Jumping up all the time!

Storm always jumps up at people when we are out walking. He is extremely friendly and just goes all soppy, running up to them with his tail wagging and then jumps up and licks and mouths their hands if they react to him. I'm really trying to stop him doing this, as obviously not everyone likes a dog jumping up at them. The other day he jumped up at a jogger and the jogger just stood there with his arms folded like you're supposed to, to stop a dog from jumping up any further, but this made Storm jump at him even more! I try telling Storm to get down, but he just doesn't listen to me. Today I took some treats out and tried to distract him with them, which did work a little, but as soon as he had taken the treats, he then ran after the people to say hello before I could stop him. The second time we saw people coming towards us and I got the treats out and called him, he just ignored me and ran to the people anyway.

How can I stop this? We used to let him jump up at us at home, but now we are stopping this to try to make him realise that jumping up isn't allowed. Is there anything else we can do? It's getting to the point where we dread meeting people on walks, because we know he's going to jump up at them.

I would take him to areas (on-lead) where you know there will be people to jump on and work on feeding him Sorry I just couldnt think of my words there.....

Teach a solid leave at home, then gradually increase distractions as he is sure what leave means. Then work on your timing.

I found when mine was younger that just 'leave' wasnt enough but actually 'GOOD leave' just before he went off so that he looked for a reward and then keep rewarding/feeding/playing with him until the 'potential victim' has gone (or at least he isnt looking for them anymore), doing that regularly seemed to curb his interest in jumping, running at and following people or dogs...then walk on and keep repeating as and when the situation arises...

Also, when approaching someone ask them to ignore him if he does jump and just guide him back to the ground with the lead, then let people calmly pet him when he is calmer and not jumping - just let the people you meet on walks know about it and most are pretty obliging in future..

I had this problem for the first six months after adopting Dexter. He would jump up at every single person who walked past us - even when on leash. No matter how many times I corrected him, made no difference.

In the end, two pretty simple things worked:

1 - I make sure when he's on lead that he *never* walks beside any strangers. I always walk between Dexter and anyone who is passing us.

2 - no doubt some people will disapprove of this, but in a desperate bid to stop Dex jumping all over visitors to our home, I left a bottle of lukewarm water by the front door and for a week every single time he launched himself at any guest, he got a squirt of water on the back.

It worked.

I had tried everything else so this was a last resort.

One note of caution: I'd be wary of allowing your dog off leash if he is jumping at people. I don't know how big he is but if he's a large dog, like Dex, there's a risk he could accidentally scratch someone badly. Dex did this to someone and the poor guy had blood running down his arm - hence my desperate bid of the squirting water.....

If you can manage to curb this annoying behaviour at home, it should stop when you're out. Our puppy (gsd) was an absolute nightmare at this, and it took me weeks and weeks of stopping the behaviour at home before she actually stopped doing it with people outdoors.

The worst for me was when hubby arrived home, it was a complete nightmare, he got scratched to pieces, even his face, his back, his arms, legs The turning round didn't work along with everything else, because he just got his back scratched instead Anyhoo, after trying just about every trick in the book, and the only thing that actually worked for us was to shove a slipper in her mouth as soon as he walked in the door. Unbelievable yes, but for some reason, it MADE her stay ON the ground, just going round and round him making silly noises, wagging her body and tail and if she dropped it, then up she'd go again, so we learned to have lots of spares on the outside window sill which hubby could quickly pick up and place in her mouth! Don't ask me why this works, but it worked for us so maybe you could try it along with everything else if all else fails.

She is now 2 years old and yet he still has to have the slipper in his hand when he gets home BUT, only for a few seconds, and she would never, ever, jump up at people outside the house, only my own visitors, but again, we use the treats at the back door, making her sit for them, and if she attempts any jumping, she gets the slipper treatment (in her mouth of course, not across it!!!)

Good luck, coz I'm one of those people who would not be impressed with a wet, muddy dog jumping up at me when out on a walk. Don't bother with the training classes for this one coz they never, ever do it at training, they wait until they're really excited and out on a walk for that!!!

Come to think of it my dog picks up his blanket when people (or I) come in - I never even thought - I wonder if he started this the same time he got better outside hmm

Could be! I don't know what made me think of doing this, but I really was at the end of my tether, and I knew how "controllable" she was when she had her ball in her mouth, so I thought, hmmmm, something in her mouth, maybe that might work and lo and behold! I wonder WHY that is though??? Even out on a walk, if I want to slip her lead on and walk past a dog that is showing her aggression, if I stick the ball back in her mouth, all is calm, she will walk past it totally ignoring it, whereas if I don't, she can yank on the lead to get to the dog to have a go back at it! There must be a link here with putting something in their mouth hey?

I have known this technique work with other dogs.
I think it is because they can find the physical mouthing of the object calming in itself, while carrying something gives them both an alternative job and an alternative focus, a well as the mouthing and/or carrying functioning as a displacement tension reliever.
It may also be that the object in their mouth helps to give a downward focus towards that, balancing the upwards focus towards the person's face or head.
In reality the specific reasons why it works probably varies from dog to dog.

I'm struggling with this too. We've been persisting with the "ignore the bad behaviour" but it is not working, he really pounds my poor bf when he come round. I've tried teaching an incompatible behaviour but he's just too excited, he'll sit but won't stay sitting for a fuss, he just jumps up again. I have trained him to sit about 6 feet away from the door when the bell goes, which he does, but then when released he just runs up and jumps He occassionally jumps at people down the park (which always scares the he'll out of me as when he lunges he also jumps up towards faces so I never know if he's being friendly or not!). I have always been 100% positive with Cain but I've had enough of this one and nothing ive done has worked and ive honestly considered using a pet corrector for this in the house, but I haven't yet. I would really like to break this, I'll definately try the soft object in mouth idea.

With your boy, it might be an idea to use a soft, squeaky ball that he likes? Just make sure as SOON as he drops it, you shove it back in there again, and I'm sure you'll notice a difference with him, so good luck.

thanks for that explanaition there Tass Yes, I've read about how chewing calms them down by affecting the top palate in their mouth, so having something against it even, could be the key!

The slipper thing with my dog, has always been her greeting for me first thing in the morning when I've come downstairs, she just HAS to take one of my slippers in her mouth whilst she wiggles around me for a fuss (that lasts about 5 mins even now lol!) So to HER, the slipper means love and friendship doesn't it, and again, when daddy comes home, it's the slipper she favours from the pile of "tools" lying in the corner of the bootroom if I haven't remembered to leave one outside on the windowsill for him lol! The things I have to do here!!! Anyway, I am actually thinking of using this element, i.e. the friendly focus slipper, for approaching offlead dogs? It could work with her current aggressive issues with dogs with attitude running up to her maybe? I don't know, but I'll try anything, even if people do think I'm slightly nuts by carrying a slipper around on a walk in my pocket! I've heard of worse!!! then again, could it actually spoil what we already have with the slipper connection? Dunno, it's work in progress atm!

Quote Helena "With your boy, it might be an idea to use a soft, squeaky ball that he likes? Just make sure as SOON as he drops it, you shove it back in there again, and I'm sure you'll notice a difference with him, so good luck."


It worked Bf came over tonight and I made Cain sit and wait while him came through the doir, as I went back to release Cain I shoved a squeaky Air Kong tennis ball in his mouth. Cain was so surprised at first then he squeaked it and ran off to his bed without bothering to greet Liam Liam looked slightly disappointed then I let him have the ball, took it off him then he went and greet Liam calmly! Break through. Whether it'll work consistantly remains to be seen, but so far so good