Jumping on people!?

[moongodess319]

Brownie, my two year old beagle, has what's becoming a little bit of a problem. Whenever someone walks into a room or he meets someone new he jumps all over them. No matter what we do we can't seem to stop him, for about 5 minutes after someone walks in he jumps all over them. Its not aggressive, but he weighs about 25 - 30lbs and he sometimes hurts people while doing this.

Is there a way to show him that this isn't the best way to greet guests? We're very worried that one day he will really hurt someone, and now most of our family won't come into our house because of him. My sister waits for someone to hold him before she walks in because he's hurt her before. If anyone can offer some advice that would be really really wonderful. Thanks!

[glitterfairy]

What have you tried so far?

My friend recommends a smack on the nose, our vet recommended that we just ignored the dog (ours used to do this, too). I figure the dog probably gets excited when he jumps, because then the human makes all these playful "oooooh!" or "aaaah! or "eeeeeeeeek!" sounds (much like a dog toy).

[Martina]

no please dont smack him on the nose :( you could try having his leash on in the house (or if he does it outside) and pull him GENTLY back and say no and make him sit, or you could tell the people to GENTLY put there knee in his chest when he jumps, or make him sit before he does it when he doesnt jump say good and go to his level. but my favorite is to know why the dog really jumps which usually is, they like you and want to say hi, and the dogs are being friendly:) thats so cute i love jumpy dogs but alot of people dont, sorry :confused:

[Norman]

Charlie our black lab used to do this and we just asked people to turn away so she got their backs and only fuss her when she sits nicely. She learnt very quickly which behaviour got her rewards.

The knee in the chest thing is ok but people are different heights which affects where in the chest contact is made. Personally any action like that is dangerous as you cannot alwasy judge the force of the dog. When he jumps say no in a stern voice and ONLY fuss/reward him when he is sitting nicely.

[luvmybirds]

It is a little hard to put your knee in a Beagle's chest, pretty low to the ground. Getting to his level is a good idea and ignore the negative behaviour. My shepherd puppy tries this ,too. I just turn my back and ignore him. He is doing less and less. And he gets a treat when he is sitting.

[brandy pup]

www.apdt.com


Totaly ignore the dog until the dog sits or salms down

[moongodess319]

We've tried ignoring him when he does this. Our vet and his behaviorist did not recommend any negative reinforcement (smacking or using our knee). He said smacking or using our knees could hurt the dog (if someone accidentally did it too hard) or could make him display aggressive behavior.

When we try to turn our backs or walk away he just gets more excited and determined and jumps more. He knows sit, but when he gets excited he refuses to listen.

We wouldn't mind him jumping except that at nearly 30 pounds he can do some damage when he's excited. This morning he cut my arm pretty badly with his nails because my aunt came over. Also, some of the younger kids in my family are terrifed to come near him because when he stands up he's taller than them and nearly knocks them down.

One trainer I spoke to told me to practice with people who weren't afraid of him. Walk into the room with a treat and only give him the treat when he learns to sit quietly. I guess we may have to give this a shot, since ignoring him doesn't seem to do the trick. We've only had him a week (we adopted him last saturday) so I know he's still adjusting as well. Hopefully between training and adjusting he'll calm down a little.

Thanks for the replies!

[brandy pup]

www.apdt.com

Sounds like some obedience training will be helpful also. He sounds very happy to have been adopted by you. But your right, jumping should be a no no. Good luck.

[animallover5457]

when the dog tries to jump grab him by the collar and say sit. this has worked for us!

ALSO - join i-dog - www.i-dog.com- all your dog questions will be answered so quickly by dog trainers and vets! i joined it and it is GREAT!

[Human Slave]

It sounds as if he needs to learn his place in your pack and is a "pushy" dog so I would try NILIF training. A lot of rescue workers swear by NILIF and that it works with even aggressive dogs.

Some links:

http://www.dogo.org/Education/NILF.asp

http://www.newhopecattledogs.com/alpha.htm

http://www.ddfl.org/behavior/nilif.htm

http://www.k9deb.com/nilif.htm

http://www.cairnrescue.com/docs/NILIF.htm

[moongodess319]

Thanks for the links, they were very helpful. We are scoping out trainers and obendience classes as well as hoping to work with him at home now. Yesterday someone was eating a cookie and when I went to stop him from jumping on them he bit me, so we definetly need to do something fast. Thanks again!

[animallover5457]

Hi again!
If you are looking for great pet training to go to petsmart. They have WONDERFULL trainers. It usally cost about 99 dollars and is for around 6 weeks. You can ask the trainers anything! this would defeintly be a good chice!
Hope This helps!
Trina

[LUVMYSWISSY]

This problem seems to come up a lot. My last post was short on the subject but I will elaborate a little more. Training is the key! Patients and time are essential.

The reason most dogs and puppies jump up on people is because they are happy and excited to see them! Jumping, leaping and bouncing are ways your dog shows affection and receives attention. The behavior is usually learned while they are puppies. When a puppy is very young, we usually sit on the floor, let them wiggle into our laps and allow them to lick and nuzzle up close to our face. When they come bounding over to greet us, jumping and stretching up to our knees, again we bend down, pick them up and exchange hugs and kisses. All this time we are training and rewarding the puppy for jumping up. Eventually we decide we don't like this behavior anymore. What used to be cute is now obnoxious and even dangerous if the dog is jumping up on children or the elderly.

Our inconsistency perpetuates the problem. Some of the time we tolerate the jumping and ignore it. Other times we reward the behavior by exchanging enthusiastic greetings. But when we're dressed up and the dog's paws are muddy, it's a different story. Reprimanding the dog for jumping up usually does not work. Either the dog misunderstands the reprimand as praise or he gets even more excited and the jumping gets worse. If the reprimand is severe enough, the dog may stop jumping at that moment but it doesn't solve the problem altogether; and it certainly is not a very nice thing to do. It's very similar to a person approaching you with a big smile, arm extended to exchange a hand-shake and you bopping the person in the nose. Even if your dog learns that jumping up on you is not a good idea, he will usually get away with jumping up on everyone else.

A better solution is providing your dog with an alternative method of greeting you and others. Teach your dog to sit-stay. He cannot sit-stay and jump up at the same time. When he is sitting you can then kneel down and give him a warm hug and kiss. Practice is essential. If your dog is excitedly jumping up when you return home from work and this only happens once a day, then he is only getting one practice session a day. If he is jumping up on your company and you only have visitors once a week, then he is only getting one practice session a week. In order to perfect the proper greeting routine, your dog needs much more practice than that. You can speed up the training process by leaving through the back door and returning through the front door over and over again. When your friends come over, have them do the same. Each time, ask your dog to sit-stay before opening the door. At first his excitement will make it difficult for him to concentrate but after you've repeated this process 10+ times, he will calm down and be able to concentrate. Before asking your dog to sit-stay in this distracting and exciting situation, be sure he has a reliable sit-stay in normal, non-stressful situations.

Use the leash, it is an effective tool in training your pup.