we have a 4 month old border collie pup, she jumps on people, and we cant seem to break her of this.?

Question

We have tried, of course, yelling DOWN as a command and both of us use it, but it sometimes works and sometimes not. We have to kennel her when we have company, as she knocks over kids and babies, and jumps on clothes.

Help!

Answer 1

You "yell" down? Try giving her a command without yelling. Yelling to a dog means "oh, boy - something exciting going on now!". May also need to try squirting with a water bottle. Try turning your back and ignoring until she has 4 on the floor, then praise/reward. This takes time but can be done - with practice. Don't wait for company - practice at home and ask friends who don't mind helping.
Good luck.

Answer 2

This is how we addressed this issue when our BC was a pup last summer.

When she jumped up, we stated "off" sternly and turned our back on her. When she returned to all 4's, then we turned around and praised her. If she went up again, as she did in the beginning, we repeated the process with her. The idea here being that jumping up on you is to gain attention, when the pup learns that attention is not going to happen when she does this. These days, my dog sits nicely for greeting... it's wonderful.

The hard thing here is that some people would say, "oh, it's okay, she's just excited". Not a good thing because the next person might not like it so much. So you have to be vigilant about asking all your friends, family and yes, even strangers, to abide by your rule, "turn back, say "off" and no attention until she goes down". You would be amazed at the people who are total strangers, but willing to do this if they wanted to see or pet your dog.

Always be persistant and never let a jump up go unaddressed, ever and you will see good results. It may take time, so be patient.

Answer 3

when she does it, yell either down or no and also give her a light smack on the butt. not a beating but at least hard enough where she will notice.

I'm not saying beat your dog, there's a difference. I did that with mine. after the first couple times I smacked her I could just say down and she would do it not wanting to get smacked and now she doesn't jump.

border collies have a LOT of energy. make sure you are taking her for walks and wearing her out. that will help to. they are herding dogs so they need to run alot. If you are not exercising her, they she will have a lot of energy and continue jumping.

I take my dogs for a long walk everyday and let them run around and swim so they don't jump like they used to because they use all the excess energy and excitement on the run. Teach her to play fetch if you don't want to walk a lot.

Answer 4

When your company arrives, tell them to IGNORE the dog and she tries to jump on them they need to turn their back on her. You of course need to correct this behavior. Putting her in the kennel does not teach her to have good manners. And yelling is not the way. Gently but firmly tell her NO when she jumps on anyone, including yourself. Teach her to SIT and STAY, and when someone comes to the door, make her sit/stay back at least 6 to 8 ft from the door before you open it. If she so much as looks like she is going to move, give her a correction. It takes time and lots of patience, but training is the key to a well socialized, well balanced dog.

Patty W's uncle has a good method. Dogs don't "speak" human, but they do understand sounds. When a dog is doing something you don't want it to do, you need to refocus its attention and a good way to do that is to make a sound (not the dog's name - you should never use their name to discipline), like the uncle does, and also a touch, just a quick but firm touch to redirect their attention.

Answer 5

Yelling a command at her isent going to teach her what you want. When you or guests walk in the house tell them to completely ignore the puppy and if she jumps on you turn your back to her and walk away, a couple mins later if it seems like she has settled down try saying hello to her again. Keep doing that (ignore,then come back to say hi) until she settles down and stops jumping, then you can pet her, praise and maybe give her a treat.

Answer 6

When you have company over, keep her on a leash and pull her back, saying Down, when she tries to jump up. If she gets too crazy, take her into a room to calm down. But she won't learn how to act properly if you just keep her locked up during company. This way she learns the correct behavior. Border collies are very smart, so she should learn quickly.

Answer 7

Well, I have found a couple solutions to get my lab to stop jumping that you can do. When your dog starts to jump on you turn your back to him and DO NOT pay attention. Dogs thrive on getting approval and attention from their owners. Another way which kind of sounds cruel, but it works...when he jumps put your knee up. My dog RARELY ever actually ran into my knee...it just made him back off.

Answer 8

try a "firm" but not loud command of no with a knee to her chest. the knee pushes them down without hurting them and the "no" lets them know that it is not approved behaviour. I also recommend some obedience training for these highly intelligent but very exciteable pets.

Answer 9

Does she know what down means?

Teach her "down" when strangers aren't around to excite her. Best if you can teach her to lay down in a specific spot when you use that command, then she will move to that spot - away from your guests.

Also, have the people turn their back to her.

Answer 10

Ignore her when she jumps. Fold your arms and twist your torso so she can't stay on, and only give her attention when she stays off. She'll stay pretty jumpy through puppyhood, but this is a good habit to teach her starting now.