dog jumping up at people on walks.

[miserablemoo]

Hello

Any advice would be much appreciated .

8 nearly 9 month old dog. His behaviour at the moment is really bad. The main problem at the moment is on walks he is jumping up at people. I know this is not on. Also his behaviour on the lead is another thread in itself.

I generally let him off but I am very vigilant and normally get him on his lead before he sees anyone or a dog. He is good with other dogs but is not getting to play with them because he will start jumping up on the people. Twice in the last two days I have been caught out and he has seen people before me and twice he was jumping up at them. I apologised. I am so embarrassed. I don't tell him off if he comes to me. He is food motivated so will eventually come for a biscuit but he's doing what he wants to do before he comes for a biscuit.

He is not neutered yet. Will this make any difference? He is very boisterous and to be totally honest he is constantly hard work and I know it's more down to me than him but at the moment there is no joy in being a dog owner .

I suppose I'm asking if the only way I can deal with this is to constantly keep him on a lead? But then I have the problem of a dog that is not getting exercise and his behaviour in the house is destructive. I don't know how to tackle it at all.

Thank you.

[horseygeorgie]

Tbh I would say if he isn't reliable with his recall then don't let him off. You need to some gentle training in a calm place to get him focussed on you. Also puppy training classes will really help.

[Branleuse]

one of our dogs leaps up at people given half a chance. its a fucking nightmare. She doesnt always do it, but you cant rely on her not to IYSWIM. Shes a staffie too and jumps really high. She mainly does it if they stop and try and pet her or make eye contact. I keep her on a retractable lead, and only let her off if there is definitely noone else around and have to be constantly vigilant.
Our other dog is so ultra reliable and always has been, so looking forward to reading any tips

[miserablemoo]

Hi.
Thank you. He will come to me. His recall is fantastic if he doesn't see another person or dog so I'm struggling to practise if that makes sense? On a walk when he is off lead and I shout him he comes everytime. If he spots someone or a dog then he is off. So I'm not sure how to teach him to not go to them but stay with me. Especially if I keep him on a lead. In fact thinking about it last week twice he spotted someone and he even started towards them but he came to me when I shouted. It's the last two days it's all gone out of the window.

I think he will be a nightmare in training classes he gets too excited and wouldn't listen to me. When he gets excited he starts mouthing and biting me.Especially on the lead. This is another problem I'm having with him

Thanks for your advise. It's looking like keep him on a lead isn't it.

[miserablemoo]

Bran I mean this in the nicest way possible but so glad it's not just me! He is also quite big and also very muddy so I know this jumping up has to stop. He's always been bad for it in the home but has improved especially with the kids. He only seems to listen to DH which doesn't help as I do all the walking. He seems to jump up at women. One was a runner so I think he thought it was a game but still not acceptable. I'd taken him to a massive field to practise his recall as I can see people in front and behind but as I was picking up his poo he saw a runner coming from behind before I did. A bit later he saw 3 men and he played with their dog but stayed well away from them which surprised me. It's completely ruined all our walks though.

[BabyGanoush]

Sorry but his recall is not "fantastic" if it is non existent when other people/dogs are around. In fact that is rubbish recall, really, isn't it? Him coming back when there is no distraction is a good start for recall training, but it really is only the start.

Keep him on the lead and if you let him off call him back regularly, reward him. If he does not come back, tell him he was not a good dog, and put him on the lead for the rest of the walk.

Well, this worked with my dog (over time), I still do it if she lapses, she knows pretty damn well why I tell her off (and that I am not telling her off for coming back). No need for shouting/getting angry, my dog perfectly understands :" now, I don't think that was good behaviour, was it now?!"

Dogs are quite clever really at reading their humans

[Floralnomad]

Keep him on a long lead so you can stop him running off whilst still practising his recall .

[horseygeorgie]

Afraid I agree with the PP. If recall is only effective with no distractions it isn't good recall. Very hard to work on without annoying people though! I do understand, my mad springer spaniel is a jump upper but luckily have a very good recall so i can always call him back easily. very annoying habit though. Do you have any friends with dogs willing to be distractions while you train that wouldn't mind being jumped up if it goes badly?!

