hi,i have a 5 month old akita-inu and whenever anyome comes into the house she goes mad jumping all over them,i know that this is probably normal puppy behaviour,but no matter what i do she just wont stop jumping all over my guests.has anyone any suggestions on how to get her to stop?

Does she know the command 'sit' - I'd use it to get her to sit when guests come - and make sure she doesn't get any attention unless she *is* sitting and behaving herself.....

As a footnote to this, "no attention" means exactly that and includes you and the visitor not even looking at her.

Looking at a dog can be treated as an invitation , although they may attempt to attract your attention for a while before they realise they are not going to get it.

Christine

I use "down" with Monty. He is starting to understand that he will not get any attention until all 4 paws are on the ground. Its taking a little time but is starting to work.

Sam x

hello! i have 13 wk old pup who loves a jump too - she's a cavalier so bit less of a worry - although harder to stop as my visitors seem to think the jumping up is cute, aaaagh!

anyway - just wanted to say that this is all really good advice, esp the stuff about eye contact. we're beating it with our ruby by getting her ignored until she has 4 feet on floor (thing is then she's liable to activate those springs again......!) Having visitors who are dog-friendly helps while you're really blitzing this if poss, as they will more easily do the right thing (ie ignore incl eye contact, then if she starts jumping up again ignore until she's consistently *good*)

If we have visitors who will find it difficult to comply (eg v elderly grandparents, can't even bend down, never mind get head round what we're asking them to do!) then i leave ruby in other room while we let them in, then carry her to greet them - don't know if this is practical for you, not used to akita's - but it works with ruby as she jumps up as she wants to be nearer their faces.

good luck! :)

thank's for the advice everyone i will try ignoring her and avoiding eye contact,but as for the carrying her in to greet people i think i will give that bit a miss, lol!!!!!!!!!

You're not alone - here is what we have been trying - some successful , others not so .

When visitors come we ask our dog calmly to go sit on his bed, when he does we reward him ( this had been very successful up to adolescence - he's 15mths) . Visitors come in to the house, he gets on his bed , has his treat and then he can meet them - they have been briefed to ignore him!! They get him to sit or lie down then treat him.

I know how you feel though - getting larger dogs to stop jumping is hard. With us we just fold our arms , turn our head away and turn our back towards him - it does work, but whilst they are learning they still try jumping now and again - with us it's ok , because we know his strength and can dodge the leaps calmly , but it isn't acceptable for visitors to be walloped in the back and have the courage to stand still - especially when he can easily stand up on his back legs and be face to face with you! Our dog is actually very good natured , but doesn't know his own strength - or the fact that claws hurt when he is collapsing from jumping up! We are finding clicker training on this is successful - a click and treat when all four feet are on the ground.

We also now use the 'baby gate' to stop him self rewarding by getting through to visitors and jumping when they come in - it means we can all say hello and then call him. He is adolescent at the moment and gets very excited , so sometimes I have had to put his gentle leader on him to calm him down - it helps us get less anxious too - which of course will probably fuel his 'jumping' behaviour. As our breed has guarding instincts to it's only fair to remember this and work with the dog - it's what he was bred to do after all. When visitors come he is alerting us, so we say 'thank you' 'it's ok' in a relaxed tone so he knows we have taken control of the situation. I think it is all working , but you do need your wits about you to get it right.

Hi, I have tackled the jumping up with my 6mth old lab when people visit the house, but I have the problem when taking him out for walks, he is fine with other dogs and strangely enough the frail & elderly, but other people and especially children he just jumps all over them. Can anyone offer some advice?

Our 5 month terrier cross (smaller breed than yours admittedly) had similar tendancies with dogs - jumping up at them etc. Our puppy trainer suggested holding the collar (on the dog of course) and having the dog sit when meeting new people to physically restrain him. Its still early days but he is much better.

Thanks for this I will give a go.

thanks for this advice,i tried today to get him to sit and also turned my back on him and avoided eye contact,i can sense that it is going to be a long hard struggle but i know that it will be worth it in the end!

Hang in there is the best advice. I have a 7 month old border collie with whom we have struggled hard to get to sit when people come through the door. The problem was consistency as some people would ignore him and some wouldnt. In the end I printed a huge sign for the front door telling people to ignore him. It eventually got the message through but even now if just one person allows him to jump up we go back a couple of steps.

so perserverance is the key then,as you say,it is ok as the family knows what to do but visitors are a different matter.i will just have to warn everyone before they come into the house!