Q&A: Training A jumping and barking Puppy?
Question by **Pretty In Pink**: Training A jumping and barking Puppy?
I have a 10 month old Boxer/Pit puppy. He’s huge for a puppy weighing 80lbs. He has a jumping problem. He jumps on EVERYONE! Thats a really big dog to be jumped on by. I need tips on training him to STOP JUMPING. Also he barks ALOT. At everything…cats, chipmunks, our neighbors (bless their hearts!! I know it annoys them)…just everything! If any help, please answer!
Best answer:
Answer by Balaclava Man
when he jumps you need to hit him. He needs to know it’s wrong. Thats what I did with my dog and he doesn’t jump at all.
What do you think? Answer below!
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http://www.thepetprofessor.com/articles/article.aspx?id=107
Dogs must think we are the rudest creatures on earth. They greet each other by sniffing noses. But when they try to give us a polite greeting by jumping up to sniff a human face, they are met with bizarre behaviors. We yell. We bump them in the chest with a knee. We smack them on the nose. We grab their front paws and won’t let go. We squirt lemon juice in their mouths. We stomp on their hind feet…
These are just some of the coercive methods that have been used over the years to teach dogs not to jump on humans. Too bad that we resort to violence when the solution is really a simple one. As in all positive-based training, we “reward the behavior we do want, and ignore the behavior we don’t want.”
The problem with jumping up is that a lot of it gets rewarded. When puppies are small we pick them up and cuddle them, teaching them that “up” is a very rewarding place to be. When they do jump up, someone often pets them or pays attention to them, rewarding the very behavior we want to extinguish. Dogs that get rewarded for jumping up keep doing it. For some dogs, even the coercive techniques meant to punish are perceived as rewarding – plenty of active Labradors view a knee in the chest as an invitation to a great game of body slam!
How do we ignore jumping up? If we stand still, Aero rewards himself by slamming his paws on our chest. There are effective exercises and management tools that can teach Aero that four-on-the-floor is far more rewarding than aerial maneuvers. For starters, consistency is important. You must never reward jumping up, and you must convince your friends and family members to react appropriately to Aero’s antics as well. Behaviors that are rewarded randomly can become very strong, because Aero discovers that if he tries often enough, sooner or later a jump gets rewarded. While he may inevitably succeed in jumping on you occasionally, avoid having anyone actually encourage jumping by hugging or petting him when he does.
By the way, if you start doing these exercises with a young puppy, he will never learn that jumping up is a rewarding behavior, and you will never have to deal with an adult dog that is leaping and jumping.
A good tip I have seen is to put some pebbles or chickpeas or similar objects into a empty plastic bottle. When the bad behavior is shown, shake the bottle hard and shout “NO”! This will shock the dog and make the assosiate the bad loud sound with the action they just did!
Well worth a try I say!
One good start would be to take up an obedience class for your puppy. A good trainer is invaluable in helping you get your dog where you want him to be for training purposes.
Here’s what ours told us…. When the dog jumps up on us, we are to step forward into his space (not on his toes tho) and tell him “off” in a stern voice. By stepping into your dog’s space, you are asserting your dominance over him and also throwing him a little off balance which will cause him to go down.
When your dog does go down, praise for this. Consistency for this is a huge factor. You must do this each and every time. The hard part is getting your company to follow the rule, too. That’s the biggest problem we have because everyone always says “oh, that’s okay, he’s fine”. But what happens when the next person doesn’t think so!
Teaching some basic obedience and getting a good solid sit or down is also helpful. When company come over, you can put your dog into a sit and instruct to stay. When your dog does this properly, you want to also praise a lot and also ask your company to do the same. Your dog will realize that jumping up isn’t the only way he’ll get to say hello.
I love Boxer-Pit mixes!!
Anyway, with the jumping you can do one of two things, but you MUST be consistant.
1) When he jumps, grab his front legs and make him ‘walk’ backwards, dogs hate this. This is the trick that cured my Sib. Husky from jumping.
2) A firm knee to the chest (don’t worry – he’ll be fine, especially with the deep chest he has), along with a firm “NO”. Make him sit afterwards. Give plenty of praise, but be firm – you are in charge.
To help with guests, prior to letting company in the house, put Fido on a leash and make him sit, praising along the way. (Treats in the pocket are great, also). When they walk in the door, keep a firm hold on the leash, not allowing him to jump. Have the guests squat down to his level and greet him. OR, better yet, wait until he is settled for the guests to give him any attention. The key here is to show that you are the Alfa.
I have a barking neighbor dog (pit-lab mix) who I am thankful for everyday! I have two dogs, neither of who bark much (my husky never barks). Without my lovely neighbor dog, I would not know if there were strangers ariound the house – she is my protector (don’t tell the robber that in case my protector isn’t outside to protect me) =).
Let him bark, if it’s inappropriate, tell him quite and you can gently hold his mouth shut for a few seconds. Repeat every time it’s inappropriate. If it’s a good, protective bark, let him do it. I never told my old dog (a pit-boxer mix) not to bark at the mailman, paper boy, strangers, etc., they are warning you that someone is coming to the house and they are warning the stranger that life won’t be easy if they try to enter the home without their masters OK).
Good luck!
Using treats is silly because one day you will start to forget the treats or not have them or something, and the next time you call her, she’ll remember not getting the treat and figure “why bother?”
Clickers are just flat stupid – they are for people who are too dumb to figure out how to quickly say “GOOD DOG” in a happy, excited voice.
Personally I’m not going to walk around with a water bottle in my pocket for the dog’s entire life span – another silly fad for owners who want everything to be easy when it isn’t.
