My dog wont stop jumping on guests

[mymeekrotti]

These are all wonderful suggestions, and I don't know if my beginner knowledge will help, but one trainer suggested keeping the leash on at all times when company is over, when some one comes to the door, the rottie has to sit-stay before ANYONE pets, or greets him. (this is a little tricky as it also includes "training" your friends not to pay attention to him until he is behaving himself.) Then she suggested standing on the leash so there is not enough slack for him to jump-may be hard since he's so strong, but I used this technique with a 90lb malamute and he got the message that when he went up to jump he wasn't going any where and combine that with a firm OFF and then reward when he doesn't jump it seemed to work well.

RottieFreak:
I can sympathize with your feeling about a crate but really a crate can be a dogs best friend and your best friend. I don't want to be too long, but just to illustrate recently we took our rescue girl to visit the in-laws, they have a BRATTY sheltie, and we had lots of people coming and going, Having Meeka's crate gave her some where familiar to be, some where she knew she could be safe, and that was her space. Instead of it being torture for her she seeks it out when she is stressed. She also gets special treats there so she thinks it is the greatest place ever. It is a wire crate that can be folded down, (it fits in our camry) and I couldn't imagine life with out it. When she got really stressed out there (mostly due to the brat ) I put her in her crate with a RMB and it was like putting my 18 month old down for nap ;) she goes in stressed out comes out 45 min. later perky, happy and ready to go. Happy Meeka-Happy Momma :D :D I'm glad your'e so happy with your boy I always love to hear of loving rottie parents. :)

[tugger5000]

Originally Posted by mymeekrotti

I can sympathize with your feeling about a crate but really a crate can be a dogs best friend and your best friend. I don't want to be too long, but just to illustrate recently we took our rescue girl to visit the in-laws, they have a BRATTY sheltie, and we had lots of people coming and going, Having Meeka's crate gave her some where familiar to be, some where she knew she could be safe, and that was her space. Instead of it being torture for her she seeks it out when she is stressed. She also gets special treats there so she thinks it is the greatest place ever. It is a wire crate that can be folded down, (it fits in our camry) and I couldn't imagine life with out it. When she got really stressed out there (mostly due to the brat ) I put her in her crate with a RMB and it was like putting my 18 month old down for nap ;) she goes in stressed out comes out 45 min. later perky, happy and ready to go.

Agreed. We crate-trained Dante from a puppy. He loves it... it's his preferred place to sleep, nap, etc. Aedia, at 4 years old when we adopted her, took 3 weeks to get used to the idea of the crate (she was pretty vocal about it at times), now loves it just as much as Dante. The "Kennel" command is an immediate command that the dogs trip and fall all over themselves trying to get crate because they always get the treat.
(We don't have a choice to crate them during the day because we don't trust Aedia unsupervised with the cats and Dante would find something to chew and ruin).

[Canadianrotti]

Lets think like a dog for a sec. if i jump up on people and i get a kong, or get to play fetch, this is great!!!!. Unfortuantley you have effectivly trained your dog to jump up on people when they come in by trying to distract him. I learned this the hard way with our first dog, and it took a few months to correct once I figured out what was the cause of the problem. It also realtes to how you greet the dog your self when you come home. If you are all excited and hyper and get him going, he will think that this is normal behaviour when people come in to the house. With our new pup, we come in and basically ignore her in her crate while we take off our shoes and jackets, put groceries away, then we calmly let her out of her crate. The same goes for leaving, do NOT make a big deal and simply slip out the door. Dogs can sence our anxiety and will feed off of our feelings.
Before people come in to the house, tell them to ignore the dog (that you have on a leash) and only after he has calmed down, should the person choose to address the dog, may they approach him. It should always be the persons choice to interact with the dog, regardless of who the person is or the situation at hand. :D
As far as the crate thing, I could not imagine our house without a crate. Confining your dog to a space like the kitchen is not the same because it is not a place of his own. The crate is like a den and very natural for a dog, our pup spends a lot time in the crate while we are there, naping or chewing on a toy that she wants for her self. It is never to late to introduce a create to your dog, give it a try for 1 month and you will wonder how you got allong without it.

