# Jumping up on people - HELP!!



## DexterReggie (Aug 14, 2012)

HELP!

We're having major difficulty with our 2nd vizsla, who just turned 2 years old. Whenever he meets people (other than us, he knows better than that), he jumps up on them to say hello. Literally, he jumps up to people's noses to give them a hello love nip. We just can't get him to grow out of it.

His older brother, who is 3 and a half years old, used to do the same thing, but we practiced with him - ignoring him when we got home and then telling him to sit and once he was down, we would pet him. 

We tried this same approach with our problem child, but it doesn't work for when he meets anyone other than us. We've tried scolding him, we've tried pushing him down, and giving him a knee. The problem is, strangers don't do these things when he's approaching, and he doesn't jump up on us anymore. Only every other person he meets.

Any training suggestions/advice is very welcome!!!

Thanks!


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## threefsh (Apr 25, 2011)

Try a spray bottle filled with plain tap water. It only took us a few weeks and the pups are now almost completely broken of the habit. You have to spritz them from behind so they don't see it coming or they will learn to avoid the spray bottle.


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## DexterReggie (Aug 14, 2012)

So do you take a spray bottle with you to the park?


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## Ozkar (Jul 4, 2011)

You need to take control of intros for a while. Leash. Make him sit. Wait till he is calm. Allow person to pat. Praise. If he moves, separate and stop intro. Start again. He will soon get the message that sitting calmly achieves a pat.


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## datacan (May 15, 2011)

*Re: Bite Inhibition Training Experiences*

My guess is the puppy jumps on certain people only. 
Jumps on those who send certain signals like look directly at the dog. 
CM said the proper way to meet a dog is not to look, not to touch, no direct eye contact or something like that. Problem is how many passers by will adhere to this?

I had success with correcting the dog just before he locked in on the person. With enough reps they get it. The second he locks on I try to divert his attention to me as we pass by the stranger. I actually talked to him at the same time corrected. After a while, just talking to him was enough. 

In any case, some people will provoke the dog :-\


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## threefsh (Apr 25, 2011)

DexterReggie said:


> So do you take a spray bottle with you to the park?


Yup, take it anywhere the pup can jump on people. It will look funny, but it works.  You just have to be close enough to spritz them with water. If they're off leash running around like a maniac all bets are off and what you really have is a recall problem, not a jumping problem.


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## EastBayer (Aug 17, 2012)

Milo is 8 months and we have the same problem. She only jumps on certain people, too. So afraid she'll jump on the wrong person, if you know what I mean. I will try to take a spray bottle with me on the trail. No idea where I'll hang that on my body -- probably on the treat belt!


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## DexterReggie (Aug 14, 2012)

Ozkar said:


> You need to take control of intros for a while. Leash. Make him sit. Wait till he is calm. Allow person to pat. Praise. If he moves, separate and stop intro. Start again. He will soon get the message that sitting calmly achieves a pat.


Hmm, I think this sounds like the best bet for my case. He is really good with recall, for the most part. But, as we all know, vizslas are very social dogs, and he wants attention from every person we pass. If we are walking on lead on the sidewalk, it's not a problem when we walk past people. And at the park, I try to be proactive and just get them both to sit while other people pass by (they are both very good at sit stay.), but it hasn't broken his habit of how he introduces himself to people. I think he'll just have to deal with a lot more practice on leash when we're at off-leash parks.

And I guess I'll add a spray bottle to our dog bag.

Thanks for the advice!! Feels useless sometimes. Just lots of practice and reinforcement of good "down" behaviour.


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## harrigab (Aug 21, 2011)

maybe need to reinforce "Stop" command to get him steady?


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## datacan (May 15, 2011)

DexterReggie said:


> Ozkar said:
> 
> 
> > You need to take control of intros for a while. Leash. *Make him sit.[/color]* Wait till he is calm. Allow person to pat. Praise. If he moves, separate and stop intro. Start again. He will soon get the message that sitting calmly achieves a pat.
> ...



Except that .... Pointers stand, wheres retrievers sit!... And hope the water in the spray bottle doesn't freeze in winter :-[
I go'd with harri. "stop" it can be "leave it", "look at me" ...idea is to refocus the dogs. In essence Oz said the same thing and 3fish (California) as well. 

Did I read correctly, 2 dogs... Work them separately until at least one obeys. Easier said than done.

I would also consider to go to a pro trainer. Well worth the money... My guess is there could be other issues, not just over excitement and jumping.


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