Help with jumping up

[Don Kondra]

Greetings,

I swear 17 week old Ruby has OCD, she jumps up, three times, every time.

If she's close enough I give a gentle knee in the chest and "NO"..

She is getting better but what seems to work best is "Down" while holding my hand out palm down. Sometimes on the second or third jump she will jump into my hand.

I'm not really thrilled with doing any corrections that involve my hand/her head.

A similar issue with nipping. When told "NO" or "Ouch" she will stop but only after she does it one more time.

Any suggestions ?

Cheers, Don

[Tanya]

turn around and ignore her, no command, nothing, just ignore and turn around. as soon as she calms down turn around and praise/pet.

[kassabella]

It does take time. She will get it. Keep being firm with lots of treats for good behaviour.

Our family dog always had to have the last word or bark. Gems jumped and Ernie to a lesser degree. I turn and walk away, and don't give any attention. I found I wasn't quick enough to knee or other things.
When I come into the house I don't talk to the dogs until they are sitting quietly and same when people come in. They have a mat they go to.
I also trained them to sit in a spot in the hall so I could open the door and people could come in, but people I didn't know they could see the dog.

Good luck.

[Don Kondra]

Thanks for the suggestions.

I don't believe this is a behavior that can be tolerated or ignored.

The knee to chest when possible and firm words is working.

I just had a visit from another dog owner, with my permission he applied the same treatment and very shortly had her calmly sitting and leaning against his leg.

Cheers, Don

[kaytris]

Without my permission, a friend of mine used the knee on my dog when we were on slippery linoleum - sent her FLYING to land WHAM on her back. Not a method I would ever, EVER recommend.

[Don Kondra]

I wouldn't recommend that level of correction either unless the behavior is allowed to go on until the dog is older.

Jumping up and/or nipping is simply not acceptable.

Cheers, Don

[honeybadger]

This is probably not relevant since your dog is a lot smaller, but when I got Jack the jumping was constant and I was covered in bruises from it (I got him at 18 months). So yeah... sorting this problem out before she gets bigger is definitely the way to go.

I try and pre-empt jumping- it's easier than stopping it once it gets going- avoid the problem by getting the dog to sit before they get close enough to jump. Then I go up and say hi while they're sitting. Then again, sitting is an optimum position to jump from.

Jack's almost stopped jumping now, but back then everyone told me "turn around, ignore the bad behaviour!" and for me it just did not work, because he was then able to jump on me without me being able to defend myself, and he didn't seem to get the message that his jumping wasn't working... and I got very painful bruises and scratches on my back and hips. I actually encourage other people to knee/push him away if he jumps, so he doesn't get away with it. Most people are too polite to tell him off. That being said, he is very strong/muscular/heavy/young and it would be hard to knee him forcefully enough for him to fall or hit the ground and hurt himself. When he jumps on people he can literally bowl them over.

Also, I have a special unpleasant "no jumping" noise I make. It kind of sounds like a duck being squeezed. He doesn't like it.

[Ladybug]

my dogs can knock you down. i think turning around is the most effective. however as someone said some dogs will just jump and knock you over. one of my newer clients has 4 big dogs and i like their method.

most stop as soon as you say off. but one is stubborn. they turn around, then turn around again. like a double i guess. then they use a hand command, no words, for sit. this way he isn't jumping because they moved and is watching for a hand signal. once he sits all the hugs and kisses can be given. this may or may not work. i tried it at home and ladybug thought i was playing and...well i have a bruise now because i lost my balance. lol.

works with tigger though, but he's not as bad, he runs to the couch and waits for us to go to him.

i do agree the jumping has to stop. and the nipping. i have small grandchildren. the lab is the only one doing it. she is probably close to 8 months and just started. she has lived her three months. ill pull the crate out if i have to when the kids come over. i don't leave them alone together. i'm wondering if all labs are this way at this age. we know nothing of her past and i kind of feel like she didn't really get to start being a puppy til she came here.

[Don Kondra]

Thanks everyone for your comments.

Ruby is now a week short of five months old and the jumping up/nipping is almost gone.

The knee to the chest and firm voice may have helped

I also subscribe to "a tired dog is a well behaved dog". Longer walks and more fetch now that she is a bit older.

Cheers, Don

[Don Kondra]

I forgot to mention the most important thing, Stay Calm

When this first started to be a concern I realized I was getting quite excited, even p**sed off and was raising my voice.

Once I calmed down, both in body language and voice Ruby responded better.

Cheers, Don