# Jumping on me for attention



## Cheyennesmom (Jun 23, 2020)

Brody is now 9 months and out of control with jumping on me, my husband, and everyone else he meets. Our other GR, now deceased, used to jump on people when he first saw them because he wanted to lick their faces. We used to joke that to our guests that if they’d just lie down on the floor and let Cheyenne lick their face, he will then let them alone. Brody is very different. He’s a snuggler, so every morning I have to let him snuggle on my lap and chew a bone or suckle on one of his favorite toys. Then a couple times throughout the day and last thing at night, we sit snd snuggle again. It’s very sweet, and I enjoy this time together. What’s driving me crazy is that if he wants attention when I’m busy (doing chores around the house or cooking), he jumps on me, front, back, sideways, etc. He doesn’t respond to No, Off, or any command. Brody had two 6 week classes between 9 weeks and 24 weeks), and the trainer said to put his leash on him in the house and step on it when he jumped. The problem was that the leash was never anywhere near where I could step on it, and he was constantly wiggling and moving, so stepping on the leash was impossible. Someone else said to put my knee up so he couldn’t get at me. Didn’t work, just made him keep trying. Ditto for grabbing his front paws and holding them and walking around with him on his hind legs. He’d try to chew on my hands, and as soon as I let him go, he’d jump on me again. I’ve tried rewarding him when he gets off me, but as soon as I give him the treat, he jumps up again. Even high value treats have no success, although he is VERY food motivated in every other way. If I sit down and let him climb on my lap for a few minutes, that usually satisfies him, but I can’t always do that whenever he wants me to. What am I doing wrong, and how can I get him to stop jumping on me and also other people?


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## AmberSunrise (Apr 1, 2009)

I take a slightly different approach but it may work for you.

I do want my dogs to jump on me (only me) as I find it a useful stress release and also a way to keep them close when waiting to enter a ring -- however, I only want them to jump on cue. My cue is both hands come up (elbows by side) and I tap my chest, my hands then come down to waist level so they can rest their front legs on my forearms.

When they are not to jump, I give a trained cue that is not compatible with jumping up -- examples would be sit, down, spin etc. This would also work if you do not train an 'okay to jump' cue. For example, they come through a door and I say sit until it becomes an automatic behavior (they are rewarded for the sit).


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## AmberSunrise (Apr 1, 2009)

When you cannot interact with your pup, crate him or put baby gating/XPens between where he is and where you are.

IMO, kneeing your dog for something he does not understand is not the way to go ... teach him what you *DO *want so you can reward and build confidence ... punishing, especially with a move that can hurt him, for what he does not understand is a very risky approach since he has no idea what it is you do want.


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## Cheyennesmom (Jun 23, 2020)

Thank you! I quickly gave up on the knee thing and holding his paws since they don’t work. I really don’t want him to jump on me at all. He will sit and lie down for treats, and he’ll get off me for treats, but he won’t STAY off me for treats. He just keeps jumping on me. Exactly how do I teach him that I don’t want him to do that? He will only sit or lie down if treats are being offered. As soon as I stop the treats snd walk away, he’s jumping on me again. 

Not sure if this is important, but he’s a very dominant dog and has been from the day we brought him home at 8 weeks. He’s a happy guy, but he gets really bratty when he’s hungry, which is usually late afternoon and early evening, both before and after his supper. He’s still on 3 meals a day, although we need to eliminate lunch because I have to be at work all day a couple days a week. He listens better to my husband than me, even though I was the one who took him to training and am home with him most days. He also jumps on my husband occasionally, maybe one time for every 20 times he jumps on me. Is this jumping a dominance thing?

He has an x-pen attached to his crate in our sunroom off the kitchen, and he spends time there when we need him to. We also put a gate across the sunroom doorway and let him out of the pen as long as he behaves, but lately he’s been chewing on the fabric under our loveseat, so then he goes back in the pen. I’m sure the chewing is out of boredom. I give him filled Kongs and treat toys to alleviate boredom, but he’s definitely happier when he’s with his people, meaning my husband first and foremost and then me if hubby isn’t around.


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## FinnTheFloof (Jun 27, 2021)

What I've done with all the pups that I've encountered (mine, and others I've been asked to train) is to turn around and ignore the dog when they jump on me. I only give them attention again when they have all four feet on the ground, or, if they're extra persistent, I'll give attention when they've given up and walked away. Because he's looking for attention, you're rewarding the jumping by giving him attention. All the dogs that I've worked with have soon figured out that they get lots of love with all four feet on the ground, and all attention stops when they jump.


