# 10mth old jumping and mouthing wife - PLEASE HELP!



## Simpsons Master (Nov 11, 2008)

I should add what our strategy is from here . . .

1) Spending a lot of today with my wife walking in/out through his territory
2) He is due to start doggy training next Sunday. My wife will be taking him so that he learns to respect her commands as well as mine.
3) Continuing positive re-inforcement by rewarding him with a treat when he does the right thing.
4) If required, one-on-one training with a dog behaviourist.

Until now we have both thought this is meerly a puppy thing that he would grow out of, however having a 70 pound dog jump on a pregnant wife is not good. Also, at 10 months I would have thought that he would be starting to slow down and have lost some of his puppy excitement.

Any other ideas?

Wayne


----------



## Florabora22 (Nov 30, 2008)

We have the same problem - Flora (6.5 months) jumps repeatedly on my mother, who is a little fragile, but she doesn't really jump on me or my father. My mother gets very excited about it ("NO FLORA!!!") so I think my puppy gets even more excited when she yells.

One thing we've found that helps is keeping a leash on her and stepping on the leash when we know she's going to jump. This prevents her from jumping and she usually ends up lying down or sitting, after which we praise her ("good sit") and pet her.

Good luck! I'm sure other people will have great suggestions. 

As a side note, 10 months is still very much a puppy. Our last golden Carmella didn't stop jumping until she was 6 or 7, but we were also VERY lax with discouraging the behavior.


----------



## fostermom (Sep 6, 2007)

I think part of what you are dealing with is a young dog who is kept outside, so he is ecstatic when he sees you. A lot of this behavior would ease off if you would make him a house dog. Goldens want to be with their people and are very sad when they are not allowed in the house. He just wants to be as close as he can get, so he jumps up.

Training will help, I am sure. Hopefully they will give you positive methods rather than the negative ones you have been using. I am sure both of you will be happier with the results.


----------



## slechner (Sep 5, 2008)

We are taking advanced training with 13 month old Boomer and they covered the topic of jumping on people today. My instructor said to have a leash on when you are expecting someone and to pull up on the leash and say uh-uh if it is a regular leash and to pull down if it is a gentle leader.


----------



## cinnamonteal (May 16, 2008)

Like you said, it's a game to him. He's jumping because he's excited and happy to see you. And it gets a reaction out of you. A lot of young golden's don't see the difference between positive attention and negative attention. What worked for me was just to be as boring as possible when Caleb would jump and mouth. If need be, I'd walk out of the room and shut the door behind me. So jumping and mouthing = no attention, no interaction and no playtime.

I'm not sure what to suggest about your wife, since she's rather delicate at this point. Perhaps if you kept a leash on him you could put him into an enforced down/stay everytime he jumps on her. This is definitely something you want to get under control before the little one comes.

Another thing that works is every time your pup is about to jump tell him to sit or lay down instead. Then reward him for his good behavior. This way you're teaching him that he gets playtime and attention by sitting or some other acceptable behavior.


----------



## Florabora22 (Nov 30, 2008)

fostermom said:


> I think part of what you are dealing with is a young dog who is kept outside, so he is ecstatic when he sees you. A lot of this behavior would ease off if you would make him a house dog. Goldens want to be with their people and are very sad when they are not allowed in the house. He just wants to be as close as he can get, so he jumps up.
> 
> Training will help, I am sure. Hopefully they will give you positive methods rather than the negative ones you have been using. I am sure both of you will be happier with the results.


I don't really think they've been using negative methods. Flora's trainer was very much a user of positive reinforcement, and she would suggest using a spray bottle to keep the dog off the couch or from jumping, and she also suggested walking into the dog when it jumped on you. Neither method is painful or "negative", at least in my opinion. In fact, Flora loved the water bottle. When we used it as a way to discourage her from getting on the couch, she though it was a game and got very enthusiastic. :


----------



## cinnamonteal (May 16, 2008)

Simpsons Master said:


> Also, at 10 months I would have thought that he would be starting to slow down and have lost some of his puppy excitement.


I just wanted to add that with goldens, the puppy stage can last for a long time. My 1 1/2 year old still acts like a big puppy and I've heard that it's common for them not to calm down until 2 or 3 years old.