[mymeekrotti]

Originally Posted by Canadianrotti

It also realtes to how you greet the dog your self when you come home. If you are all excited and hyper and get him going, he will think that this is normal behaviour when people come in to the house. With our new pup, we come in and basically ignore her in her crate while we take off our shoes and jackets, put groceries away, then we calmly let her out of her crate. The same goes for leaving, do NOT make a big deal and simply slip out the door. Dogs can sence our anxiety and will feed off of our feelings.

I just had to second this! We never let Meeka out of her crate until she lays down, and acts like she's all settled in to stay there for a while. Which usually takes about 90 seconds :). Even then sometimes we leave her in there after we are home for a while, that way she doesn't equate us getting home with getting out. Crates really are a must! It might be rough too train your boy to one, but once he's got it he and you will both be glad you learned. :D :D

[KateG]

Abby and both my former dogs are/were required to do a down stay when visitors come to the house....which I enforce. Once things have settled down, and if the visitor is a dog person, I will release them to say a quiet hello.

Whether you do this or decide to crate, you should consider doing some set-ups with a friend. First teach the dog what you want to do by having it do it with family members play-acting as friends. Then arrange a friend help you train the dog by having them come and go several time while you keep the dog under control, rewarding it when it behaves and correcting it when it doesn't. Remember, this will not be a social visit, but rather a training exercise. And don't let the dog off the hook when other people come over. Just tell them that you are training the dog and that their help is appreciated. Consistency is essential.

My old male rottie who was a sweet, pig-headed lug dragged a leash around for several months so that I could grab it whenever I needed to keep him out of trouble (he was congenitally deaf, so verbal warnings were not an option). His not-weiler sister and Abby were and are much softer dogs, so that hasn't been necessary...they do respond to verbal warnings and corrections. But as someone said above, praise and consistency are the key. You have to make sure that positive behaviors are rewarded, and the response to negative ones is negative. So distractions once the dog is misbehaving are actually rewards. (I had a cat when I was in college who spent a summer with my boyfriend. She would get up at 5am and start knocking things off his dresser. He would wake up and put her out. Guess who was training whom? When I came back, she tried it with me. I put her in the bathroom. Problem solved--at least while I was around.)

I confess that I like prong collars, although I firmly believe that you need to know how to train before you use one - they are a training tool, not a training substitute. That said, you have far more control and can make quick and effective corrections. Choke collars do just that, an excited dog will happily choke itself half to death and totally ignore the collar. And flat collars are worse than useless for control.

Good luck with your puppy and welcome to the forum.

[samanthac]

Originally Posted by RottieFreak

As far as crate, I just don't think I will go that route ever unfortunately. I just wouldn't be able to stand seeing him in that little space for a couple of hours. I know its a great tool for people who like them, but its not for me.

You are thinking with your heart and not your head and that will not do you or your dog any good. :) Crate training is absolutely essential for Rottweilers....all Rottweilers. We have all been where you are at one point regarding crates, but you need to try to get over that and understand that it is crucial for Rottweilers. I am not saying he has to spend all his time in a crate, but he should be trained to use the crate when necessary...when company is over.

If you have taught him and he is still jumping, he is clearly not seeing you as his leader and chooses to do what he wants or he is completely not understanding what you are asking because perhaps you are rewarding him for the incorrect behavior. You need to take a look at your method and figure out how you can clearly convey to him that he is not to jump.

I do agree that when people come over to my home, the dogs are allowed a moment or two to greet guests and then they are put in their crates with a meaty bone or a stuffed Kong. This is for the comfort of my guests...so I can give them the attentiont he deserve rather than being distracted by the dogs... and for the safety of my dogs...a good majority of people simply do not know proper dog ettiquette and I refuse to put my dogs in a position where they respond as a result of someone doing something stupid to them.

