How to stop young dog jumping

My daughter has recently purchased a lovely staffie who is 6 months old. She came from a chaotic household and has come on loads in just over a week as she now lives in a much calmer, quieter household. Our family has had staffies and staff crosses for years but usually from rescue centres and only one from a pup. We have never had a dog from this age. She is learning quickly but the only issue we have is she goes crazy when you sit down. Jumps onto couch and on top of your head licking excitedly but today in her excitement she bit the back of my head twice. We can calm her down when we are standing by ignoring her and turning our back to her . But as soon as we sit down she goes crazy. I know this is normal excitement for the breed but need to teach her this is not acceptable. A firm voice is not working as she just too excited and was used to lots of shouting where she used to live. We try picking her up and putting her down on the ground but she struggles and ends up scratching us. Once she is calm she will sit lovely next to you . We are happy for her to share the couch with her but need to stop the pouncing and jumping as quickly as possible. Any advice would be appreciated.

Hi ya, welcome to the forum from Flo and me

It sounds to me that you are trying to do the right things by ignoring her when you're standing and the same has to apply when you sit. To her this is normal fun behaviour so before she goes completely crazy with the fun she needs to be put on the floor and calm down before any further interaction and once calm treat with food not fuss. Fuss could be confused with fun.

Another way to calm her is to make sure she's tired, give her good long walks which should mean she doesn't have quiet as much energy to go nuts. One last thing, this is all new to her so it will take a little time to settle in but as you know, Staffies are smart cookies and she will learn what gets her attention and what doesn't.

hi & welcome to the forum.

wow, she sounds a handful! don't worry, though, she will get calmer as she gets older. what i would do is to get your daughter to put a lead on her so that she is under control when you come in. then, no fuss whatsoever until you are seated and comfortable- then your daughter can gently lead her up to you, get her to sit & then treat her when she does....it may take a few goes, but she'll get there. the thing to remember is, make sure EVERYONE follows the same instructions & she only gets attention once she's calm & sitting nicely.

it's difficult for a dog that's been allowed to bounce all over the place to suddenly be calm, especially a 6 month old! but she WILL improve as long as everyone does the same thing.

Thank you both for your reply. We will try all things suggested. And thank you for the warm welcome. No doubt I will have many more questions soon.

I'd definitely go with the lead idea, it's a good way of limiting a dog's behaviours while showing them a different way of approaching a situation. As well as giving her lots of (calm) praise and treats when she gets it right, I'd combine it with a negative response the second she goes OTT - without saying a word just stand up and leave the room, just for a moment. The timing is key, you need her to understand that her bouncing is what has driven you away. Combine the two and you should see an improvement very soon.