How do I get my doodle bear to stop jumping up on people?

[Amy Johnson]

My puppy is seven months now and has been jumping up on people, however, has learned to not jump up on my husband and I. He is about 50 pounds now, so this is a issue that will hopefully go away soon! I took him to a neighbor's house Sunday, and he was great with the other dogs and with the other people there. However, yesterday he was trying to jump up on some people in my neighborhood and nipped at them when they tried to pet him, and then he tried to jump up on my MIL and my daughter. He acts like a spazz around other people sometimes. I keep telling him to sit and then he just does it again. I correct him everytime he does this. When will he catch on not to jump up on people other than my husband or I? Also, I know that you are not supposed to pet a puppy until it is sitting and calm, but my puppy will lunge up when he is sitting also. I am nervous to take him to the dog park if he can't be somewhat under control in a public place. Any ideas?

[Barbara B., Sasha & Oliver]

My Oliver is a jumper and he is 75 lbs and almost 3 yrs old.  He gets very excited and starts jumping, he is very tall and can knock someone down in a second.  Thankfully he has never knocked someone down, I have worked on this since he was a pup.. he knows not to jump on me and he won't but other people he jumps and I hate that.  I always correct him but I guess I am not doing it correctly.   I know lots of people that have the "jumping" problem with their dogs, I think its one of the hardest things to teach them.

[Bonnie and Kona]

If you join the training group there are discussions about "tethering". You keep your dog on a leash at home and everywhere else. If your dog begins to jump you can correct him before he succeeds. There are so many tips in the training group for many behavior problems. Try searching for "jumping" there.

[Puppy Love]

My command is "say hi". He turns his back and sits on strangers feet and waits to get a back rub. I say good boy and give him a treat. He gets a double treat back rub and treat and slowly melts on the ground and rolls over for a belly rub. This is adorable but not fool proof. One out of ten people we meet who get really excited and talk in crazy baby talk high pitch voice "oh hi pretty girl". I quickly respond "say hi boy". He swings around so fast I have to pull away because he can take someone out with one swing of that big butt. I think his response is triggered by calm vs. excitable human.

[Adina P]

This is how Rosco learned to stay (video is not ready as of my posting, but should be in a few minutes).  Keep in mind that I'm describing how he learned stay (years ago). Also my technique is a bit abbreviated so I wouldn't follow every movement I make to a tee.  I just want to get across the general idea that it happens in small steps. I'll make a few more videos to add on in a bit.

[Adina P]

This is more on how you can transition the sit stay to a polite greeting.

[Jay, Lola and Colonel Esau]

Interesting, thanks Adina.  I do the thing with the building corner, but I had not thought about the mild leash pressure while he is in the stay.  I like that one.  Also Roscoe looks so happy with you.

PS: Next time, can we see the one with the little dance?  Pretty please??? :)

[Adina P]

The leash tugs are only during the teaching phase ... once we're competent in sit stay with me straight out in front (6 feet away) for 60 seconds we don't continue it.  But I should mention I'm a methodist (through and through) when it comes to training.  I don't veer away from method (or combine theories/methods) when I'm out training. 

There's a 'little' dance somewhere in the archives of the Training Group =)  And then I reposted it somewhere again recently for a sit stay video I posted with Boca.

[Jay, Lola and Colonel Esau]

I tend to be more conceptual, whether in dog training, computer programming or pretty much anything else.  I think of it kind of like watching the cooking channel.  I watch and listen to see what other people do and get ideas - but it wouldn't occur to me to try to recreate their recipe exactly.  

[Jay, Lola and Colonel Esau]

I should mention, though, that with dog training there is one person in particular that has influenced me more than anyone else.  Although it's more in a philosophical/theoretical sense than with respect to any particular technique.  

[Moe]

I've posted this before. If you proactively work on no jumping for 10 minutes 3x a day it will most likely have completely stop. Most people don't follow through and just expect it will work out on its own by ignoring the behavior. I don't think that works.

I finally found a trainer that addressed jumping by doing something proactive rather than ignoring the behavior or just making a noise which didn't work. We worked on these exercises for weeks. Works for no jumping in the house or when you are out on walks and greeting strangers. .

There is no talking or commands with these exercises. They all teach the dog paws on the ground = good.

• 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. 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. It almost works best if you tether the dog to something. Keep repeating until the dog does not jump. As she gets better you practice it in a sit and a down. (We do this at a baby gate that we have to keep her out of the living room - if the paws go on the gate we walk away.)
• 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.
• Stranger greeting: when you are out on walks an people want to pet your dog say sure, but she is in training so would you be willing to help me. Most people are happy to help. I tell them I will put the dog in a sit and if she remains sitting they can pet the dog. If she tries to jump I'm going to keep walking. People usual get a kick out of helping with training.
  

It takes 10-15 minutes of practice 3x a day for a few weeks but if you work at it the dog should stop jumping. Good luck

[Adina P]

Although our methods are different, what they have in common is that interactions are carefully staged so the dog gets practice regularly and is not allowed practice the wrong behavior.

[Amy Johnson]

I taught him how to stay by asking him to lay down and then I put a treat in front of him touching his nose and made him stay for a few minutes. I then would say "go eat" and that's how I taught him! I should prob work him more on it with him sitting up though! Thanks for all of the wonderful comments and I am going to try all of these!