In a message dated 1/11/2003 12:30:46 PM Eastern Standard Time, [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes:
> My dog is very sweet and he loves to play, but the > problem is that he jump on people Hi Mariana, Yes, big dogs jumping on people can be a problem, he could easily knock them down in his enthusiasm. First of all, think about why he jumps up. He wants to greet the new person. He is trying to be friendly and polite and say "hi" in the person's face, which is up in the air....he thinks he has to jump to get to the face. Remember this is is friendly greeting when teaching him to stay "4 on the floor" and let people come down to say hi to him. That is the reason I do NOT like to use aversive (negative, bad) methods to punish the dog for jumping. He isnt trying to do anything but greet someone in what he thinks is the proper way. I do not beleive in using the suggestions you may hear that are based on hurting him.....examples: stepping on the dog's hind feet or kneeing/kicking him in the chest or grabbing and squeezing his front paws. My goal is to cause him to be correct or "do the right thing" .....then I can *reward* the correct behavior. My approach is not to try and cause him to be wrong and then *punish* the incorrect behavior. Leave a 6 foot leash attached to his collar, dragging on the floor. Have a friend come over to say hi. You simply stand on the end of the leash as she comes in. If he tries to jump on your friend, she should simply step away, out of his range (he is stuck and cannot follow her b/c you are standing on the leash) and turn her back on him. Say nothing, both of you. Then 5-10 seconds later, she should turn back and approach him, telling him to "sit" (of course first you must teach him so he knows what the command "sit" means)....if he does sit, she should pet him and tell him calmly and quietly what a wonderful, good dog he is. She can even have a little treat for him to lure him into the sit and give to him if he does sit. If he does not sit and instead he jumps up again, she should simply turn away from him and step out of range and ignore him.....so he can no longer get to her, just like before. This may need to be repeated many times, since he is already in a bad habit. Be patient! Eventually he should figure out that he gets what he wants (petted and treats) if he does what you want (sit or stand w/ all 4 paws on the floor.) Of course you will need to do this w/ many different people and no one should let the dog jump or he will be confused. Be sure to give him lots of exercise so he is not all wound up w/ energy and if he isnt neutered yet, do it as soon as possible. Hormones can make for maniacs! :-) Best of luck and keep us posted. Vilma Briggs (Kistner) Mt. Gilead, OH U-UD Mocha Java Slurp, UDX, HIC, TT Ch. Brighteye Expresso Bean, UD, NDD, TT U-CDX Our Little Buddy, UD, NA, TT Thirdtym's A Charm, CGC and Ted
