. So, now-her "job" when anyone arrives is to go get something-she decides and does this automatically now....she goes and gets a toy or ball, holding this toy or ball provides the restraint she needs to keep her darn paws on the floor. She wiggles like crazy and rubs all parts of herself on folks to say hi once given the okay, but so long as she is holding her toy or ball-she doesn't jump. So, as soon as we hear a knock. We just say, "Sadie-go get something...." and we wait until the item is secured, then open the door. It's amazing. This also works well on outings if we have her bring something. If she "brings it" she is much more able to focus on the actual task-as opposed to every single distraction. She has a seizure disorder so I just attributed this need for an external stimulus to being a kind of wiring problem similar to a hyperactive child. BUT, this is only my suggestion-if you have read any of my posts-you know, I am FAR from an expert on dogs training or otherwise! :-) I just love doodles! Goodluck! Maybe this will help? Leane

[Amy & Bernie]

Thanks LG, we're working on naming his toys right now, he's getting better, but so far we haven't found anything he loves enough to distract him. People seem to trump everything! He'll get excited and worked up over a person but won't over a dog, he'll even stop scrounging for muffin bits when we're sitting at the coffee shop once he realizes someone has stopped to oooh and ahhh him! He's very charming and sweet but I feel like an ogre pinning him down so people can pet him. And don't even get me started on the people that say "oh it's okay, I love dogs!" Like people who don't like being jumped on dislike dogs?!

[Adina P]

I'm a fan of bonking dogs with a knee to the chest (not as harsh as it sounds) but my little Boca baby has now resorted to jumping onto my butt and back of legs...so...when I figure it out I'll let you know :) If you were to try this, you just have to be QUICK and there is no angry reprimand or frowning face. You just bonk like it was a reflex and then pretend nothing happened and then praise/pet when the dog has all four on the floor. The point is that you're not trying to make the dog feel bad, you are just presenting to the dog that humans have this weird knee reflex and if you jump toward them their knee pops out.

[Amy & Bernie]

We've tried this Adina and he just doesn't seem to care! I'm not sure if he's dense or if he's just a rowdy little boy that doesn't take anything too seriously? But yes, I'm getting the butt punches too, and I have scratches along my lower back, but I've checked and I can't clip his nails anymore =)

[Adina P]

I'm pinning my hopes on her future sit-stay. We haven't even taught stay yet so a strong stay is in her future...but that and the self control with a higher level of training is my only hope...LOL!

[Linda and Murphy]

I'm a fan of this one too. Great explanation, Adina.