----------



## Doodle (Apr 6, 2009)

I second cinnamonteal's suggestion of being absolutely borning and non-reactive in this situation. But part of the problem is that as soon as the pup puts his paws on you or your wife, it is self gratifying even if you don't react. Just the fact that he touched her is positive reinforcement to him. Our puppy trainer suggested turning away from Brady when he started to jump so that his paws would miss us and there would be no contact. The problem with this method is that you have to be very fast and be able to anticipate his movement every time. The method we used that finally broke the habit is one I saw on Victoria Stillwell's show "It's me or the dog." Whenever Brady jumped on one of us, we took him gently by his collar and happily led him into our downstairs bathroom and closed the door (being happy about it is important so he doesn't see whatever room you use as a "bad" place). He stayed there for 30 seconds then we let him out (if he wined or barked, he stayed in until he was quiet). We greeted him happily when we opened the door. If he repeated the action, he went right back in. He caught on very quickly using this method. You're essentially giving him a time-out, and you could use a crate too but we found our bathroom more convenient. Again, it's important to be happy about it (saying something like, "oh you jumped that must mean you want to go in the bathroom" in a happy voice...that way it's positive training not negative).


----------



## tippykayak (Oct 27, 2008)

Doodle said:


> You're essentially giving him a time-out, and you could use a crate too but we found our bathroom more convenient. Again, it's important to be happy about it (saying something like, "oh you jumped that must mean you want to go in the bathroom" in a happy voice...that way it's positive training not negative).


This is a very interesting technique, and I've seen that episode. It's cool to hear that it works in real life too.

I'd be careful using a crate to do it, since crates are such a comforting place that the dog's used to isolation in. I'd definitely use a different isolation space, since it could undermine the crate training or soften the sense of isolation you're using to make the jumping stop.


----------



## jwemt81 (Aug 20, 2008)

An outside dog only? That right there is a huge culprit of your problem. Your dog is bored and is depserate for interaction with you, hence the jumping up, trying to get close to you, nipping, and trying to play. He obviously has a lot of excess energy from being outside (I'm assuming all alone) all day. One 20-30 minute walk per day isn't nearly enough. Goldens are extremely social dogs and do not do well as outdoor dogs. All of the techniques that you are using now are very negative and will get you nowhere. You need to use positive enforcement. You pup is at a very critical age for that.


----------



## FlyingQuizini (Oct 24, 2006)

I have to agree that living outdoors, which greatly limits the amount of time the dog spends with the family, is a huge part of the problem. Plus, you said in your post that you figured he'd grow out of is, so it sounds as though no real training has been done to teach him what TO do... just a lot of yelling, kneeing, squirting, jerking, newspaper-whacking ---- none of which, to me, qualifies as constructive training. In fact, to many dogs, negative attention is better than being ignored, so your tactics may be back-firing on you.

I'd really ask you to think twice about keeping a dog outdoors. Especially if you're expecting a baby. Think about how much time you spend with him now, and cut that at least in half once you're busy raising a baby. Is that the best possible life for the dog? Just a thought.

As for how to fix the problem - here's the quickest fix I can think of.... (and it's worked for lots of clients!)

Whenever you or your wife go outside, have a giant handful of kibble. As soon as she's a half step outdoors and the dog starts coming up, start quickly dropping kibbles one at a time saying, "Find it!" as she does. (Prior to her doing this, you go out and teach him that "find it" = "look down, there's food!") Have her rapid fire drop them as fast as is needed to keep his nose to the ground. This does two things:

1. Gives him something else TO DO (search for kibble) rather than jump up on the wife.

2. Puts his nose to the ground in sniffing mode, which is a calming behavior for dogs.

Do this for 45 - 60 seconds straight. Afterwards, the dog will likely be just a tad calmer so that he can "think" when you ask him to sit.

If consistent, over time, the dog will come to expect kibble to fall and will start to back up and put nose to ground in anticipation.


----------



## Doodle (Apr 6, 2009)

tippykayak said:


> This is a very interesting technique, and I've seen that episode. It's cool to hear that it works in real life too.
> 
> I'd be careful using a crate to do it, since crates are such a comforting place that the dog's used to isolation in. I'd definitely use a different isolation space, since it could undermine the crate training or soften the sense of isolation you're using to make the jumping stop.