[BabyGanoush]

Practice sessions are good

[gladisgood]

I would try puppy classes - even if seems a bit daunting. A good trainer will help you get past this.

Use his interest in food - be the most interesting treat person on the planet! and VARY the treats. Dogs, like people, get bored of the same thing. So try chicken skin/chopped up hot dog sausages/ chopped up liver/ gravy bone biscuits etc etc. Find your dog's favourite food!


Turn his recall into a game. Recall him often and treat. If you do this 100's of times, he will be indoctrinated! very motivated to come back to you. Try this on a long lead ( e.g. a tracking leash or a horse lunge line) somewhere quiet to start with - then try it in increasingly busier places, until you would be reasonably sure he would come back in the middle of an airport terminal if need be!!


A distraction tool ( e.g. training discs or a rattle bottle ) can sometimes be useful in diverting unwanted behaviour. I'd always use it alongside positive or reward based training, though ( e.g. dog jumps up - you make the distraction noise - dog stops and look round - you massively praise and treat - repeat until the dog understands he only gets rewarded when on the floor)


Also, see if you can find a friend to meet you on a walk who will act as a training stooge, perhaps? They could have some uber tasty treats - that they will give to your dog once he stops jumping up.

Good luck

[Wolfiefan]

Sounds like training classes are the way to go really. You need to be able to get him not to get so excited he doesn't listen to you. I would also echo the posters saying use a long line etc. what if he sees a dog and bolts across the road? Or knocks someone over and injured them?

[miserablemoo]

I have been recalling him and treating him and putting him on lead during various times on our walks so he doesn't assume I'm only calling him when someone is around. I also keep him on the lead for part of the walk if he chooses to ignore me.

I never thought of a long line or changing his treats. He seems to have a sensitive tummy so I do admittedly keep his treats limited to the same ones so I might try something new for walks.

Previous to the last two incidents he had been doing well. He had seen other dogs and people before me and when I called him he would choose to come to me so it kind of threw me that it's all gone to pot so quick. But I know it's not on jumping up and your comment wolfie has hit home that if he sees someone across a road and he chooses to ignore me it's a very serious situation. I'm trying incredibly hard with him and put hours of walking and training into him. I unfortunately don't have anyone that can help out with training him. Also a few times on walks people are being nice and fussing him and treating him on walks. I think I should also stop this?

Thanks for your help everyone. Can't see the woods for the trees sometimes. I am trying my best with him.

[BabyGanoush]

What kind of dog is it? I am picturing a lab but only because there are 2 labs in the village who always jump up at people.

[hellhasnofurylikeahungrywoman]

One of the best bits of advice we had from puppy classes was to recall train to a whistle. The tone of a whistle is always the same unlike our voices which can give the game away when we have spotted something we want to recall them away from.

[BlackMarigold]

Sounds exactly like my lab. he was a nightmare puppy, bouncy and thought everyone wanted to make a fuss of him. It didn't help that people often gave him treats without asking me so he got rewarded for bad behaviour .
So I kept him on a long line, if no people around the line trailed along the ground and I could grab it or step on it if people appeared. I also made sure I had really special treats - bacon, chicken, cheese were favourites - and practiced recall when he was on the long line and there were people about.
It took a long time, he was 4 before I could trust him completely off lead.

[Bubble2bubble]

My ddog3 went back on the lead at this age unfortunately...the lab X who loved everybody and wanted to be their friend
The best piece of advice I was given - probably by someone here- was to practice a sit, wait, treat until someone walked past. While the person or other dog is walking past his attention is on the treats and on you. So eventually instead of seeing a person coming as a potential playmate, he sees a person coming as a trigger to look at me for a treat.
It took a while, but two years ddog will abandon even joggers to come back for a treat.
I would up the stakes for treats though - chicken, smoked cheese,roast liver...the smellier the better.

[ChairRider4]

It also sounds like he hitting dog teens to .My laid back boy turned deaf for a while so had to go back on a long line

[Noofly]

I have a jumper who also loves other dogs. I control the jumping by using a strong heel command. When he was younger I kept him on lead and always had him heel when we passed someone. Now he can be trusted off lead but I still always have him heel when we pass someone- it's a bit of a cheat though as I still use chicken in my hand to get him to heel!

