I'm actually asking for a friend. He has a 9 month old australian shephard/beagle who loves jumping on people to show his affection. He has tried crossing his arms and ignoring the pup when he does this but the puppy just keeps jumping on him anyways and sometimes gets frustrated and starts barking at my friend whos still ignoring him. Is there something hes doing wrong?
Cure for a jumping dog?
- Thread starter jwong309
- Start date
Actually, yes. He's giving in. 
Jumping is one of those things that you really have to outlast the dog in, because any sign of attention only reinforces the idea that jumping works. The dog wants attention and he's figured out that if he jumps long enough or makes enough noise, he'll get it. Even if it's in the form of yelling or scolding, it's still attention.
Your friend is going to have a pretty long wait ahead of him, because Aussies (I have one) are notorious for jumping as greeting. The dog is also going to get even more frustrated, because what he's doing has worked for so long and now suddenly it doesn't anymore. Think of it like a pop machine. You put money in, press a button and out comes your soda. Then one day the machine eats your money. What do you normally do? You hit the button a couple more times, probably with more force than necessary and swear at the machine before giving up. But you will come back and try again, because you've always gotten a soda from it before. Except the next time it again eats your money. Maybe this time you progress to trying to rock the machine. Eventually you give up and you never put the money in the machine again, because obviously this one doesn't work right.
So the dog will probably throw a loud fit and jump more forcefully, possibly even nip. Your friend just has to be a statue who has a couple treats hidden in his hand. At some point the dog will either just stop jumping or sit down to figure out what's going on. At that point you can "jackpot" the dog with praise and treats, though if he starts jumping again, back to being a statue. You want the dog to learn that sitting is what gets the best attention, not jumping.
Jumping is one of those things that you really have to outlast the dog in, because any sign of attention only reinforces the idea that jumping works. The dog wants attention and he's figured out that if he jumps long enough or makes enough noise, he'll get it. Even if it's in the form of yelling or scolding, it's still attention. Your friend is going to have a pretty long wait ahead of him, because Aussies (I have one) are notorious for jumping as greeting. The dog is also going to get even more frustrated, because what he's doing has worked for so long and now suddenly it doesn't anymore. Think of it like a pop machine. You put money in, press a button and out comes your soda. Then one day the machine eats your money. What do you normally do? You hit the button a couple more times, probably with more force than necessary and swear at the machine before giving up. But you will come back and try again, because you've always gotten a soda from it before. Except the next time it again eats your money. Maybe this time you progress to trying to rock the machine. Eventually you give up and you never put the money in the machine again, because obviously this one doesn't work right.
So the dog will probably throw a loud fit and jump more forcefully, possibly even nip. Your friend just has to be a statue who has a couple treats hidden in his hand. At some point the dog will either just stop jumping or sit down to figure out what's going on. At that point you can "jackpot" the dog with praise and treats, though if he starts jumping again, back to being a statue. You want the dog to learn that sitting is what gets the best attention, not jumping.
He should continue what he is doing but make sure he turns away from the dog and gives no eye contact. The dog will get frustrated and that's fine, he'll have an "extinction burst" which is him trying everything he can think of to get your attention, it might even be worse than the original behavior. This is when it's imperative that you do not give in or he will start using the new behavior to get your attention and it will also build up his begging stamina (for lack of a better word lol) he'll learn that as long as he keeps at it you'll pay attention, the longer he waits before turning around the longer the dog will learn to beg, so it's super important that he never gives in. Once the dog finishes his extinction burst and figures none of those behaviors are working he'll sit down or just stand there, hat's when you turn around and pay attention. Soon the dog will learn the faster he sits or just stands there the sooner he gets some luvin! When he jumps he gets nothin. As long as he is giving the attention when the dog behaves and completely ignoring when he does not then he's doing good, he must remember not to give in, I can't stress it enough.
Sadie is a Lab/Border Collie mix and was quite the jumper when she was little. Someone on Chaz gave me great advice (sorry can't remember who). When people come over I would put her leash on her and stand on the end of the leash, then she can't jump and she must stay by me. It really didn't take long for her to get that jumping is not getting her anywhere. Now she just wiggles her butt all around them.
I also have a lab/border collie mix who used to jump up all the time. What I did was, when she put her paws on me I just backed away so she fell back to the ground. I also avoided eye contact while she was behaving badly. Her response was to eventually start jumping straight up in the air without touching me. I decided that was an acceptable alternative, and she still does it to this day. It works for us - she gets to jump in excitement and I don't have to worry about muddy paws on my clothes.