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## cwag (Apr 25, 2017)

He is being a brat and you need to make up your mind that you will not tolerate it. I would start training a rock solid sit and down on command and keep him on a leash until he has learned to obey it. Make him sit for everything he wants. Sit before he gets his meal, before he gets petting, before he goes out the door. If he starts jumping be calm, just grab the leash, let it loop to the floor and step on it so that he cannot jump at all. If you can tell he's ramping up or getting bored do a training or robust exercise session before he starts jumping. If you cannot do something with him when he's starting to ramp up, stick him in his crate. Every time he jumps on you something bad should happen. Until you get him trained to sit on command, I would calmly stick him in his crate (no treats) any time he is jumping. Also it sounds like he needs lots more aerobic exercise where he runs til his tongue is hanging out sideways and he pants for a while afterward. I think there really is something to the saying that a tired puppy is a good puppy. If you can't get him settled you may want to have a few private sessions with a trainer. A full sized Golden who is out of control would be a miserable thing to deal with.


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## Cheyennesmom (Jun 23, 2020)

Thank you so much, Cwag, for these suggestions! Clearly, scolding him is not enough of a negative consequence for him. I gave up on the leash inside the house because I wasn’t able to step on it, but I will try again, along with retraining the other commands, which he does about 85 percent of the time, mainly whenever it suits him and he thinks he’ll get a treat.
We take him to the park or walk him around the neighborhood most days, but I’m sure you’re right that he needs more exercise. Our other Golden would fetch his flying goose for as long as someone was willing to throw it, and he would swim for it in the pool 40 or 50 times. Brody is not interested in swimming and he just doesn’t want to retrieve balls or the flying goose more than half a dozen times. He likes playing keep away, but that’s not much running for him and yet too much for my knees.


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## aesthetic (Apr 23, 2015)

He needs to go back to classes. 2 sessions isnt nearly enough for a golden, especially if he was 24 weeks for the last class. IMO, being 9 months old and being unable to sit or down without a treat is part of your problem and further consistent training would be beneficial.


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## Cheyennesmom (Jun 23, 2020)

Thank you, FinnTheFloof, for your suggestions too. I tried pushing him off and ignoring him by turning my back on him, and that’s when he started jumping in my back. I didn’t think I was rewarding bad behavior at first, until I realized he was only getting off me for the treat and then jumping up again. I do put him in the pen when I’m fed up, but that hasn’t sunk in as a result of his behavior. 
I suspect you are right, Aesthetic, that I need to take him back to training. I’ve always been a strong believer in well-behaved children and dogs. Our other GR was so much easier. I just wasn’t prepared for this level of brattiness. He’s perfect at sitting without a treat, but everything else he only does for a treat.
Do y’all recommend going back to the trainer we used before or someone new?


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## FinnTheFloof (Jun 27, 2021)

Cheyennesmom said:


> Thank you, FinnTheFloof, for your suggestions too. I tried pushing him off and ignoring him by turning my back on him, and that’s when he started jumping in my back. I didn’t think I was rewarding bad behavior at first, until I realized he was only getting off me for the treat and then jumping up again.


I don't push a dog off then turn around or give them a treat for being down, I just turn away while their paws are on me and wait without looking at them. I don't know if it would make that much of a difference, though. (If you can tell, I'm not as experienced as some others on the site 😅 )


Cheyennesmom said:


> I do put him in the pen when I’m fed up, but that hasn’t sunk in as a result of his behavior.


If you'd like to use that method, I'd keep a leash on him and when he jumps, IMMEDIATELY grab his leash and put him (even if you have to drag him) in the pen. If he tends to bark when you walk away, wait until he's calm and has kinda given up before letting him back out.


Cheyennesmom said:


> Do y’all recommend going back to the trainer we used before or someone new?


Did you see any results while using that trainer? Did you enjoy working with them? If the answer to either question is 'no', then you may want to switch.

For the commands without treats- what I do when I'm having a 'won't do it without treats' issue is that if he already knows it with treat, do it a couple times with a treat, then randomly do one without (while still having a treat in my other hand or treat bag or something). Usually, he'll be expecting a treat because he's gotten one the last five times and will do it. Then I throw a praise party and repeat. Gradually I start making the commands without treats more and more common, until he's randomly getting a treat instead of randomly not getting one.


