Still can't curb the jumping up!

[kayepaye]

So my lab mix Harbour is almost 2 years old, she is by far one of the best dogs I have ever owned.
She is 99.9% perfect, except that she jumps on strangers.

She doesn't jump up on me, because she knows that she isn't allowed. But when we meet a stranger on the street (or even friends and family), or out at camp, she gets so excited that she pulls at the leash and jumps and jumps. All she wants is to lick their face, which a lot of people do not like.
I have tried everything from distracting her, to a gentle knee to the chest(just to push her away, not to hurt her), and asking people to kneel down to her level (she still jumps up to their face to lick them).

I know there are far worse behaviours that she could be exhibiting, but I feel awful that people are being scratched and getting headbutts because my dog just can't contain her excitement at seeing people.

I can't keep using the excuse that she's a baby, because she's a big girl now, and she knows that she isn't allowed to jump on me, so how come she can't learn the same thing with strangers?
She also doesn't jump on little kids, but I think that's just because she can reach their faces without jumping.

Any tips would be greatly appreciated!!!

[Archie]

I carry treats around and if people want to pet Archie I give them a treat and ask them to get him to sit. This has really helped.

Someone here (Battmain, maybe?) suggested a slightly harsher method that involved grabbing chest skin. I tried that with Archie, and he's never jumped on me again. It also comes in handy because if he goes to jump on someone else, I just have to put my hand on his chest and he gets the message.

I hesitate to use harsh methods but if it doesn't really hurt, and is a solution that yields quick results rather than months or years of struggle (not to mention potential for injuries), then I can see the benefit.

[kayepaye]

I carry treats around and if people want to pet Archie I give them a treat and ask them to get him to sit. This has really helped.

Someone here (Battmain, maybe?) suggested a slightly harsher method that involved grabbing chest skin. I tried that with Archie, and he's never jumped on me again. It also comes in handy because if he goes to jump on someone else, I just have to put my hand on his chest and he gets the message.

I hesitate to use harsh methods but if it doesn't really hurt, and is a solution that yields quick results rather than months or years of struggle (not to mention potential for injuries), then I can see the benefit.

Treats don't work with her unfortunately, she has no interest in them.
I tried being a little more "forceful" with the knee to the chest, or standing on her leash so when she tried to jump she gets jerked back down, but...... she doesn't seem to be grasping the concept.
It's like she just gets SO excited and she gets stupid and forgets everything.

[Polly Pipkin]

I would tell strangers they weren't allowed to pat Polly until she was sitting quietly. I would tell them we were in training and it really worked. So now, she contains her excitement, lets people pat her and if they are young children, she'll even lay down. Her tail is wagging like crazy, but at least she doesn't jump on strangers anymore.

I'm the only one she still has to touch, as if to reassure herself that I am still there! If I put a hand on her chest, she thinks it a pat, if I hold her paws, she thinks we're dancing - so, still a work in progress! She saw a friend have her dog jump into her arms and I know she'd love to do that trick, but I'm not going to be encouraging that one!!

[Tanya]

Have you taken classes with him?

I'll be honest, penny is a HORRIBLE (I mean HORRIBLE) jumper so it's on our list of top priorities.

you could look at setting yourself up with a signature rather than adding a photo and a write up each post stating his age/info

https://www.lab-retriever.net/board/a...signature.html

[Polly Pipkin]

Have you taken classes with him?

I forgot to say this as we have done a lot of training.

It's extremely important and you can ask the trainer and other owners in the class to practice better greeting behaviour on, with their permission.

[Lauranj]

I'd set her up with some of your friends. You and she approach, when you sense her excitement and energy increasing- right before she jumps- you turn around with her and walk away. Put her in a sit, a down, just some very basic commands to remind her to pay attention to you. Then start back. If she is just getting too excited at a direct approach then turn back around and walk parallel to your friends. Keep repeating until she is calmer approaching.

Your friends need to stay calm. They shouldn't make eye contact or talk to her. They should not pet her until she is calm and in a sit or down.

I would also practice at parking lots, outdoor plazas, etc with basic commands and working closer and closer to people. I would ask people to not pet as she is in training.

When a dog gets so excited, forgets the rules and does something inappropriate it is a self control issue so working the basic commands so she obeys every single time will help with the jumping.

You can also body block so she can not make contact with someone and jump. I back the dog up, by moving forward- towards them. I wait until they are calm, calm, calm, then try again. Most people do not wait long enough for a dog to get calm, make sure you really wait until your dog looks utterly bored- that is the calm I am talking about. You can solve this, good luck!

[battmain]

Keep at it. There are multiple ways of solving this, but you have to remember that it is the pleasure of being greeted, why the dog jumps. It is wonderful to have a friendly dog, but every greeting with humans or other dogs is always on your terms and just because someone wants to pet your dog, you don't have to allow it at that particular second. You can get rude if you have to. You have to at times to get your dog to the point you want.

Grabbing at the chest skin and squeezing hard is just one method. Yes, I use it and as you can see above, it works and fairly quickly, with no long term effects. It is called consequence training. I understand not everyone likes to do that because they don't want to hurt the dog, or think it is negative training, but whatever method we use, there is always some negativity hidden behind the semantics, whether folks want to admit it or not.

[Snowshoe]

5 month old Jumping on people

I posted what worked for me in the link on the same subject.

[kayepaye]

Have you taken classes with him?

I'll be honest, penny is a HORRIBLE (I mean HORRIBLE) jumper so it's on our list of top priorities.

you could look at setting yourself up with a signature rather than adding a photo and a write up each post stating his age/info

https://www.lab-retriever.net/board/a...signature.html

I have taken obedience classes with her, and she was extremely well behaved during the classes, we never really worked on the jumping problem because it wasn't an issue at the time of the class. It's hard to correct a behaviour that isn't happening at the time haha.