Recently, I ran into a puppy raiser (who shall remain nameless) at an event (that shall remain nameless) and when I started to greet the dog (who shall... well, you know), the dog jumped up and nearly smashed me in the face. Since I could see it coming, I moved away in time, but if I had been blind...well, a broken nose would not have been surprising.
Of the many, many things we ask you to teach the puppies, not jumping on people has to be in the top 10. Maybe even the top 3. Getting jumped on by a dog is annoying enough when you see it coming. Being literally blindsided by a dog is downright dangerous. Please do not allow your pups to jump on people. As with any rule infraction, the correct response is "No!" followed by a collar correction.
It is a natural behavior, especially for puppies, to jump on people. This mimics the behavior that dogs and wolves show in packs when the subordinate pack members try to lick the chins and mouths of the top dogs. So start from Day One with your puppy. Enforce the "four on the floor" rule from the beginning, with no exceptions. It won't take the pup long to figure out that he can express all his love and adoration from a horizontal rather than vertical position.
3 comments:
I agree 100% with everything you say. The problem I run into with my pups is that when I see someone I know, my natural instinct is to greet them and look at them, which takes my focus off the puppy. Then, before I know it, the puppy has jumped. Sure, a correction at that time is fine, but that pattern of jump-correct doesn't solve the problem. Since I know other raisers deal with this a lot as well, any tips you can provide on preventing jumping would be helpful. (Tip 1: Learn to be rude gracefully?)
I too agree with what has been said. Having worked both with a puppy and a finishing dog who jumped, I have started additional training with my foot on the leash when greeting someone. I know almost instantly that the puppy or adult dog is going to jump and have the ability to correct the puppy when it starts its jump. After a few times of the correction, the problem will generally correct itself. I find time is a great help. As a mentor once said, "a puppy is a puppy is a puppy". Hope this helps a little.
Thanks for this info and comments.
We are raising a wonderful yellow lab who has a significant jumping and mouthing problem. She is almost a year old now and we have tried everything, especially turning away and not giving any attention until she has "four on the floor" but visitors and strangers who approach her don't know that.
She has mastered almost every other behavior requirement but we know that this could be a significant impediament to her career.
Is there anything else we can try?
Post a Comment