If we've stopped to chat to someone or meet another dog, my dog has a warning sign that he's about to jump. He does a tiny movement prior to jumping and as soon as I see that, I tell him no jumping and he'll stop.

I think consistency is key. I tried lots of different approaches to the jumping and also racing up to other dogs and it wasn't until I decided to stick with one approach for months on end that I actually made progress.

[MsAdorabelleDearheartVonLipwig]

Oh and please don't tell him off when he returns to you and expect him to understand that it means something he did previously. Dogs do not 'read' anything but they do associate reward and punishment with that exact moment in time and will associate it with that action forever more. And no, I don't punish my dog. I ignore the bad behaviour and reward the good. Eventually you will have less of the bad behaviour and more of the good because the dog will learn what gets him a treat. Consistency and timing is the key though. You really do need to go to classes. A good dog trainer is worth their weight in gold.

[WhatAPigsEar]

I can totally sympathise as when my ddog was the same age I had exactly the same problem. I was beginning to think we were doomed to a life of on-lead walks only. People shouted at me because ddog jumped up when muddy a couple of times too.
As others have said, put him on a long line (trailing so you can stand on it when necessary). You will find it a complete PITA as it will get tangled round everything, including your legs. But the dog won't get a reward from running up to people.
Also I started walking in more remote areas so we didn't have to pass so many non-dog-walking people. I'd second the recommendation for whistle training, which is very easy for a food motivated dog.
Also when the dog jumps at you or dh or visitors try crossing your arms and turning your back so he doesn't get rewarded until he has all 4 paws on the ground.
Now, at the age of 1 ddog NEVER jumps at strangers (but will still occasionally jump if he sees someone he knows whilst we are out).
Good luck. But as we all say about children on here 'this too shall pass'

[negrilbaby]

I am in exactly the same position. My dog is nearly 9 months and a big boy. I've just ordered a long line for him because he has started to ignore me - so I can't trust him off lead anymore.
My big problem is his jumping up at me. He walks really well on the lead. If I let him off and he gets overexcited (too much mud or water - or dogs he can't get to) he jumps and bites at me. He did this as a puppy but it stopped. He has just started doing it again, but he is big now and his nipping/mouthing hurts.
I have been doing classes with him and will be continuing with this in the new year. I'm not really looking forward to the next few months of his adolescence.

[Ouch44]

My dog was like this. She was the naughtiest dog at puppy classes but they coped so I wouldn't worry about that bit.
Can you get friends to engineer situations in the park so that when your dog runs over to them jogging or walking etc they ignore them.

[miserablemoo]

Hello

Thank you everyone. Been thinking and I think it's a combination of things. His age for one. He always sits for a treat so the idea of trying to get him to sit whilst a dog goes past is a good one. The long line is sounding like a must. Also the whistle and I think that's a good point. When I'm recalling him when no one is about I'm relaxed. If I see someone or if he chooses to ignore me and runs I panic. Me calling him is going to sound different. Plus I'm never quite sure how to get him back. Do I chase him? Walk off shouting him hoping he will follow? Stand still calling him praying he doesn't jump up. I'm betting he knows my indecision so kind of does what he wants till he is ready for his biscuit.

I never tell him off for not coming to me. If he is messing about (sniffing) and he doesn't come when I first call do I still treat him when he decides he's ready to come?

Negrill I could of written your post. My boy does exactly the same. He did it as a pup and it stopped but he's started back up again doing it. He has actually bruised my hand this week with the jumping and biting. The only thing that works is folding and crossing my arms (hiding my hands) and turning my back on him. It's hard as he is so muddy and I'm covered in it but he stops I say let's go and he's off. If I try and tell him no or get down or put him on lead or engage him in any way he carries on and gets worse.

Thank you everyone it's given me a lot to think about and loads of great ideas. I will Google dog trainers. Will neutering help him calm down or is that a myth? Will get some different treats. And keep working on it!

[LilCamper]

Neutering will only help with hormonally driven behaviours like roaming and marking. This is a training issue not a hormonal one.

[Branleuse]

neutering does usually calm boy dogs down. Testosterone makes everything worse.
Mines a bitch though, so neutering made no diff

[LilCamper]

That is a myth Bran. Tesosterone levels peak during adolescence but actually come back down.