Jumping puppy?

Question

Im looking for advice to make my 4 month old golden retriever stop jumping on everyone in my family.. he s constantly jumping and biting... not hard biting .. just playful .. but i have small children and it seems to hurt them...

I do tell him no in a stern voice and place his paws on the ground when he jumps .. and reward him for listening .. but he just does it again a few minutes later.. i know hes a puppy and it will take time .. its just annoying some times ... and for the biting .. i do grab his mouth and clamp it shut .. not hard to where i hurt him .. but stern ... and then he seems to get angry and growls and starts snapping at me ... hes fine with my husband ... he only acts up around the myself and the children...

Answer 1

Buy a cinch collar (ask the pet shop to fit it) and everytime your puppy jumps up on someone correct him/her with a quick (pop & release) of the collar in a downward motion and say "OFF" firmly. You have to repeat until the your puppy understands and when she/he does make sure to praise in a calm way so as not to re-excite him/her. I just took a obedience class with my german shepherd puppy and this was one of the exercises. The class was taught by a very reputable training facility.

Answer 2

Jumping up is one of the ways a dog may try to dominate you or just get your attention. Keep him on a leash, even in the house. Tell him to sit as you see him approaching you. If he jumps up, don't push him off with your hands - that's petting and praising. Calmly but very firmly pull him off with the leash and make him lie down - then kneel or stand over him and pet him. This will put you a physically dominant position and help put the dog in his place. Also, do not let the dog sleep on your bed or sit on the furniture. Don't play tug-of-war! That teaches the dog to challenge your authority. Make him sit and stay before you feed him. Do some obedience training at least 15 minutes a day.

Read some great books on training. (Try not to pick books randomly - there are a lot of bad books out there also!) These are some of my favorites and you can get them on Amazon.com
What All Good Dogs Should Know – Volhard http://www.volhard.com/
Good Owners, Great Dogs - Brian Kilcommins
Dog Tricks : Eighty-Eight Challenging Activities for Your Dog from World-Class Trainers by Haggerty and Benjamin
Don't Shoot the Dog - Pryor
Training Your Dog: The Step by Step Method - Volhard
Dog Problems - Benjamin
Cesar's Way - Cesar Millan
Also, watch the Dog Whisperer on the National Geographic Channel. Cesar Millan is the best trainer I've ever seen on TV.
http://www.dogpsychologycenter.com/

Answer 3

This is relatively easy with a bigger dog like a Golden. When he jumps up, just raise your knee, so that he kits your knee with his chest. He'll get the message pretty quickly.

The thing that concerns me is that he is growling and snapping at you. NOT acceptable behavior!!! He is starting to consider himself to be higher in the pack order than you and the kids are (the jumping up is also a sign of this, by the way.) If this isn't nipped in the bud NOW he's going to get more and more aggressive - and he's going to be a big dog.

If you and your husband don't have any experience with dog training, I would suggest you enroll your puppy in obedience classes as soon as possible.

Answer 4

Discipline him whenever he jumps up. If he starts to jump, but stops (once your discipline), then reward him with a pat or a treat. Do the same thing for the biting... Some discipline techniques that I would recommend would be scolding with your voice (of course) and putting various coins in a Coke can - then shaking it (this is how I got my dog to stop her bad behavior).

Answer 5

Well, small children + big dog always has problems of this sort. I have never found a cure for this problem, aside from pushing them off and waiting it out. Once the dog gets older and calms down, it stops.

Answer 6

You should just watch the dog carefully for the next 2 months, and tell the kids to deal with it. It's a PUPPY! What did you expect? It's in love with it's family, and teething. It's showing it's nature and if you try to change it, you'll wind up ruining the dog. this a period of adjustment that you and your family have to make in order to integrate him into your home so that he developes properly. It's your responsibility to do it right!

Answer 7

You could take him to obedience school or at least train him to obey some simple commands like "sit" and "stay". It takes a while for young dogs to learn to calm down and by putting them through some "basic training" you will be laying a good foundation for your dog learning how to be a good family member.

Answer 8

turn away from the dog when he jumps. pay no attention to him untill he is calm. do not push him, or scold him... because negative attention is still attention. teach him 'sit' and have him sit instead of jumping.

your bigger problem though, is the growling. your dog doesn't see you as the boss. You need to establish yourself as the 'top dog'. I did this with my beasts by pinning them to the floor by their neck (when they were aggressive) and rolling them into their backs, rub their bellies untill they submit. you may want to look on the web for others ways or take him to training.

Answer 9

Did you try a squirt bottle filled with water? My dogs jumps on everyone and that was the only thing that made her stop.

Answer 10

he dosn't know any better but tell him no every time he jumps on some one (make sure its in a harsh tone) and for the bitting every time he dose it clamp his muzzle down with your fingers and say no agin in a harsh tone