Crazy Jumping On People When Greeting

[Guest AuntieAshley]

Hi there - just found this forum and joined

 

We have a 3 year old greyhound named Skye who is the light of our life So very friendly and loving.

 

The only issue is when he greets anyone, including us, his owners. He is extremely strong and doesn't know his own strength. He gets so excited he can't stop jumping up on people and generally harassing people with love. I'm worried one day he will topple somebody over!

 

He is very well trained otherwise and we've taken him to doggie obedience and we've tried everything -- ignoring him, turning our backs when he jumps, etc to no avail.

 

FYI....he is not a retired racer but is a rescue dog and has been neutered. We've had him for just over a year.

 

Any thoughts, suggestions welcomed! Many thanks!!

^{Forgot to mention......I've had two greyhounds previous to this and never had this issue}

[GeorgeofNE]

Uhm, just curious. Why do you have a three year old who isn't neutered yet?

 

Are you in the UK by any chance?

[rascalsmom]

It says he IS neutered.

[Guest AuntieAshley]

Thanks, Rascalsmom -- indeed he is neutered and yes I'm on the Isle of Man in the British Isles

[PatricksMom]

Hmm, you've done most of what I've done. Have you tried a verbal command? Ours is "4 feet." Can you ask guests to also turn their backs and ignore him--they're like kids, they listen to anyone else but Mom for some reason? For some reason, doing this while crossing my arms over my chest seemed to help more.

 

And, if the dogs are just having a crazy day, I put them in the yard to burn off a little energy before letting them in the house.

[Guest AuntieAshley]

Thanks PatricksMom Unfortunately all of the above has been tried - he sees it almost like a game if you ignore him. We've instructed our friends to turn their backs and put arms up to chest but it just spurs him on even more. I absolutely cannot imagine what he'd be like if he wasn't neutered!!

 

We'll keep trying. Maybe he's just got a lot of puppy in him still. When we took him to training he was absolutely spot-on perfect with all commands but you can't re-create being at home and having someone come through the door.

 

I keep trying to tell my partner that we need to not have any kind of jumping allowed if this is going to work. However when the two of them play and rough house there's lots of jumping up. Looks like I might need to focus on training my partner more!!

 

Thanks everyone -- I'll let you know how we get on

[locket]

No advice on the jumping issue, but when we first got Jack, he would bark at us when we came back home. So whenever he barked, we left again, only to re-enter a few quiet seconds later. If we entered and he was quiet, he got a cookie. That taught him that barking made us leave and being quiet got him a cookie.

Maybe something like that?

Edited August 13, 2015 by locket

[greytpups]

I think your partner might be undoing your attempts to undo this behaviour. What's really sad is it's confusing for your greyhound and he doesn't know what the expectations are if he's allowed to jump at times and not other times. It sounds like he's trying to get you to play when your back is turned.

 

I'd suggest talking to your partner and see if he could find another way to play that doesn't involve jumping up and explain how confusing this is to your pup.

 

I saw a guy hit his dog on his butt one time because the dog wouldn't sit for him. I told him negative reinforcement isn't going to work, rather it may make his dog more afraid of him. He said his dog is frustrating. I wish i thought at the time to tell him it's not the dog's fault that you haven't trained him properly. The point I'm trying to make is that it's not your dogs fault. Training won't work if it's so inconsistent. You have a better chance with positive reinforcement when all 4 paws are on the ground. Be careful not to praise and/or treat though if he's just about to lift his front paws off the floor because he may think he's getting rewarded for jumping. Timing is key.

 

Good luck!

[krissy]

I think your partner might be undoing your attempts to undo this behaviour. What's really sad is it's confusing for your greyhound and he doesn't know what the expectations are if he's allowed to jump at times and not other times. It sounds like he's trying to get you to play when your back is turned.

 

I'd suggest talking to your partner and see if he could find another way to play that doesn't involve jumping up and explain how confusing this is to your pup.

 

I saw a guy hit his dog on his butt one time because the dog wouldn't sit for him. I told him negative reinforcement isn't going to work, rather it may make his dog more afraid of him. He said his dog is frustrating. I wish i thought at the time to tell him it's not the dog's fault that you haven't trained him properly. The point I'm trying to make is that it's not your dogs fault. Training won't work if it's so inconsistent. You have a better chance with positive reinforcement when all 4 paws are on the ground. Be careful not to praise and/or treat though if he's just about to lift his front paws off the floor because he may think he's getting rewarded for jumping. Timing is key.

 

Good luck!

 

This. It's hard in the beginning for a dog to understand that a behaviour is "sometimes" okay. Consistency is key. That said, they can eventually learn to differentiate, but that is down the road a ways. Kili and I play with her feet up on me, and when I come home from work she is allowed to put her feet up on me in greeting as well. But it is not appropriate with other people, and she understands this for the most part.

