Puppy morals!!?

Question

I need help with my 9-month old black lab. She is CRAZY!!!!! Whenever she sees someone she jumps on them, and it is reallly disturbing. we can't have visitors because she won't leave them alone!!! she would be all the time smelling them or jumping into their laps (she's pretty heavy), so what can I do about this? How can I train her to just be with us calmly? Do you think putting her in a crate when visitors come will help?

Answer 1

This is advice given by the YA user known as 'A Veterinarian' who graces this forum.::::::>
You can stop that in just one day, and it doesn't matter how old she is (unless she's really old and arthritic, in which case she wouldn't be jumping up anyway.)

You'll need to enlist the help of a few friends, however.... Make SURE everyone understands that they have to do this EXACTLY the same way EVERY time.

When she jumps up on you, do not look at her, do not say anything to her (do NOT say "no!"), do not stop talking to anyone else if you're in the middle of a sentence, do not acknowledge her presence in any way. It's important that this be a totally impersonal correction. Just keep doing whatever you were doing, but at the same time, bring your knee up sharply/firmly into her chest, with enough force to knock her over backwards. That's not to hurt her (you won't be able to)....it's simply to knock her off balance so that she stumbles significantly (actually falling over is even better.) If you don't accomplish that, it won't work. If she jumps up again, do it again. (It rarely takes more than once or twice per person.) Then, when she walks up beside you (WAIT until she does), reach down and pet her head, give her a quick ear-rub, and tell her 'good girl,' but don't make a big production of it.

The idea is to get it into her head that this is just a natural thing that happens whenever you jump up. Use several (5-6 should be enough) different people. That way, she associates the jumping up with a specific consequence (falling over), not a specific person. Done properly, she'll think it's nothing more than a regular reflex of all human beings...rather than a consciously-administered 'punishment.' She'll now have a choice to make....jump up and get knocked over backwards, or walk up so her head and ears can be rubbed. Unless she's just brain-dead (or an Irish Setter, lol---Irish Setter owners know what I mean), she won't keep doing it.

The best analogy I can make is telling a child over and over again not to touch the stove, because it's hot. Mom can yell, Dad can spank, Aunt Mary can give a timeout....but the quickest and surest way for the message to get through is when the child touches it when no one's around to yell at her, and feels the burn herself. She'll *instinctively* pull her hand away, and likely won't ever touch a stove again, even if it's off. That's what you're trying to accomplish here. You're just setting up something similar that you can control. That's the essence of all dog training.
I'm a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine who used to do extensive obedience and guard-dog training.

cheto edit: I think she wrote it so well, that it seemed a shame to not pass it on..when I wrote similar advice, I was called cruel and uncaring..but..this is what the doctor ordered! lol

Many dogs are hyperactive because of the ingredient CORN in their kibble or canned food. Often eliminating food coloring, and corn, and limiting grains is a big help in calming dogs down.

Answer 2

We had the same problem with our husky this is what we did iand it worked.
Pin the dog. Lay down on the floor and have the dog lay beside you. Make sure at least 50% of your body is above the dog. Hold hime there until he sighs, same as a little kid would do when they finally gave up. Do this EVERY DAY. For the first while it may take up to an hour, from my experience it could take longer, once he gets the hang of it it should go down to less than five minutes. Have everyone in your house do this and even some people the dog does not know, it is the same as the would be taught by their mom. It really works.

While doing this whenever anyone comes over have them make the dog sit. Once the dog is in the sitting position the person should give them a good petting.

Answer 3

It's not disturbing, she's a puppy! She probably was able to jump up on your laps when she was younger, but now she's older, she has to realize she's a big girl.

Local puppy classes would be the easiest fix for you. Keeping your dog in a crate all the time is just going to make her more restless, and not solve her puppy problems.

As for jumping up on people, a firm "no" or "down" repeated while looking her directly in the eye, and waiting until she calms down. You can't train a dog in a day, but spend a little time and it will be well worth it.

In the mean time when you know guests are coming, put her somewhere else in the house. Don't give up! She's still growing!

Answer 4

"Pin the dog. Lay down on the floor and have the dog lay beside you. Make sure at least 50% of your body is above the dog. Hold hime there until he sighs, same as a little kid would do when they finally gave up. Do this EVERY DAY."

Please do not do this. Put the term "alpha roll" into a search engine and you should come up with a few sites talking about a creepily similar action. Terrorising your dog is not going to stop her greeting people in an inappropriate fashion.

Answer 5

2 things the trainer we inquired to told us was with jumping, have the person raise their knee up some when the dog attempts to jump on the. It will prevent them from getting up and eventually, they'll get the message. Another thing you can do is to leash her when you're having company over. When she attempts to jump, pull back a bit to let her know it's not okay. Same with being on them all of the time. Sounds like she needs training and whther you do it yourself or you find a good trainer, it's something that you'll have to stick to but should see great results with. Good luck!

Answer 6

You might try doing this when people come in. Put her in the pet taxi. Then try letting her out and speaking calmly to her to be quiet...and when she is treat her with a doggy treat. She may learn that she does not want to be put up. Hope this helps. And when she does not listen, punishment would be the pet taxi....thus the lab would learn..

Answer 7

Sounds like you need help! I would try to find a professional trainer or local training classes (try the pennysaver or petsmart) and get her some basic obedience training. Once she knows her commands - off, down, no, stay, go to bed, etc, - it will be easier to tell her what she should be doing when guests are there.

Answer 8

No, it will not help you will only be avoiding the problem. You need to enroll in an obedience program and teach the dog some basic manners. Your house belongs to you and your dog needs to learn to behave in your world, not the other way around.

Answer 9

i think that you should have researched labs before getting her. labs are hyper. don't crate her when visitors come. take her to a training class. petsmart, petco, etc. if you can't afford it, then tough s***. you need to save $. dogs are like children.