Staff jumping up

[agent4]

I have a 3 yr old staff who is as good as gold but when someone comes to the house he will not stop jumping up them.

If i walk in the house he does not jump up me at all, but if it is someone else he goes berserk.

He is great with my friends babies and children but will not leave adults alone.

I have tried asking them to turn away and only fuss him when he has all paws on the floor, stones in a bottle, moving him to another room and allowing him to come out when calm but nothing works.

I have been persistant when trying each technique for months and really appreciate that some people (even if they don't say) find it annoying and unwelcoming.

I would really appreciate any advice or people in similar situations?

[orange-gnome]

Hi, I have the same problem with my boxer cross gsd and what I do is to leave her lead over my bannister post which because I have a teeny house is in my front room and as soon as the door goes I clip her to it which avoides the initial frantic door greetings. If the person is coming into my house (not just some window sales person) they come in and sit down, she is able to see them but can't get to them and once she has calmed down I make her sit before the person goes to greet her calmly and crouching so that she remains sitting and then after that I can let her off. This really works well for me and I hope to be able to eventually phase out the need for clipping her to the lead. Maybe you could find somewhere in your front room that this could work for you?
Also come along and join
www.orangedog.forumup.com
where we have a couple of fantastice dog trainers as members who will be happy to give you plenty of advice specifically suited to you and your dog.

[agent4]

aww thanks for the invite!

My house is exactly the same with the bannister in the front room so i will definately try your method, which i never would of thought of.

I just have visions of him barking his head off at not being able to get to them but i will give it a go.

Thanks for your advice

[orange-gnome]

No problem at all!
My dog isn't much of a barker so thats not an issue for me.... would your dog eventually stop barking? The only thing is of course that if the guest goes to greet him when he's barking then in the dogs eyes he thinks he HAS to bark to get them to come and see him. If you could stand it until he has finished and only reward him by letting the guest go and greet him when he has shut up then he would get the message.... with any luck!!

[agent4]

I'm not sure if he would stop barking, he's a stubborn and persistant little so and so, but then again, i can be too!!

I will try it and see who gives in first!

[Morticiah]

this is a bit extreme, but .....friends of mine used a squirty water bottle filled with lemon juice diluted with water ... every time their staff jumped up, they squirted him! :-(

He seemed to learn very quickly that jumping got him a face full of nasty lemony water!

Mort

[agent4]

Thanks for your advice Morticiah but have tried the water gun too.

He just gets used to it after a while and if i put lemon juice in it he would probably lick it off and quite enjoy it! :)

[kuhugaq]

i heard a dog trainer say (pinch his paws when he jumps up you) sounds reasonable.

[eyeshade]

Don't know if you ever saw the dog training thing on Ch 4 with the long haired woman, she was pretty good. When a dog kept jumping up at her she would turn her back and fold her arms. They do it for attention. You mustn't make eye contact either. You keep opening the door and doing the same thing, time after time, with guests as well. When dog is good and does it right, praise him and treat him. Try it. You should never let your dog go through the door before you or anyone else either otherwise it send signals to them that they are in charge, YOU are the leader of the pack so you have to show them. Its hard work at first, but persevere. Better than tying them to the post but it is what ever works for you. Firm short sharp "DOWN", use a rattle bottle as well (plastic bottle full of small stones) and when you say DOWN shake the bottle. Makes a hell of a row but scares the dog and they instantly go down. Good Luck.

[agent4]

Thank you all for your advice. I have my work cut out but like you say eyeshade, perservere and hopefully we will get results.

Thanks again x

[obione]

hello everyone this advice comes from someone who is afraid of dogs. i have learn't over the years that if when i enter a room and there is a dog present if i make no eye contact and completely ignore the dog it very quickly gets bored of jumping and making a fuss. i think they find me quite boring so leave me be quite quickly, then once the dog has calmed down i can fuss them.

[agent4]

That's very true as i am constantly saying 'down' because i feel so bad for the people he is jumping up, but this is giving him the attention he's after.

