Jumping :/

Hey all....I've had lots of great advice from you guys in the past so here I am looking for a little more


We went away camping for the night taking the kids and Poppy dog! Poppy doesn't get off lead at all in public for a couple of reasons....one reason being her jumping up at people. So we purchased one of those screw in stakes with the metal lead attached....so she still had a wee bit freedom but was still restrained....we attached the clip to her harness. Anyways to cut a long story short we were camped in a large open space next to the water....every time anyone passed I held her harness even tho there was no way she would get to the people as they seen her and would leave plenty space between her and them. However.....I was bent over getting something out of my car and all I could hear in a loud annoyed was "get down".....an older lady had been walking along who I admit I hadn't seen and as she passed my dog she had jumped up at her...my little nephew seen it happen but didnt have time to get out tent to do anything. The woman then started mouthing off about the dog. I did apologise several time but at the same time I felt that she could have avoided it. My dog was clearly on a harness and tied down...she could easily have walked past without going near dog. Don't get me wrong I realise my dog shouldn't have jumped up but it's something I'm working on her with. Tbh I just felt really bad. Although the woman's attitude did stink....even reffering to us as 'yous people'.....THoughts???

It takes time to train a dog not to jump up, so I don't think you should be blaming yourself for it. If she isn't fond of dogs, I'm sure she could have avoided her.

Yes, it can be annoying to have a dog jump up, but she's young. She was secured and wasn't being aggressive by the sound of it, so try not to worry too much. As for feeling bad, nobody was hurt. If the woman had any sense, she would have listened to you and realised that your dog was doing what a puppy does.

Entirely the lady's fault in my opinion.

It takes time to get this behaviour down pat, and most do people understand this with a puppy

I can understand you feeling bad (I also apologise profusely to anyone Chiquito jumps on) but I think that, if the lady could have avoided being jumped on and you responded quickly it isn't something you should worry yourself over too much

If it helps, here's how I train dogs not to jump up.

Stand on the lead, so that there's enough slack for the dog to be able to sit or stand without the lead going tight. Hold the other end of the lead. Have someone approach the dog (calmly to begin with, until he/she's got the idea of keeping all four feet on the floor). When they approach, if the dog tries to jump up, they get ignored (no need to tell the dog off, just ignore/look away). As soon as the dog's got all feet on the floor and isn't being over-excited, give a treat. Repeat this until the dog doesn't jump, but just goes straight into the desired behaviour. Next, give the treats to the person approaching, so that they can reward the behaviour too - this way the dog learns that he/she is expected to behave like that not just by you, but by the person coming up to him/her too. Once you've got the dog to stay on the ground every time doing this, the person approaching should become a little bit more animated, to replicate the way people would approach in 'real' situations. Again, only reward the dog for staying calm and keeping his/her feet on the floor. It takes time and patience, but young dogs seem to pick it up very quickly in my experience. I find that using high value treats works best for this as it helps them to overcome their natural desire to jump a lot quicker.

Hope that's of some help

Must try Chris's advice. Bacchus is a bugger for jumping up on people, not helped by the fact that most of the people we meet on our walks are known to us, plus we all, myself included tend to give each other's dogs treats.

And staffies dooo like to jump up to greet people don't they......or is it just my little thug??

Zeus is a big jumper too, he's calmed down alot by ignoring him when he does it, but he still does it.

I've met alot of other dog owners since I've had him, and every single one has said he'll grow out of it as he grows up.. so here's hoping!

To be fair, Bacchus doesn't jump up on my wife or myself because we have always ignored this behaviour and never rewarded him if he jumps on us.

I really need to work on this with Daisy too, great advise Chris

Gwen is also a jumper! Plus she can jump so high! She actually jumps straight up with all 4 paws off the ground! She is still so small and I am amazed at how high she can jump off! We are working on this but it does take time. In my opinion this was the woman's fault! Its not like he was off lead, she could have avoided him if she wanted to! Either way you did the right thing by being the bigger person and apologizing (even though he is still young so jumping up to some degree is almost expected, and he was on lead and she could have gone around easily if she didn't want to come in contact with your dog). Don't be too hard on yourself, sounds to me like you were not in the wrong and that you apologized anyways! I understand you feeling bad though as I always feel bad when Gwen jumps up on people, especially when its unwanted!

I don't like the standing on the lead method. Much prefer the turn away & ignore until all 4 feet are on the ground. But everybody has to do it - even strangers if they want to approach!

I know it can be a nuisance if a dog jumps up at you, but for goodness sake, Poppy's still a pup - what did the silly woman think she was going to do, say "How do you do" & shake her hand?

It doesn't bother me, personally, if dogs jumps up at me, but I respect the owners telling me that they don't want it to happen & I go along with their wishes.

Not jumping up is such a tricky thing to get down pat with a puppy .. Chiquito is not allowed to jump and we all (family and friends) ignore him until he sits, which has worked well with consistency and he rarely jumps up at anyone he knows now.

Different story when out though, all these lovely people who pat the cute puppy who jumps up on them make it hard for him to understand that it isn't a desirable behaviour! People also seem more accepting of it in a puppy (except the grumpy old lady in this case it seems) which is both good and bad!

Stella is a jumper, too.
The ignoring as Caryll says is perfect. I ignore her when she jumps and she does not jump at me.
She is getting better and she only jumps at people if they start making fuss or start talking to her.
It drives me mad when somebody makes her all excited and jumpy and then they start giving her treats when she is actually leaning high up on them... I say "I am so sorry, please don't reward her for jumping, I am sorry!" and they say "Oh, I don't mind, she is cute"... And it undoes all my work and I can start from scratch agan...
She is learning, though, that lying down and showing her belly wagging her tail frantically has better results - more fuss and more compliments:-)
I can read Stella's body language and when I see she is calm I call her to me and make her pay attention (with treats or a ball) and we can pass people with no problem.
So it seems to be a long term thing but it is getting better:-)

Hey everyone. Thanks for all your comments and tips

Since posting this topic all of us in our house have been working with Poppy on the jumping issue. She mainly jumped when either one of us came back into the house after being away, when she got a bit over excited when playing, and always when she was getting let out of her cage in morning etc.

We started off by telling her 'down' and rewarding her with a treat when she done so.....after a few days that led on to the stage that she will go to jump but all we have to say is 'biscuit' ...she then refrains and runs into the kitchen and stands beside her treat box lol.

its still awork in progress but pleased to say we are getting there

Vinnie is also a jumper but after much persistence he is much better now when anyone comes I give them treats or his filled kong, he happily trots out into the garden and that's the end of it. Glad you are seeing progress

Sounds like your all working on it together, great news