[lovemydog]

Hello everyone. We have a 77 lb mix breed. Pretty sure he is an American Foxhound. He is only 10 months old so still acts like a puppy. Our number one issue is him jumping on us. If we go outside to play with him, he gets so excited that he runs and lunges at us with all his body weight. He is going to hurt someone. He will also do the same thing if we are inside and put a jacket on or something, he assumes walk and jumps at us. This is the same if we are walking and he gets excited and if someone comes in the door. Anyone else have problems like this? We are considering a personal trainer but don't know if that is the answer.

Thanks!

[Mark241277]

Originally Posted by lovemydog

Hello everyone. We have a 77 lb mix breed. Pretty sure he is an American Foxhound. He is only 10 months old so still acts like a puppy. Our number one issue is him jumping on us. If we go outside to play with him, he gets so excited that he runs and lunges at us with all his body weight. He is going to hurt someone. He will also do the same thing if we are inside and put a jacket on or something, he assumes walk and jumps at us. This is the same if we are walking and he gets excited and if someone comes in the door. Anyone else have problems like this? We are considering a personal trainer but don't know if that is the answer.

Thanks!

Hi there, I understand your frustration in regards to your dog jumping up at you as it is indeed a very dangerous thing to do which could result in you being really hurt. Sounds to me like you have a dog that thinks he can throw his weight around. The best way to deal with this is, when you can see that your dog is about to jump up at you, turn your body to the side, if this causes him to still atempt to jump at you, without acknowledging him by either talking or looking at him, push him down. If he continue to try to jump up at you, continue to use your hand to push him down without looking or talking to him, by doing this what we are trying to get through to your dog is that his behaviour serves no purpose because basically, he gets nothing from it, it will take a bit of practice, but eventually he will stop this behaviour as he will know that he is getting nothing from doing it, so there,s no point.

[muttsneedluvtoo]

One trick that worked for us, was teaching my moms standard poodles hand commands to sit. Everytime they were told to sit, we would raise our hands chest level palms out. Eventually we would only have to raise our hands and they sat without a voice command. When they went to jump, we put our hands up in automatic defense...they sit now instead of jumping.

I read another article that tells you to turn your back on the dog until his feet are firmly back on the floor. Then you give him the command to sit as you turn back around.

[jameserickson80]

In order to stop your dog from jumping on people, you need to first of all make sure your dog is trained in two essential commands: The SIT command, and the OFF command. To teach your Dog the off command, follow these simple rules:

When the puppy or older dog jumps (whether on a person or furniture), immediately say OFF.

Make an open-mouthed snarl without noise, but with your teeth quite visible. This way, you're talking a dog's language, one he will surely understand! This is a natural signal used by adult dogs to their puppies to calm down. Ensure you make direct eye contact.

Repeat this command several times, until your dog doesn't need to be told twice. Praise immediately when he stops himself from jumping.

[Taming Rover]

Getting a personal trainer in is never a bad idea since they are trained to recognize subtle body language in the dog (and you) and can get a better idea of the root of the problem. (Usually if there is an issue there are underlying causes that need to be addressed otherwise your just blocking the behavior from happening instead of addressing why it's happening in the first place.)

It seems that your pup is indeed throwing his weight around and this is certainly a sign that he does not respect you as a leader. A dog that is in a calm follower state does not jump onto a leader and or try to push them around.
Also make sure that when you are greeting the dog after you've been away, you are calm and do not go into an excited state yourself because the dog will be feeding off your energy.

Also make sure he is getting enough exercise because a lot of times unwanted behaviors stem from pent up energy that needs an outlet. Proper exercise for a large hyper dog like this means more than just out in the back for a play session, he needs daily walks, (and or runs) to ware him out physically and as well to challenge his mind. If he is bored or under stimulated mentally it can lead to manifestations of unwanted behaviors such as jumping up, excessive barking chewing etc... When we provide mental challenges and stimulation for our dogs we are showing them that we can provide what they need which puts us in a leader position.

Also I would avoid play sessions with him that promote super high energy "zoom around and jump at you" type behavior. If you can bring your dog for a long walk first before a play session then he will be more tired out and probably be less likely to be bouncing around wanting to jump at you, and also, if the games you play with him are more about creating mental stimulation, such as hiding an object and having him find it, or going through an obstacle course of things you've set up, then it can channel his excited energy into something positive, something that he has to use his mind to solve or work through.

This can be coupled with the suggestions above to turn your back and ignore him when he does jump up and wait then until he has calmed down to (calmly) praise and then resume whatever it was you were doing.

