Jumping Puppy

[faldo]

My beautiful Border Collie is 18 weeks and every time the kids go outside he jumps on them. I have tried telling the kids to give him some attention and then he will be happy but he still keeps jumping. Its hard for them becuase when he stands on his 2 legs he is almost as tall as them. I dont want to tie him up but I am running out of ideas. Can anyone help me please.

[Luke W]

My beautiful Border Collie is 18 weeks and every time the kids go outside he jumps on them. I have tried telling the kids to give him some attention and then he will be happy but he still keeps jumping. Its hard for them becuase when he stands on his 2 legs he is almost as tall as them. I dont want to tie him up but I am running out of ideas. Can anyone help me please.

Teach the kids to turn their backs on him and stand very still if he jumps on them. They should only ever pay him any attention when he has all four paws on the ground. Be consistant.

If you can't get your kids to do this, you will have to keep the dog away from the kids until you have taught your dog it gets no attention until all four paws are on the ground. Everytime you pat or in any way interact with your dog (including telling it to get down or pushing it off) you are taking 1 step backward in the training process.

[Jigsaw]

A lot of dogs get excited when kids are around. The move fast, make high pitched noises and like to play. Supervision is the best thing to do. You could put the pup on a leash and do some training exercises in sit and stay while you sit and watch kids. Encouraging the pup to just watch the kids play rather than participating, reward him for 4 paws on the floor and calm behaviour, teach pup to focus on you rather than the kids. As Luke W said turning your back on the jumping and not looking at pup, especially not looking in the eyes! Get the kids to pretend he's not there!

[TerraNik]

I agree with all the suggestions. You might want to teach your pup that he gets no attention until he sits. He will learn very quickly!

Basically in addition to the turning around and ignoring the pup, the kids (and you) don't pat him until he is sitting. This includes when he meets strangers as well. The worst thing is when your dog goes and jumps on complete strangers! It takes a bit of assertiveness on your part to tell the stranger not to pat the dog until it is sitting, but it is well worth it.

[Dogsfevr]

The key is BOTH parties must meet half way.

The children should not raz the pup up or encourage a game/ action that isnt wanted.

The pup also need to be trained,if it has no idea of whats expected & correct behaviour it will have no clue as to whats right/wrong.

I would highly suggest not tethering the dog .It will create many more unpleasant behaviours like barking.It can be the same as teasing when everyone is running around likea looney & the dog cant join i.

Depending on the age of your children they need to be more involved in daily activiteis like feeding,training

[cwm]

We had the same issues with our pup, and this method, depending on the pup will work, but it takes time and consistency.

If people aren't consistent, and with kids this can be difficult, it will take a lot longer.

Our friends are proving harder to train than our pup, and we have now had to resort to water spray bottles. If she sees someone with a water spray bottle, she doesn't jump!

Maybe, to nip it quickly in the bud, you can arm your kids with water pistols. As soon as the pup jumps at them, they spray him. It works quickly and fast, and your kids may have fun in the process - it turns it into a game that they can win, rather than crying because they've been raked by claws.

Our pup is quite defiant, and the woof of frustration comes out when she sees she's been defeated by the spray bottle!

[tkmc]

My shitzu x silky is a jumper, I have taught they kids to turn away from her until she calms down and I do the same. It is really hard for the kids though (they are all under 5) because she is pretty full on and force full. She is slowly getting it though, it works best when i do it although when she does calm down and you go to pat her she gets all excited and starts biting and jumping again.

I think the main thing is consistency my husband generally yells or pushes her away, so I have to remind him to stop and turn his back without making any noise. And yes it is very frustrating when friends come over especially people who aren't into dogs (is there such a thing??).

[luvsdogs]

My 5 mth old border collie pup is also a jumper. The breeder was working on it before we got her but it hasn't stopped because where ever we take her she jumps on ppl & they always pat her. It's so frustrating. She will sit on command & when she's with me, before dinner, before going out etc I have her sit. Enrol in a positive method obedience club. They will help you with the situation as well as other things. Show the kids how to train her using food. Border Collies are smart, you need to show them you are in charge. Don't push him down, look him in the eye, shout at him or tell him to get down. Use sit.

I would be careful with a water pistol. There are good & bad points in using them. It could make the situation worse. And you need to always have it ready which isn't always the case. I used one when training my kitten & she soon learnt to run away when she saw me with it.