 

I would have your partner stop allowing the jumping during play. I would also put a leash on him whenever someone comes to the door and he is likely to jump up. You do not use the leash for a correction, the leash is simply there to prevent the jumping in the first place. What i mean by this is... you are not going to give him a jerk to the neck as punishment for jumping up on someone, you are going to keep the leash taut so that he CAN'T jump up on them. You can use this for yourselves as well by leaving the leash on the ground and stepping on it.

 

It is also incredibly important to reward for the behaviour you want - all 4 feet on the ground! This might just be for a split second at first! It can also be really helpful to train a command that is incompatible with jumping that is highly rewarding. Teach him to sit or lay down, and when people walk in the door ask him for that behaviour. He can't sit AND jump up at the same time. The sit needs to be highly rewarding though so that he wants to do that over jumping up.

 

You can also take "ignoring him" to a totally different level. There's just ignoring him and turning your back on him, and then there's completely removing yourself from his access (which is ultimately what he wants). I just turn around and leave the house again if they're uncontrollable. Or I'll put them in time out in their crate (this needs to be really neutral though, because the crate shouldn't be seen as punishment... it's just an "oops, you're being nuts, why don't you just chill out in your crate for a few minutes?").

[PatricksMom]

Thanks PatricksMom Unfortunately all of the above has been tried - he sees it almost like a game if you ignore him. We've instructed our friends to turn their backs and put arms up to chest but it just spurs him on even more. I absolutely cannot imagine what he'd be like if he wasn't neutered!!

 

We'll keep trying. Maybe he's just got a lot of puppy in him still. When we took him to training he was absolutely spot-on perfect with all commands but you can't re-create being at home and having someone come through the door.

 

I keep trying to tell my partner that we need to not have any kind of jumping allowed if this is going to work. However when the two of them play and rough house there's lots of jumping up. Looks like I might need to focus on training my partner more!!

 

Thanks everyone -- I'll let you know how we get on

Usually, and I'm the best example of this out there, it is the people that are the problems, so yeah, I'd suggest your partner stop rough-housing and find a way to interact without encouraging/allowing jumping. Throwing tennis balls outside works well as does "4 feet" tug of war? Just some thoughts.

[Koyotekyle]

When our dogs get excited and jump, I turn my back on them until they settle down. They get excited when it is time for their walk. I sit down until they settle down. It usually works well

[3greytjoys]

 

Consistency is key.

 

I would have your partner stop allowing the jumping during play. I would also put a leash on him whenever someone comes to the door and he is likely to jump up. You do not use the leash for a correction, the leash is simply there to prevent the jumping in the first place. What i mean by this is... you are not going to give him a jerk to the neck as punishment for jumping up on someone, you are going to keep the leash taut so that he CAN'T jump up on them. You can use this for yourselves as well by leaving the leash on the ground and stepping on it.

 

It is also incredibly important to reward for the behaviour you want - all 4 feet on the ground! This might just be for a split second at first! It can also be really helpful to train a command that is incompatible with jumping that is highly rewarding. Teach him to sit or lay down, and when people walk in the door ask him for that behaviour. ...needs to be highly rewarding though so that he wants to do that over jumping up.

 

You can also take "ignoring him" to a totally different level. There's just ignoring him and turning your back on him, and then there's completely removing yourself from his access (which is ultimately what he wants). I just turn around and leave the house again if they're uncontrollable.

This.

 

Also:

No fanfare from any humans during arrivals or departures. (Calm humans help dogs learn to remain calm.)

No jumping up during play.

Once hound is calm (4-paws on the floor), it's fine for a human to drop down* to the hound's level for a friendly greeting.

(Many hounds happily jump up in attempt to get closer to their human's face for kisses. If humans remember the goal of keeping dogs' 4-legs on the floor, a human dropping to dog's level becomes a better mannered greeting.)

 

Another option for hounds who haven't been taught a lie "down" cue, is to redirect the dog towards an incompatible action like tossing a valued toy or treats in the opposite direction away from the visitor.

 

Happily teaching a go to your "place" cue is helpful (to use before opening the door for visitors). Early in training, it helps if a second person can happily escort the dog to the dog's bed AND provide yummy treats for remaining calm. It's best if the dog can still watch visitor activity from his/her dog bed, so he/she doesn't feel removed from the family.

 

*Caution: Humans bending over dogs can feel threatening in dogs' language, so assuming dog is standing with 4-paws on the floor, a human slowly and erectly lowering down to the dog's level by the dog's side feels less threatening.