It worked like a charm. Within a week he was no longer jumping on me or my husband. I agree with you about caution doing this with the crate. I questioned our trainer about that and she said it's fine as long as you always use your happy voice, but I somehow felt that it could still be misinterpreted as punishment, and given how Brady hated his crate at first I didn't want to do anything to make that worse. That's one of the reasons we used the bathroom instead.

I like the trick about dropping the treats on the ground too. 
To the OP: I agree with what others have said about goldens being very social and not the best dog to be an outdoor dog. They typically shadow their "people" and are very unhappy when they can't be with you. To give an example, Brady LOVES to be outside, but if I'm in the middle of something and he needs to go out to potty, if I just open the door to let him out, he just stands there on the porch looking at the door as if to say, where are you, aren't you coming too? I think you will find your dog will be more settled around you and your wife if he spends more time with you inside.


----------



## Heidi36oh (Feb 27, 2007)

FlyingQuizini said:


> I have to agree that living outdoors, which greatly limits the amount of time the dog spends with the family, is a huge part of the problem. Plus, you said in your post that you figured he'd grow out of is, so it sounds as though no real training has been done to teach him what TO do... just a lot of yelling, kneeing, squirting, jerking, newspaper-whacking ---- none of which, to me, qualifies as constructive training. In fact, to many dogs, negative attention is better than being ignored, so your tactics may be back-firing on you.
> 
> I'd really ask you to think twice about keeping a dog outdoors. Especially if you're expecting a baby. Think about how much time you spend with him now, and cut that at least in half once you're busy raising a baby. Is that the best possible life for the dog? Just a thought.
> 
> ...


I agree with Stephani, think about having the dog inside, I raised all my kids around dogs and they done wonderful. They now love dogs and still at age 17 years old are more then willing to take the dogs for walks. 

It's wonderful to have a dog in the house, heck I got four and wouldn't have it any other way!


----------



## Lucky's mom (Nov 4, 2005)

Lucky went through this INSIDE when he was 4-5 months. I put him in time out in his crate the moment it began and that stopped it....INSIDE. Personally...I didn't have a problem using the crate as it seemed like a good calming tool. He was a very good dog inside.

Then at about 9 months he started this behavior OUTSIDE. Of course....no crate.

Aromatic cheese in my hand seemed to bring him down to earth....mostly. Just something I had to work on...but no quick fix. It turned out to be a passing phase....he never did it after one year old.

Good luck...


----------



## mylissyk (Feb 25, 2007)

Simpsons Master said:


> I should add what our strategy is from here . . .
> 
> 1) Spending a lot of today with my wife walking in/out through his territory
> 2) He is due to start doggy training next Sunday. My wife will be taking him so that he learns to respect her commands as well as mine.
> ...


Just thought I'd mention, most Goldens continue to behave like large puppies up to 18 mo - 2 years old. So please don't get frustrated with that particular issue, he will mature just a little later than you expected.


----------



## Simpsons Master (Nov 11, 2008)

Hi guys, thanks for your responses . . . has given us some ideas!

Just to clarify a few things. . .

* He was inside for the first 3 months of his life until we started to fear for his safety. We have polished floors and he could hardly walk on them. His bed is located direclty outside our bedroom door. Our house is kinda hard to explain, but it only has 2 doors to the backyard - one in the garage (which we don't want to keep open, for obvious reasons) and the other one is our bedroom which leads out onto a paved area. His house/bed are on this area, so he sleeps ~2m from us.

* During the day (when we are both at work) he has the whole backyard to explore and play in. He loves it. When my wife takes maternity leave he will get MORE attention as someone will be home all day, and my wife wants to spend time with him. We both currently work full time.

* He does not jump on my wife when she first goes outside. She can walk through the yard, hang up the washing etc etc . . . then all of a sudden he will just run over and jump up on her, pulling at her clothes (shirt/jumper etc). This is NOT a 'welcome, I missed you' jump/mouth. Sometimes we can be our there for 20-30min and he is perfect, then all of a sudden he will just turn . . . 
It can also be brought on if my wife plays with him and then gets up to walk away.

