How to keep your dog from jumping on people
Question:
I have a spring-loaded dog. Ever since he was a puppy he seemed to be three feet off the ground. It was cute when he was small but our bearded collie is getting out of hand as he’s over 80 pounds now and still under a year old. What can we do when people come to the door he’s up around the doorknob? He’s already knocked visitors & people in the park over.
ANSWER:
In addressing his behavior with visitors, there are several things you can do that will soon teach him his manners & get him to stop jumping on people.
Your comment about him knocking people over tells me we need to you a better way of controlling him. I have recently come across a product that controls a strong dog better then anything I have seen to date. Made by ‘Care Collar’
Does he know his ‘sit/stay’? If he doesn’t, get working on it until he won’t break a ‘stay’ for anything.
Next you want to ask for a some ‘doggy’ friends to help with his training. Before they come over, take him for a good exercise session – really wear him out! This makes training so much easier and he will be more inclined to behave well which means more praise versus him acting horribly and everything be negative which will only frustrate you both.
Tell your friend to ring the doorbell (I would have his leash and ‘Halti’ on him already just to make life easier on everyone). Let him react to the doorbell as he normally would, then take his leash, get him into his ‘sit/stay’ and open the door. If he tries to jump up, put him back into his ‘sit/stay’. Have your friend ignore him completely – you don’t even want eye contact at this point. He will probably be doing everything in his power to attract her attention while still in a ‘sit/stay’ (which you may need to remind him of several times) but until he calms down, she is not to acknowledge him. Once he is calm, have her greet him while he is still in his ‘sit/stay’. If he tries to break his ‘sit/stay’, remind him. Once he has calmly greeted her, release him from his ‘stay’ and give him tons of praise and a biscuit or treat (he can get excited at this point as you want him to know he did good and that the ‘sit/stay’ won’t last forever).
Now do it again and then again and maybe a few more times. Once he really has this nailed, give him a break for a day and then have another friend come over. Same drill. If he still doesn’t have it entirely figured out, get another friend into the action but I am guessing that won’t be necessary as both Heelers and Border Collies learn pretty quick.
Next try the same thing with him when out for a walk. As people approach, get him into his ‘sit/stay’. If they want to greet him, fine but make sure he keeps his position. As they walk on or if they don’t want to greet him and they pass on by, release him from his ‘sit/stay’ and praise the heck out of him! He did good and he needs to know that is exactly how you want him to behave.
Keep this behavior up his entire life and you have taken a major step towards having a mature and easy companion. It is also good to build on this behavior but that is for another day!
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I’d highly suggest keeping him on a leash whenever a guest is over.
When he attempts to jump on someone even while on a leash, the best thing to do is teach him to obey to your commands. Give him a sharp NO and a tug.
Or, get a kennel and keep him there while a guest is over. As for the park jumping, keep him on a fairly short leash and whenever he struggles to get to someone, do not tug on it since it is short and he will already get choking himself to get to someone, but give him a sharp no and a smack on the rear.
My Aussie Cattle Dogs (we have three) jump on us constantly, they are quite stubborn and do not listen, but they are medium-sized, around 20 pounds.
I am not sure that keeping him on a leash or putting him in another room actually solves the inappropriate behavior, it is only a bandaid of sorts. It is better to train the dog to not jump on guests and to be calm then to have the hassle of a frustrated, leashed or kenneled dog in the house every time you have company – soon, no one will want to come and visit as it causes to much disruption.
And as for the short leash in the park idea, again, I would work with the dog to retrain the inappropriate behavior rather then e constantly saying ‘no’ to the dog or smacking them on the rear. In both cases, you are not teaching them what you want them to do, only reinforcing in their minds that strangers are bad since mom is upset and just hit me because of it!
Always look for a way to teach your dog appropriate behavior in a positive, supportive way – you will have a happier, better behaved dog because of it!
Ann