He doesn't jump up us when we come through the door as most the time we walk in and start doing other things so maybe asking people to come in and just completely ignoring him may do the trick!

Thanks x

[drgnrdr]

Check out
http://orangedog.forumup.com/index.php?mforum= orangedog
there is info you can use on there for training.

[happy_face]

Hey agent4.
I've got 2 staffies and both used to be like your boy. One is 6yrs and the other is 11 months. As I worked on the 6yr first he has grasped what I want from him now and is ok but the 11month old is still learning.
She even jumps up when I get home so I'm training on that. Basically when I get home I take off my jacket, drop my handbag, say hello to Mr Happy. Generally do the thingsI need to do first without paying any attention to pups or make eye contact. They are of course running around trying to get my attention and the youngan jumping up at me but I just turn and walk away.
When I'm then ready to say hello I stand still slightly bent over so it doesn't create a big leap up so they feel like they have to jump up and then I ask them to sit. Only when sitting do they get a pat and hello. As they're excited they get up and walk about and come back and I do tell them to sit a few times as only the sitting dog gets my attention. And after a couple of minutes they get it and they just sit there looking at me.
I used to get absolutely mauled over by the puppy when I came home from work as soon as I got through the door but by doing the ignore exercise she now keeps a little distance and waits for me to be ready.
But saying all of this is all very well if your friends then don't do what you ask them. Like mine, and then I'm kinda thinking "well it's your own fault then".

[agent4]

hey happy face

I'm so glad you have said that! My friends were exactly the same when he was a puppy and looking back I wish i'd have trained him properly then(it's my own fault).

Even now it's hard cos i'm asking them to do this and they feel bad so they are saying it's ok (can't win)

I'm going to be stern now tho and he does listen and act upon all commands such as sit, lie down, roll over etc.. so i know he has the ability to do as i say.

Like you i come home and start doing other things and then i give him fuss when i'm ready and i don't have the same problem as our visitors.

I'm going to take all of your advice and try one thing at a time and perservere with each one for so long. He is such a good dog in all other aspects and this is my only real problem with him.

Thank u and i take my hat off to you having two staffies!! :)

[agent4]

Oh and thanks for the link drgnrdr x

[happy_face]

well Staffies are just so adorable that I couldn't just have one. if I had the space I would adopt all the homeless dogs in the UK as I'm a true dogaholic.
Staffies are one of a kind and sometimes when you get great advice from others you tend to go with the people who also have staffies as you can relate to them better. The link that Drgrndrrrrrrr... gave you is to a forum that Orange and I also are members on, so pop along we're a nice crowd and you can get some excellent help and support and even just chat about the furry friends. I joined in January and am hooked and have to add my bit every day

[drgnrdr]

If you can use "OFF" ( feet on the floor)not down so you can use "down" for Lie in a prone position on the floor. Just a note, cause if you use down and they know down as lay down, then when you say down for everything, get down (couch or bed, or counter) they get confused when you ask them to lay down. So Off would be better. JMO

[obione]

hi me again the other half has had staffies and he says to continue the defence once visitors are in and seated if they can cross their legs (man fashion, ankle on knee) then this also provides a barrier that the dogs get bored with quickly, the key is not to fuss until they calm down.

[agent4]

Hello

Thanks obione!

Well for the last few days i have been getting family members to come down to try out the technique.

I have asked them to walk in, making no eyecontact with Mugger and to completely ignore him in every way. I also have ignored him and not give him any command or tried to distract him.

He has jumped up them for a couple of minutes (used to be for the whole duration of their visits) and then just began to stand by them.

This is when i asked them to fuss him and praise him, so fingers crossed if we continue this it may sink in.

He still sneakily tries to get their attention once they stop fussing but they continue to ignore until he is settled again.

At last i think something may be beginning to work! Common sense really (but i don't have much of that :)

Thank you all xxxx

[drgnrdr]

Great, make sure all praise is LOW KEY, if you act all squealy and excited he will feed off of that and get jumping again, just low key hellos. Keep at it, he may try one last time to jump around, this is called an extinction burst, ignore it, stick to what your doing it will finally extinguish this also.