HTH! :)

[Canadianrotti]

We just got back from training and our discussion was about jumping up. We are going to a well established and well acreddited school, and they have been doing this for a long time.
Some people say that if a dog jumps up to grab their paws and pinch, or hold untill they squirm and get down. The problem with this is that the next time you need to touch their paws to cut their nails, or dry them of from playing in the mud, they will not be too happy. Using your knee to push them back can put them off balance and do damage, one instructor had a person do that with their dog that was in her class and it twisted its hind leg and did some serious damage to its hip joint.
Their advice is to use a leash and correct the behaviour. Clip the lead on before people come in and use a "pop" or a series of "pops" to discourage the behaviour. Dont just hold them down, we all know how much rotti's love to pull and tug, they need a quick attention getter to let them know what they are doing is wrong.
You can graduate from a full lead to a short piece of nylon rope or leather and cut it down gradually. The point is to have something to hold on to, and to show your pup the right way.
Keep up the training and set your guy up for sucess and it will all work out fine. :D . Like all other training, it works best when kept positive and you both have a blast.

[Paul (Dozer)]

I'm going to try this leash trainging with guests. I have the exact same problem with my 9 month old, He's great with me in the house, he's great with dogs and people outside, on and off the leash, but inside, he's jumping all over them, grabbing thier ????sleeves, etc... This really only happens for the first few minutes until the person comes inside. I found that people who will tell him to sit then greet him have better luck. But for the people who aren't big dog people and just ignore him, he's all over them. I bought a prong collar for leash training and it works really well. He still tries to walk ahead with some tension for the first few minutes of a walk, but slacks off after that. I'm definately trying this, the only disadvantage is that when I get the leash and prong out, he thinks it's walk time, and doesn't like not going!

[tugger5000]

Originally Posted by Paul (Dozer)

I bought a prong collar for leash training and it works really well. He still tries to walk ahead with some tension for the first few minutes of a walk, but slacks off after that. I'm definately trying this, the only disadvantage is that when I get the leash and prong out, he thinks it's walk time, and doesn't like not going!

I'm not trying to be critical, but there should never be any tension on the leash when training with prong collar. If he puts tension on by forging ahead, you should be issuing an immediate correction. The leash should always be loose. It sounds like you've made some progress, so this shouldn't be too difficult for him to adjust to.

When using the prong collar as a training aid in greeting guests, you'll need to really watch him and watch for the tension in his body of getting ready to jump... that is when the correction should be issued. If his front feet leave the floor, the correction will be too late.

Good Luck...!

[Paul (Dozer)]

Originally Posted by tugger5000

I'm not trying to be critical, but there should never be any tension on the leash when training with prong collar. If he puts tension on by forging ahead, you should be issuing an immediate correction. The leash should always be loose. It sounds like you've made some progress, so this shouldn't be too difficult for him to adjust to.

When using the prong collar as a training aid in greeting guests, you'll need to really watch him and watch for the tension in his body of getting ready to jump... that is when the correction should be issued. If his front feet leave the floor, the correction will be too late.

Good Luck...!

Sorry I kind of misstated that, I know you're not supposed to let there be any tension. He TRIES to put tension on the leash, but when he does I immedieately stop walking and make him sit (he does this anytime I stop now), and wait a few seconds then say "HEEL" before continuing. If he starts walking faster and I see he is going to put some tension I give several gentle tugs in a row and say "SLOW DOWN" It usually takes doing this several times until he doesn't put tension on it for the rest of the walk

[jayneliz]

Let us not forget proper placement of the prong (directly behind the ears), and proper fit (somewhat snug) so as not to permit too much slippage down the neck. Additionally, small nagging and repeated pops on the prong are less effective than one good correction. (A skill I continue to struggle with given my size/knowledge and the size/hardness of my pup.)