Down, Girl!

[melly]

My BC pup is now 15 months old. She knows and follows all my commands EXCEPT. . . . She seems to lose every ounce of sense and, ummm, decorum when anyone, and I do mean ANYONE besides me is around. The words "down" and "don't jump" mean nothing to her. I have used every trick in the book to teach her not to jump on people. I have to keep her on a very short leash when we are going to be around other people. She also has periods when she cannot seem to restrain herself from jumping on me. I have to keep her in nearly a choke hold when people come around to keep her from jumping on and kissing them, all the while wriggling every muscle in her body. It's like she just goes completely insane.

 

Any suggestions? I'm open to just about anything.

[diane allen]

Two thoughts: if you've been using commands "down" and "no jump" - try something else. "off" is a good one. (For us, "Down" means lie down; "off" means all four feet on the floor. Have you made getting off MORE fun than jumping up?? Sounds like a pretty ingrained habit at 15 months - so you really need to think about "starting over." Try training with minimal distractions - teach the dog that 'off' means all four feet on the floor, and THEN you'll get really yummy treats (chicken, cheese, whatever she likes). Don't try this after a visitor has rung the doorbell or knocked, then come into the room! Maybe start with someone in another room, and dog is excited, starting to jump on you. Or get a friend to help: put dog in one room; put friend in another room; open door and let dog into where friend is. THEN four on the fllor = treats and praise!

 

Another thought: border collies are very "space" oriented. By letting her jump, she's "claiming" that space as hers. Try walking into her, or actually stomping your feet as you walk into her. You're not stepping on toes or knocking her down. Just walking - hard. Say nothing during this time, except perhaps a soft "off." (Trust me, this is the hardest part!)

 

See if you can catch her just before she jumps, and reward that.

If she stands up as you approach, reward that - four on the floor.

 

Just keep at it. You and she will get it!

 

Diane

[GeorgiaBC]

This comes up a lot. I was always a firm believer in the sharp knee-in-the-chest correction as you say "off." Believe me, that works just fine. But with my most recent pup I learned that by far the quickest and best way to solve this problem is simply to turn away from her every time she jumps up and give her the command to sit. This way, she does not get what she wanted--your hand. She gets nothing. But as soon as she sits, praise her and pet her. That way, per Diane's post, you've made not jumping is more rewarding than jumping. My dog was a world-class jumper-upper. But now she will race at 60 miles per hour to greet me, and at the last possible second----stop and sit. It really works.

[Catu]

Beside the advices given by Diane, I would like to add something: Don't bother with commands until the behaviour is established, otherwise the dog will get used to hear you repeat and repeat the commands and it should be said just once, but for that the dog has to know what is expected from it before the command is given.

 

I don´t know if I'm explaining myself, hope so.

[ahoops]

my dog was a terrible jumper when she was younger .i found the best way to stop her was to turn away , arms folded and not look at her or pay any attention. as soon as she sat down and wondered what was going on i turned and gave her a treat and heaps of praise.she soon worked out not jumping up was the better option. the hardest part is to get all your friends family and any vistors to do it too ,as it has to be consitant, ALL the time.so you have to train your people too

[SincereArtisan]

Have you considered using a gentle leader to help her 'lunging' to greet visitors? There is also a 'no jump' harness out there, with soft cords that loop around their back legs and fasten up front....difficult to describe, but basically when the dog jumps, it's hing legs are pulled up under it and the dog HAS to sit.

 

At work, I bring my leg up to deter jumpers. It was sort of a last resort...but having a 120lb lab, an 80 lb golden, another lab weighing in at arounf 70lbs, not to mention handfuls of 30-40lb dogs all vying for your attention at once at all angles....well, turning around and just folding my arms wasn't enough, the ones at my back would only rejoice all the more! They get the idea, though. (Mind you, I'm not rough with bringing my knee up at all, just a gentle nudge being all they need as a reminder.)

[Allie Oop]

When training our dogs we used the turn method and a firm "off" and "no jumping". If this didn't work, we used a small squeeze bottle of lemon juice. When the dog jumps up you quickly squirt a little lemon juice into their mouth (the dog's mouth almost always opens when jumping up) and the "off", "no jumping" commands. Sounds goofy, but it worked very well for us. (However, if you find out your dog LIKES the taste of lemon juice, this probably won't work.)

[melly]

Sorry to be so long getting back to the board. I'm traveling and some RV parks don't have wi-fi. Anyhoo--thanks for your replies. I like the idea of turning my back and not responding to her jumping, but rewarding the four feet on the floor. I've tried the knee in the chest, but she has learned to jump just for enough away that my knee won't reach her. I'll try the lemon juice, also, but this is a dog who likes YUCK! As you mentioned, getting OTHER people to cooperate is a real problem. <p>Thanks.