# Training against jumping



## West1134 (Nov 3, 2014)

Hello all,

Kona, our nearly 6 month old golden, has really impressed us with how well behaved he is, and how quickly he has picked up commands. Some credit of course goes to us for the amount of time we spend training, and the fact that we don't let him get away from things out of convenience, but seriously, he is a stellar pup!

With that said, one thing we are still battling is him jumping up on new people, either while on walks, or when they come into the house (this includes us, but not as bad). Once he gets his initial excitement out of the way however, he calms down pretty quickly and doesn't jump up, so we know part of it is his age, and then of course the excitement.

What we've done so far is obviously tell him "no jump" and manually persuade his body down to the sitting position while telling him sit. We also try to make sure he sits before someone approaches, and while he listens to the command, as soon as they get close, he starts jumping up in excitement. We will have people step, back tell him no, have him sit again, etc, etc, until he sits long enough. 

I also drop to his level (aka take a knee) when I come home which helps keep him from jumping up on me. 

While on his leash, I will stand on the leash (while leaving a little slack) to keep him from being able to jump up, and while this works OK, his leash is pretty short and its tough to get it at the right length in time for it to actually be effective.

So...what have you all done? What other things can I try?

Finally, he also now knows he's big enough to jump up on the counters. We are constantly telling him "off" and 9/10 times he listens first command, sometimes all you have to do is look at him, or take one step towards him (even from across the room) and he'll get down as he knows he's not supposed to be up there. Usually he's just checking out whats up there, and sniffing around, but he also has a habit of grabbing our hand towel and carrying it away. This usually happens when he feels he's being ignored, or we're just not paying enough attention to him, and he'll go grab the hand towel, and carry it past us, and if you tell him to drop it, he usually will, or at least when you go to grab it, he just lets it go. I think its just his way of getting our attention. Anyone else experience this?

Thanks for the input!


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## Megora (Jun 7, 2010)

I keep a hand on the collar and am right up there by my dog's head and reminding him to "be nice" or "off". Being allowed to meet people is reward enough for these dogs so they learn the rules quickly if you are consistently reinforcing.


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## jaina8851 (Apr 19, 2014)

West1134 said:


> Finally, he also now knows he's big enough to jump up on the counters. We are constantly telling him "off" and 9/10 times he listens first command, sometimes all you have to do is look at him, or take one step towards him (even from across the room) and he'll get down as he knows he's not supposed to be up there. Usually he's just checking out whats up there, and sniffing around, but he also has a habit of grabbing our hand towel and carrying it away. This usually happens when he feels he's being ignored, or we're just not paying enough attention to him, and he'll go grab the hand towel, and carry it past us, and if you tell him to drop it, he usually will, or at least when you go to grab it, he just lets it go. I think its just his way of getting our attention. Anyone else experience this?


After our puppy stole my husband's cheeseburger off the counter, he had enough of the counter surfing. He had been saving empty cans for a few weeks and built a trap. He tied about six cans together and tied a freeze dried liver treat to the end of the string. He put it up on the counter with the treat dangling off the edge. Toby jumped up to get the treat and pulled the whole string of cans down on the ground with it. It scared the bejeezus out of him. We set up the trap again, thinking that we might have to repeat the experience, but he sat there and barked at it for minutes. He has never tried to counter surf again. Your mileage may vary :wave:


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## West1134 (Nov 3, 2014)

jaina8851 said:


> After our puppy stole my husband's cheeseburger off the counter, he had enough of the counter surfing. He had been saving empty cans for a few weeks and built a trap. He tied about six cans together and tied a freeze dried liver treat to the end of the string. He put it up on the counter with the treat dangling off the edge. Toby jumped up to get the treat and pulled the whole string of cans down on the ground with it. It scared the bejeezus out of him. We set up the trap again, thinking that we might have to repeat the experience, but he sat there and barked at it for minutes. He has never tried to counter surf again. Your mileage may vary :wave:


Nice! I might have to give that a try. However, our Kona doesn't scare easily. I work by an airport with a military base attached, and we will be out for walks and F-14's will fly over and my god they are loud, and he doesn't even flinch. Other loud noises, vacuums, etc. also don't phase him. But, I will certainly give it a shot. Thanks for the input.


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## OutWest (Oct 6, 2011)

I haven't tried this but heard about it. Some people have put double sided tape along the edges of counters so that when dog jumps up, their feathers get caught. They don't like it. My best advice is to always keep the counters clear of edibles. Dogs will repeat what they are rewarded for, so one time getting something on the counter will set him up for a long time.... 

Regarding the jumping in people's faces, I am not perfect in this myself. One of mine does this a lot. But the best advice I've heard is to train them to DO something instead of telling them what NOT to do. Try teaching your dog to go straight to a spot in the room or a mat whenever the doorbell rings or the door is opened. After a moment, he can politely walk over and be introduced (hopefully without jumping!!!). Good luck.


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