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## aesthetic (Apr 23, 2015)

If you liked the teachers method and the way they taught, stick with them! I think all you (and him!) need is some consistency and direction. The good news is that 9 months is a known “trouble” age for goldens - they get bratty and test the rules, so I don’t think you did anything wrong and I don’t think there’s anything wrong/different with him, he just needs some reminders.


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## Cheyennesmom (Jun 23, 2020)

Thanks again for all this great advice. Clearly we both need retraining! The original trainer was great, so I’ll call her up and see when we can go back. The leash is going on right now. I’m done with this bad behavior. I appreciate all your help! 🤞🤞🤞🤞


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## SRW (Dec 21, 2018)

Dogs that know the sit command stop jumping every time they hear it.


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## Cheyennesmom (Jun 23, 2020)

Lol, this pup reminds me of my son. At 6, my son was an angel, knew what he was supposed to do and did it without fail. Then somehow he turned 15 and suddenly my angel disappeared, replaced by a boy who had no interest in doing anything he was asked to do unless it lined up with whatever he wanted.
Is 9 months at the beginning or middle of the Terrible Teens for GRs? Brody has had a mind of his own since the day we brought him home, so I can’t tell how far along in the process he is. I suspect we have quite a ways to go yet though.


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## ceegee (Mar 26, 2015)

Cheyennesmom said:


> Brody is now 9 months and out of control with jumping on me, my husband, and everyone else he meets. (...) He doesn’t respond to No, Off, or any command. Brody had two 6 week classes between 9 weeks and 24 weeks), and the trainer said to put his leash on him in the house and step on it when he jumped. The problem was that the leash was never anywhere near where I could step on it, and he was constantly wiggling and moving, so stepping on the leash was impossible. Someone else said to put my knee up so he couldn’t get at me. Didn’t work, just made him keep trying. Ditto for grabbing his front paws and holding them and walking around with him on his hind legs. He’d try to chew on my hands, and as soon as I let him go, he’d jump on me again. I’ve tried rewarding him when he gets off me, but as soon as I give him the treat, he jumps up again. Even high value treats have no success, although he is VERY food motivated in every other way.


Two six-week classes isn't much. I also depends on how much practice you did. Classes are fine, but if you don't practise the exercises extensively at home, you won't get the results. Dog training takes time, consistency and repetition. It sounds like you tried a potential solution, then switched to another one when it didn't work. As others have said, consistency is the key.



Cheyennesmom said:


> Thank you! I quickly gave up on the knee thing and holding his paws since they don’t work. I really don’t want him to jump on me at all. He will sit and lie down for treats, and he’ll get off me for treats, but he won’t STAY off me for treats. He just keeps jumping on me. Exactly how do I teach him that I don’t want him to do that? He will only sit or lie down if treats are being offered. As soon as I stop the treats snd walk away, he’s jumping on me again.
> (...)


I'd encourage you to read the sentences from your own post that I've highlighted in red, and look at this from the dog's point of view. He jumps up, then gets down, and you give him a treat. Why? Because to get the treat, he first has to jump on you. So by using treats in this situation, you've actually been reinforcing his behaviour because by definition he has to perform the undesired behaviour (jumping) in order to be rewarded for performing the desired behaviour (getting down).

This isn't how you use treats to train a dog not to jump up.

What I do with my dogs: I first train a rock-solid "sit" command that my dog will perform 100% of the time when asked by me or by someone else, regardless of location. Then I fill my pockets with small treats, put the dog on leash and go out to a busy location such as a shopping mall or superstore car park. I approach a stranger, hand them a few treats, get my dog under control so he can't jump, and ask the stranger to order my dog to "sit". When the dog sits, the stranger can reward with a treat. Repeat two or three times with the same person, then say "thanks" and move on to someone else. I usually do this when the dog is a puppy - it's easier to teach good greeting manners to a 15 lb. puppy than to a 60 lb. adolescent dog. But the method should work. The important thing is to make sure the dog doesn't have the chance to jump up during the exercise - that's up to you, because you're the one holding the leash, and you need to keep him under control. If the dog jumps up at someone, say "too bad" and move on to someone else. 

My pups have all learned good greeting manners like this.

At home, I teach them to go and sit on the bottom step of the staircase when the doorbell rings, so they don't jump up at guests. If I'm in doubt, I put them on leash before I answer the door.