You always have your hands and your voice. Use them
Stop jumping by any of these methods:
(1) A loud “No” and push him off and hold him down flat on the floor and scold him with “Bad, Bad Bad”. Then tell him “Okay,” let her up and give her a pat (if she doesn’t leap again.)
(2) A loud “No” and time it so that as he comes off the ground, you bring your foot forward and step on his back foot.
(3) A loud “No” and as he comes up off the ground, raise your knee so that he hits it with his chest and bounces off. With a big dog move slightly forward into his space.
Now, Boxers bark – that is what they do best. Of course they will bark when someone is at the door. They are doing their job and alerting you. They tend to alert at everything being bred as guarding dogs (pits who area actually Stafforshire Bull Terriers are more laid back – they would rather dig out vermin and get petted and if a burgler wants the silver, maybe he would pet them while he is there.)
Until you have tried other techniques, I wouldn’t go to an electric collar for barking unless you have the animal officer at the door with complaints or you are getting evicted. It is an absolutely last ditch method before the dog loses their home (or would you bleeding hearts prefer the dog go to the pound?) If you go straight to the collar, you have nothing left if it doesn’t work or they get used to it.
In 43 years of training, I have only be forced to go to the electronic collar twice (very large, very pig-headed dogs who had figured out that when working at a distance I couldn’t reach them if they didn’t obey a ‘down” or “go” or “hold” command.)
Try this first.
When him bark, go and get him restrained by your arm. Put your hand over and around their muzzle and, in a calm reassuring voice, tell him “Okay, thank you, now hush.” If he tries to keep barking, tell him “NO” in a hash stern voice and squeeze his muzzle. If he still keep trying, squeeze the side of the muzzle – the skin- into the side of his mouth against his teeth and repeat NO. (Use a deep growly voice – don’t let your voice go up, make it go down.) You don’t quit until he does. The minute he quits, lots and lots of praise in happy voice with hugs and pets and tummy rubs.
Do this EVERY SINGLE TIME he barks when you want him to stop. Keep doing it until he associate “Okay, thank you” with the concept he is to stop barking. (After all, you would want him to bark if someone was trying to break in the house, yes?)
Also, take him to some obedience classes no matter what his age if he is are over 6 months. You get a nicer pet, they are more comfortable with the world and less worried about what culd be a threat and inclined to bark at everything and he gets the habit of obeying.
If you can’t grab him without a collar, put one on him. If he were a little puppy, a flat buckle would work. With his size, you will need a slip collar made from chain,
Go get a chain slip collar. The nylon are not that effective and with the chain, the dog learns to listen for the rattle of the collar if the leash moves slightly and respond now. Properly fitted, there should be 2 1/2 to 3 fingers of space between the collar and dog. Learn to use it. You SNAP the collar – NEVER pull or drag. It is a fast jerk/release. Put it on your wrist and have someone try pulling and then snapping on you. You do it to someone else. When it feels like a slight whack or bump when the leash is snapped you have the idea. I always put the slip collar on my student’s arm to show them the difference in the movement. Gets the point across real fast.
Put the slip collar on the dog so when the junction of the rings is facing you on the side of the dog’s neck, the part that slides comes across the back of the dog’s neck towards you.
Get a strong 6 ft leash – I like the cotton webbed kind. Used them for years.
Yes this all works – I weigh 98 lbs and I always get my way even with dogs that outweigh by 20, 30 or 70 lbs.
An oh yes, PLEASE get the two of you to obedience class. He is going to be a big strong boy. Watersking behind on a leash id not fun. being able to tell him sit/stay or dow/stay will make it all so much easier. Around my house STAY means “you don’t move even if a bomb goes off – not optional.” Great means of corralling the dogs.
Jumping-wup them, eventually will get idea
if they bark at night, give them Benadryl. But if you do, KEEP TRACK OF WHEN YOU GIVE IT TO THEM. IF YOU GIVE THEM TOO MUCH, IT WILL STOP THEIR HEART. You could alwys pop a dog for barkin’ 2 much
For the jumping problem, when he jumps on you either knee him in the stomach or step on his back paw. It might not work at first but keep doing it he will learn not to jump on people. I’m sorry I can’t help you with his barking problem.
My suggestion is to put about 11 pennies inside of a soda can. When he jumps up or barks you shake the can by his ear. He won’t like the noise and soon all you’ll have to do it pick up the can and he’ll stop instantly! It’s worked for my 3 dogs.
first of all, NO body contact with the dog (Kneeing, stomping on toes, etc) this IS painful. would you like it if someone did it to you? also, the obedience classes are where you need to start.
if you step on toes, you can break them and them you not only have an untrusting dog, but a vet bill. stupid idea. shock collars are only used in the most aggressive of cases; don’t do unless you have a trainer assisting you. last, try this: put a choker collar (either metal, chain, or prong-your choice) on with a 4 ft. leash. when he approaches you to jump, take the leash, FIRMLY and in a low growly-voice say OFF. put him in a down position.
then when he does that gently say good boy. if you touch a dog when it is doing a bad behavior, you are only reinforcing that behavior to be stronger. his excitability level is allready high, so touching increases that. don’t over-do the praise though. he’ll just get excited again. practice,practice,practice. same thing with the barking. give him a leash correction and tell him NO BARK in that special voice. if you gain control as the alpha dog, he will respect what you say, but dogs are always trying to get the uperhand so you have to be top dog 24/7. if he is outside barking all the time, he is bored too. take him for a long hard walk with you in control and when he is worn out he can listen better. it’s like having a 2 yr old human running loose through your house that has never been disciplined.
Every time you approach the animal, make him sit, praise him, and give him a lot of attention. As many others have mentioned, ignore him when he does jump up. After a time he will learn to sit for your attention, rather than jumping up for it.