I've had Jerry for just over a month now; he's a 5-month-old Australian Shepherd x German Shepherd cross ^^
I did plenty of research before getting him, and his training was going brilliantly. He loves learning, going out, running, and playing, and he's very affectionate.
But there's a little issue I need to sort out as soon as possible. My mum is a childminder, so she looks after toddlers under 3 at home.
The problem is that my dog jumps up all the time. Let me explain: he’s constantly jumping on the furniture, over and over again. He's been doing this for the last 2 or 3 days; before that, his training was spot on. He won't stop putting his front paws up when we're eating, and on the worktops—actually, I've noticed he does it most where my mum is cooking x) I'll be honest, I'm stuck for ideas on how to fix this, other than pushing him away and saying "no", but I'm not really a fan of that style of training. I need to sort this out ASAP. I'm sure you'll understand that with young children around, this behaviour isn't ideal ^^'.
Do you have any suggestions to help me out? Thanks :)
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Hi Achan, thanks for your reply ^^ The thing is, are you sure one and two-year-olds will actually understand? x) And as for the others, I’ve explained it to everyone, but they just think it’s funny... 😔
Mmm yeah, I’d thought of that... The thing is, it’s fine with the furniture, but when it comes to people—when they come in, well, they say hello to the humans first, and then when it’s the dog’s turn, no matter how much I say "no" or "sit" or whatever I want, he just leaps all over them... xD
And yeah, I totally agree, it’s so hard not to laugh when he pulls that little sad face x')
We’re right in the middle of "leave it" training at the moment; I'm teaching him the "leave it" command. I put treats on his paws and he doesn't eat them until I give him the okay.
But anyway, the main problem is the fact he jumps up at people. Regarding the furniture, I’ve had a think about it and I’ve actually got plenty of solutions in the end, I reckon I can sort that out^^ But with people it’s tough, especially as they encourage him—they go "oooh, hellooo little doggy", and they lean down, so of course he just goes for it...😒
You can always teach the children to turn their backs when he jumps up; they might be little, but if you make a game of it, it works a treat! My son corrects the cat straight away whenever she’s being naughty! Once he understood the rules we wanted to set for our cat, he doesn't let her get away with a thing!
It’s the same for any visitors, like parents and so on... just explain it to them. I’m sure they’ll understand that he’s only a puppy at the moment and that you’re simply trying to train him properly for the safety of their own children! There’s no reason for them to refuse!
I’ve often heard and read on various forums, in books and elsewhere: "If you want to stop your pet doing something you don’t want them to do, don’t wait for them to do it—say 'no' by anticipating their next move."
I’ve tried it for a few little things: trying to eat pebbles (they don’t move, but they look so tasty! :O), leaves (oh, the leaves! Puppies just love them, especially when it’s windy ^^), or more recently, when he tries to eye up the dining table and whatever might be on it. I have to say, anticipating certain movements does help to prevent unwanted behaviours sometimes (I’m not saying it’s foolproof, mind you! :p).
If it’s already too late, well... how can I put it... saying "no" or "bad boy", and seeing that little sad face of his without laughing is just so hard! ^^
On the other hand, if he’s trying to jump up on the furniture for food, try teaching him "leave it". Show him what’s allowed and what isn't; even if it smells delicious, it’s not for him! :p
Good luck ;)
Sofi771: When he used to jump up at me, I’d turn my back on him until he sat down, and once he was sitting, I’d give him a treat. It was all sorted in three days! ^^ He mostly jumps up on the furniture when there's food about, or just out of curiosity. But he does it so often—pretty much all the time, really.
Paige729: Yes, I’ve been working on the "stay" command for a few days now, and he’s starting to come over to me once I get to about 15m away. I'll give that a try, thanks! :)
As for getting on the furniture, I can't really help you there as I'm going through the exact same thing at the moment! Jack thinks it's hilarious to climb onto the coffee table (luckily he's still too small to get his paws on the dining table or the kitchen worktops). However, when it comes to jumping up at people, I'd recommend watching this video made by my dog trainer where I go for puppy classes; it shows some methods that work really well:
http://youtu.be/lrBamuXkLjc
Unfortunately, no, he’s definitely not too small! My dog, who is also a Jack Russell, has been able to climb into my sink since she was about 3 or 4 months old. She jumps incredibly high even though she’s not tall at all. In the end, no matter how much we told her off, she just wouldn't stop. It lasted a good month and then it just stopped as suddenly as it started – she must have finally got the message.
When he jumps on the furniture, I offer him his favourite ball and it works. But he's back up there five seconds later. So I offer him the ball again. It's a never-ending cycle. And when we send him to his bed, he won't stay put for more than two seconds... At the same time, I get it; there are three children playing where he is, and they’re obviously interested in the dog, so they go over to see him, and so on. He understands the "on your bed" command and goes there, but he never stays for more than two seconds... I have to admit, my mum’s job makes his training quite difficult ^^'
You could try working on the "stay" command. Once he's lying on his bed, tell him to "stay". At first, stay close to him; if he doesn't move for a few seconds, boom, treats! Then, while still staying close, wait a bit longer before rewarding him. After that, try moving away slightly for a short time, and so on. Bit by bit, your dog will stay for longer and longer. I practised it as a separate exercise, like "sit" and "down", so he didn't associate it with being punished. Only after that did I start using it when he was on his bed. He’s six months old, so I'm not saying he stays still for two hours, but even a few minutes is sometimes enough to help him settle down and chill out :-)
At first he was jumping up at everyone, even us, but we did some training exercises so he'd stop jumping on us and it worked. He's still jumping up at people coming to the house, though.
What sort of exercises did you do?
What’s the reason for your dog getting up on the furniture?
Anyway, the biggest issue is when he jumps up at people. On the furniture it’s still manageable, but with people, it’s a nightmare – as soon as someone arrives, he jumps up at them two or three times, looks for a bit of a fuss, then wanders off. It’s just his way of saying hello; at five months old it’s not too bad, but in a couple of months, it’ll be a different story...
At first, he jumped up at everyone, even us, but we’ve done some training exercises so he stops jumping up at us and that’s worked. But he’s still jumping up at people coming to the house.