[Lunareclipse]

I feel for you. I really do. Buster jumped on me and broke my knee. I used to stop him with a knee in the chest. That doesn't stop him anymore. Maybe I can suggest an off the wall suggestion? You know those loud as hell airhorns that they use at sports games? Go buy one and use it right when your dog is about to jump. Maybe it might scare him the next time he does it.

[lovemydog]

Airhorn may not be a bad idea haha. But we have an older dog and that would most likely hurt her ears. I was wondering what people thought about shock collars and spray collars? I have never used one on a dog and I still don't know if I will, but we have come down to needing to do something. He is almost 80 lbs so turning our back when he jumps is not an option because he can still knock us down. I have read about a spray collar and is activated by a remote so I wonder if when he jumped if we sprayed it if that would deter him from wanting to jump so he doesn't get sprayed.

[Taming Rover]

Personally I think that an airhorn might work for some things but the fact that there is another dog around means it's not the best idea since your older dog will also be getting the correction for doing nothing which is not really fair. And yes, could hurt their ears at such close range.
I would personally not use a shock collar on my dogs and I think that if you are going to use it it should be as a very last resort. I would still get a trustworthy trainer to help you out before going to a shock collar and even then, it can be really helpful if you do choose to use the collar, to have instruction from someone who knows the ins and outs of how to use it properly since if used incorrectly it can potentially damage your relationship and trust with your dog.

If you are considering using a spray collar, why not just use a squirt bottle and squirt him when he jumps up. It's worth a try!

[lovemydog]

We have tried the spray bottle with him but he loves water so that became more of a game. We bought he bitter apple spray but it can't get in his eyes so we can't really spray that at him. Any idea's of what they use in those spray collars that I could just put in a spray bottle and try myself?

[Taming Rover]

Not sure what they put in them but if he likes water and the squirt bottle didn't work then I would probably abandon the idea. since the point is for the water to spray him and jolt him out of whatever he is doing, if he likes the sensation then it's pointless. you would have to put something in there that would be uncomfortable to him but I don't know of anything you could use that would be uncomfortable that you wouldn't have to watch out for his eyes as you've said.

[muttsneedluvtoo]

I recently bought a book called "The Loved Dog" by Tamar Gellar.
She specializes in 'play training' your pet. She basically focuses on pleasure and negative reinforcement) training (treats or turning your back) Many tips on how to train any behavior without force or aggression.
There was one chapter in her book that focused on jumping dogs and how to break the habit.
Definitely a book I would recommend to anyone, whether you have a trouble pet or not.

[Taming Rover]

Originally Posted by muttsneedluvtoo

I recently bought a book called "The Loved Dog" by Tamar Gellar.
She specializes in 'play training' your pet. She basically focuses on pleasure and negative reinforcement) training (treats or turning your back) Many tips on how to train any behavior without force or aggression.
There was one chapter in her book that focused on jumping dogs and how to break the habit.
Definitely a book I would recommend to anyone, whether you have a trouble pet or not.

Yes, I have read this book as well. While she does have some good things to say and I enjoyed reading her book, I couldn't help the lack of information on what to do with dogs that are already over the top. There was little to no mention of working with overly aggressive dogs for example. I'm not saying her techniques wont work, from what I read it seems that they can be very effective for many (but not all) cases. I also think that while relying on the use of treats alone will gain you respect for some dogs... for others it will just serve to turn you into a human treat dispenser.
I think that it's good to know a variety of methods and then to be adaptable to each dog. Not every method will work for every dog, so reading and watching as much as you can about dogs, dog training, and canine psychology is the best case scenario so that you have the most rounded view possible. That way you have more in your bag of tricks to pull out to find what works best for your specific dog. )

[Lunareclipse]

Originally Posted by Taming Rover

Yes, I have read this book as well. While she does have some good things to say and I enjoyed reading her book, I couldn't help the lack of information on what to do with dogs that are already over the top. There was little to no mention of working with overly aggressive dogs for example. I'm not saying her techniques wont work, from what I read it seems that they can be very effective for many (but not all) cases. I also think that while relying on the use of treats alone will gain you respect for some dogs... for others it will just serve to turn you into a human treat dispenser.
I think that it's good to know a variety of methods and then to be adaptable to each dog. Not every method will work for every dog, so reading and watching as much as you can about dogs, dog training, and canine psychology is the best case scenario so that you have the most rounded view possible. That way you have more in your bag of tricks to pull out to find what works best for your specific dog. )

And there is no information on dealing with retarded dogs like Buster. And there is no mention of ADHD in dogs.