I have tried stepping infront of my wife and getting the dog to sit, which he does. But this does not settle him and as soon as he sees and opportunity, he will once again start jumping on my wife.

My main concern is that this is a dominance thing (as he does not do it with me). He will also try and push past my wife to get inside, whereas with me he respects his boundaries a lot more.

Any other suggestions? I am interested in the aromatic cheese - what does this do and is it something they love/hate??

Cheers
Wayne


----------



## Leia (Oct 26, 2008)

I am not an expert at all but I was wondering who feeds him? You or your wife? If its you, maybe you could have your wife do it instead. This could establish a better respect for your wife as the the controller of the food. 
I was having problems with mine jumping on my daughter and I put her in charge of feeding time and she no longer jumps on her. Just a suggestion.


----------



## zippybossrock (Jan 12, 2008)

cinnamonteal said:


> I just wanted to add that with goldens, the puppy stage can last for a long time. My 1 1/2 year old still acts like a big puppy and I've heard that it's common for them not to calm down until 2 or 3 years old.


heheheheh.......try 4 yrs!!!


----------



## paula bedard (Feb 5, 2008)

Welcome, I'm glad you clarified his inside/outside situation. He should be spending indoor time with his pack, which is what you are. Goldens are very social creatures. They truly are family dogs. I'm guessing he senses that your wife doesn't feel as if she's in the 'master' role, I noted your member name , she needs to practice being in command with him and he will grasp that she too is the pack leader. The fact that she's pregnant...? maybe an issue, I don't know. I'm guessing he can sense the baby, hormones, something's different...? I think working with him and making sure she takes the leader position, as you do, will help. You definitely want this worked out by the time the baby comes. By the way, Congrat's!!! We're expecting 2 new baby girls on our family this July.


----------



## Doodle (Apr 6, 2009)

Some additional thoughts I have are below in blue......



Simpsons Master said:


> Hi guys, thanks for your responses . . . has given us some ideas!
> 
> Just to clarify a few things. . .
> 
> ...


----------



## Debles (Sep 6, 2007)

Many of us here on GRF have wood floors and goldens in the house. He will get used to it. I have no idea where you live but I would be very concerned about leaving a golden pup at home outside in a fenced in yard. Any number of things could happen to him!!!

Having a dog means making him a part of your family. If he is living outside when you have a baby , he will feel separated/isolated from you even more.

Obviously you care about him or you wouldn't be training him. Goldens are very social/family dogs... they want to be close to their family.


----------



## momtoMax (Apr 21, 2009)

Not to be rude but IMO all dogs should be house dogs - especially super social dogs like goldens. I feel terribly sad for your dog.


----------



## EvilNessCroft (Feb 17, 2009)

Molly does the same thing with my father and my friend... She's just too excited and it looks like she can't control herself! The more you say 'NO' or 'DOWN' the more excited she gets :doh: So we're trying the 'Ignore and turn around technic' hope it works...


----------



## tippykayak (Oct 27, 2008)

EvilNessCroft said:


> Molly does the same thing with my father and my friend... She's just too excited and it looks like she can't control herself! The more you say 'NO' or 'DOWN' the more excited she gets :doh: So we're trying the 'Ignore and turn around technic' hope it works...


Just as an FYI, if you use the ignoring technique _after_ you've been trying something more exciting (like pushing and yelling) for a while, you may see a burst of absolutely horrible jumping and mauling as you first try ignoring. The dog is confused that the typical energizing behavior isn't working, so she'll try _harder_ at first to get your attention.

It's called an extinction burst, and it's a sign that your technique is working. It's often unpleasant for the first few tries, but it's typically followed by a significant improvement in the behavior.

If you cave in during the extinction burst and offer the dog some kind of attention (even negative), you'll see significantly worse behavior the next time you try ignoring, so you absolutely have to power through the burst.


----------



## Auretrvr (May 6, 2008)

*Blow on his nose...*

My husband did this and it stopped our boy. He hates it. Henry is finally getting over most of the jumping. He just turned 2. Do you have a treat in hand at ALL times? A trainer I knew did and worked the sit constantly. Her dogs dropped like rocks. But you must be ready to treat _every_ time. Eventually you wean them, but not for a long while. (Try holding back some kibble and using that as a treat to avoid over feeding.)