There's no shortcut to this - it's a matter of training and being consistent. But Goldens are intelligent dogs and respond quickly.

Good luck!


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## AmberSunrise (Apr 1, 2009)

Delay the reward for sitting/downing. Start with a 2 second pause and work up to a few minutes (downs should be used for extended stays).

My 6 month old occassionally 'forgets' herself and I step back so her paws don't land (usually if she has been zooming outside with the other dogs and is full of energy & play), she then remebers and the butt hits the floor.. No treats for getting off you -- you didn't tell him it was okay to get on you so if you reward him for getting off, in order to get off to earn his treat, he first needs to get on you (hopefully that makes sense).

You mentioned he doesn't care where he lands on you, so step back -- a giant step if necessary. Tell him SIT when he does not land on you (ie; you stepped away from his space, his feet hit the ground, you cue SIT and he does) and praise that --you could even reward the sit at first and after a few repeititions demand no air time beforehand for a treat -- eventually, it may take awhile, what you will see if a happy exuberant dog flying towards you and slamming into a sit  But no treats if he jumps on you first -- you may need to be quick & cue a sit or a down before you see him gathering for his launch LOL

Teach alternate behavours that are simply incompatible -- he can't jump if he is sitting, he can't jump if he is in his place etc

Dominance? Probably not. Dogs do what works and if launching on you or your husband gets him attention, good or bad, and even gets a treats, he is just doing what works. I personally would increase the size of his meals and cut back to 2 meals a day with training treats interspersed. My youngster has been on 2 meals a days for a couple of months already.



Cheyennesmom said:


> Thank you! I quickly gave up on the knee thing and holding his paws since they don’t work. I really don’t want him to jump on me at all. He will sit and lie down for treats, and he’ll get off me for treats, but he won’t STAY off me for treats. He just keeps jumping on me. Exactly how do I teach him that I don’t want him to do that? He will only sit or lie down if treats are being offered. As soon as I stop the treats snd walk away, he’s jumping on me again.
> 
> Not sure if this is important, but he’s a very dominant dog and has been from the day we brought him home at 8 weeks. He’s a happy guy, but he gets really bratty when he’s hungry, which is usually late afternoon and early evening, both before and after his supper. He’s still on 3 meals a day, although we need to eliminate lunch because I have to be at work all day a couple days a week. He listens better to my husband than me, even though I was the one who took him to training and am home with him most days. He also jumps on my husband occasionally, maybe one time for every 20 times he jumps on me. Is this jumping a dominance thing?
> 
> He has an x-pen attached to his crate in our sunroom off the kitchen, and he spends time there when we need him to. We also put a gate across the sunroom doorway and let him out of the pen as long as he behaves, but lately he’s been chewing on the fabric under our loveseat, so then he goes back in the pen. I’m sure the chewing is out of boredom. I give him filled Kongs and treat toys to alleviate boredom, but he’s definitely happier when he’s with his people, meaning my husband first and foremost and then me if hubby isn’t around.


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## Margaux's Dad (Oct 30, 2020)

Our puppy did this. Our trainer taught us to put her in a timeout the second she jumped. We used a small dark bathroom. When she jumped, I grabbed her and literally ran with her to the bathroom, put her in, closed the door, and left her in there for 60 seconds. I did it immediately every single time she jumped. She stopped jumping after about three days. She still gets excited when people come over, but she stays down.


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## Cheyennesmom (Jun 23, 2020)

You guys all have such great advice, and clearly there’s a consistent theme here.

You’ve hit the nail on the head, Ceegee: I got busy/lazy and didn’t keep practicing every day, and eventually only practiced a few minutes every few days. It’s my own fault for allowing him to get away with bad behavior.

I love the speediness of the time-out suggestion, Margaux’s Dad, but at 60 lbs he’s too heavy to pick up and dash to the bathroom. Maybe with the next puppy! 😁

AmberSunrise, I’m really glad you don’t think it’s a dominance thing. That had me worried. I do step back and tell him to sit, and sometimes he does, but usually he jumps. 

I take him to parks and outdoor malls and around the neighborhood, etc., so he can meet adults and children, but it never occurred to me to ask them to make him sit, Ceegee. That’s brilliant! 

Thank you, thank you, thank you, everyone!


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## photoweborama (Dec 6, 2007)

My new wife has the same problem….. :lol


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