----------



## EvilNessCroft (Feb 17, 2009)

tippykayak said:


> Just as an FYI, if you use the ignoring technique _after_ you've been trying something more exciting (like pushing and yelling) for a while, you may see a burst of absolutely horrible jumping and mauling as you first try ignoring. The dog is confused that the typical energizing behavior isn't working, so she'll try _harder_ at first to get your attention.
> 
> It's called an extinction burst, and it's a sign that your technique is working. It's often unpleasant for the first few tries, but it's typically followed by a significant improvement in the behavior.
> 
> If you cave in during the extinction burst and offer the dog some kind of attention (even negative), you'll see significantly worse behavior the next time you try ignoring, so you absolutely have to power through the burst.


I'm good at it now, I totally ignore her. I did that on the leash, because when she sees another dog or person, she's so excited that she'll jump all over me and won't stop! But for the past week, I've been ignoring the behavior. I just shorten the leash to keep her down and keep on walking. AND IT WORKS! Now she look up at me and just try to jump once, then she gives up!

My father on the other hand, isn't so patient and he will get angry very easily.. He'll have to work on that.


----------



## Griffyn'sMom (Mar 22, 2007)

Oh gosh - we had this problem with Griff between the age of 7 months and 10 months! It was a NIGHMARE! It would happen when we would go outside with him and he wanted to play and he was overjoyed that someone was out there with him.

This is what worked for us:

Reinforce sit or down and WAIT!
When he acts nutty - tell him a command like sit or down - and wait - then you go back inside. Do NOT encourage the crazy behavior.

Please keep in mind that he's sooo excited that you are out there with him and he wants to PLAY!!!

Do encourage tennis ball fetch - he has so much energy and he needs to get it out at this age.

Your wife needs to be practicing the NILIF type training - pupper gets NOTHING until he does something for you - AKA sit, down, whatever. No petting, no treats unless he does what he is told - this will help set up dominance.

Being that your wife is pregnant she may be a bit frightened when the dog jumps up - she needs to initiate the DOWN command with the dog and if he continues he is to be brought back to the Down command - much like a time out with a child.

I have a friend that advocates a 30 minute "Down". I have never had to use more than 15 minutes to get the point through. Just like with a child.. if the dog leaves the "down" you bring them back (I use the corner of the kitchen) and tell them down again. 

Once the dog has done what he's told for the amount of time you want, praise, praise, praise but only enough to let him know he's done good - don't rile him up again.

There IS hope - they do mature and the extra training is good for him.

You will get through this - don't give up!


----------



## kdunn2 (Apr 7, 2009)

*Bella Mia - 1 year old*

I have the same problem with Bella - even with the hand command to stop she will nip and bark at me to react. I have tried to fold my arms and turn my back but sometimes she continues to jump and nip at my cloths, ankles etc. and she can hurt! If I try and walk away she is on my heals nipping........the jumping when people come is a real problem too. I am going to try the leash suggestion if I know people are coming by. Bella is my second Golden - and very true a puppy for a long time. However, my other Golden Sadie was a jumper too but not a nipper like Bella. Thanks for the suggestions........


----------



## Leia (Oct 26, 2008)

I'm curious, have things gotten any better? In my opinion, it's probably not from being outside. Especially if he's used to it. I'd be more concerned that it was a medical issue. I was just wondering if he's still shaking?

Oops! I responded to the wrong thread. This was meant for Danny, with the pup that is shaking. Sorry


----------



## Florabora22 (Nov 30, 2008)

I'm glad this thread was bumped up anyways. Flora gets SO excited around my mother, and my mother is 100% incapable of trying anything I suggest (put her in a down, sit, ignore her, statue, etc.) My mom yells at the dog and yells at me, which only further excites Flora. It's frustrating.  My father and I are both very low key with her when she's excited, and thus, Flora does not jump on either one of us. I wish my mother would do the same.

I think I may try the time out thing, since it seems to be the only method my mother might approve of.


----------

