# Help! My puppy keeps jumping and grabbing my arm!



## Neolunakitty (Jun 3, 2015)

So, my 7 month old boy has recently started to jump at me and grab my arms! Yesterday was the first time he did that, and it continued on today. He seems to do this when he is not getting his way.

I was told by our last trainer that if he jumps on me, I should walk forward Because I am small and he should know I am in charge...which worked great till now! Now I do it, he grabs my arm with his mouth and my leg. I assume he is trying to assert his dominance as he sees me as second to my husband in the alfa dog level..hormones may be raging at this age..but regardless, he needs to stop this asap!

I am in trying to find a good trainer near fay eville nc, but for now..anyone have some advice? Books I should pick up?

Ps, he is not neutered...could that be the issue?


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## dylan_and_atlas (Apr 1, 2015)

My trainer told us that we should turn from the dog and ignore the behavior completely, but if he's biting your arm... 
I'm sorry I cant be much help, I'm sure the more experienced owners will have better advice! Best of luck.


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## JazzyFaith (Jun 15, 2015)

My 6 1/2 month old GSD male does this too! In fact, he'll go for hands and if he can't he'll go for my arm and really grab it. Mainly does it when we're trying to put collar/harness on him or he's overly excited. Now that I think about it, he gets even more impetuous if we tell him 'NO!" and walk away. Sometimes he does it when we're just petting him, he'll want to grab our hands and sometimes he'll arm-grab if we scold him. 

Maybe it's just them being annoying teenagers? Ive been told to do the alpha roll- which we did when he was younger (we did it twice maybe) and since then I think it made him worse. The spray bottle almost worked until he would stop and drink the water -.-; We've resorted to putting tabasco/lemon on our hands which sometimes helps but not always. Especially not with the arm-grabbing.


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## GypsyGhost (Dec 29, 2014)

Please don't alpha roll your dog. That is only going to damage your relationship. 

That said, sounds like hormones. Find a good trainer (sorry, not in your area, so I have no recommendations!) that can teach you to give a firm but fair correction for this behavior. Time to nip it in the bud before your dog gets any bigger!


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## Chip18 (Jan 11, 2014)

JazzyFaith said:


> Ive been told to do the alpha roll- which we did when he was younger (we did it twice maybe) and since then I think it made him worse. The spray bottle almost worked until he would stop and drink the water -.-; We've resorted to putting tabasco/lemon on our hands which sometimes helps but not always. Especially not with the arm-grabbing.


Making your arm taste better is an interesting approach?? The "alpha roll" thing...yeah no.

Your first job..." Stop taking advise from people that don't know what they are talking about!"

Yes in the beginning "everything" sounds "reasonable" general rule of thumb, if some has a "well trained dog" then most likely they tend to offer sound advise!


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## Chip18 (Jan 11, 2014)

The jumping thing?? See here:


Stop Your Dog from Jumping Up

For me the "knee thing works just fine!" But most people can't seem to get the hang of it?? So the hand thing works better for most folks.

Bit more details on that here:
http://www.germanshepherds.com/forum/6615602-post108.html

Those should help.


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## Neolunakitty (Jun 3, 2015)

JazzyFaith said:


> My 6 1/2 month old GSD male does this too! In fact, he'll go for hands and if he can't he'll go for my arm and really grab it. Mainly does it when we're trying to put collar/harness on him or he's overly excited. Now that I think about it, he gets even more impetuous if we tell him 'NO!" and walk away. Sometimes he does it when we're just petting him, he'll want to grab our hands and sometimes he'll arm-grab if we scold him.
> 
> Maybe it's just them being annoying teenagers? Ive been told to do the alpha roll- which we did when he was younger (we did it twice maybe) and since then I think it made him worse. The spray bottle almost worked until he would stop and drink the water -.-; We've resorted to putting tabasco/lemon on our hands which sometimes helps but not always. Especially not with the arm-grabbing.


That is almost exactly how my boy is! I tried to just walk away and he jumped and grabbed again! Tell him "no" and he does it again! The only difference is that he will only do this sometimes if I am correcting or telling him no when he doesn't want to listen. Glad to hear I am not the only one dealing with a bratty teenager like this! I tried the alpha roll thing too out of desperation...haha..yea, no go. Never again. 

And I used wasabi once to try to get him to stop chewing the gates when he was younger, and he loved it! Crazy dogs..it seems gsds like a lot of the flavors that tend to deter other dogs.



Chip18 said:


> The jumping thing?? See here:
> 
> 
> Stop Your Dog from Jumping Up
> ...


I'll try the hand thing and hope it works! Thanks! And yea, I have to nip this thing in the bud fast. He's already 75lbs..and I am only 95...


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## OkieDog (Mar 15, 2015)

Neolunakitty said:


> So, my 7 month old boy has recently started to jump at me and grab my arms! Yesterday was the first time he did that, and it continued on today. He seems to do this when he is not getting his way.
> 
> I was told by our last trainer that if he jumps on me, I should walk forward Because I am small and he should know I am in charge...which worked great till now! Now I do it, he grabs my arm with his mouth and my leg. I assume he is trying to assert his dominance as he sees me as second to my husband in the alfa dog level..hormones may be raging at this age..but regardless, he needs to stop this asap!
> 
> ...



My almost 7 month old Finn does the same thing! He bites my arm if I try to pet him, bites my legs. It's not a hard bite, but I bruise easily and I look like I've been beaten up! Is this a dominance issue? Is he trying to get me to play? When I tell him No Bite! and put my stop hand up, he gets more determined. 

What to do?


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## Neolunakitty (Jun 3, 2015)

OkieDog said:


> My almost 7 month old Finn does the same thing! He bites my arm if I try to pet him, bites my legs. It's not a hard bite, but I bruise easily and I look like I've been beaten up! Is this a dominance issue? Is he trying to get me to play? When I tell him No Bite! and put my stop hand up, he gets more determined.
> 
> What to do?


I bruise easily too, so I know how you feel!! Haha.

I nudged him down a few times with my knee and make him sit, and he has been doing this less often now. I tried the hand thing someone posted here, but I'm too slow to react just right, so it didn't work. I don't know yet if this is a dominance issue or just a bratty issue..but it only happens when my husband is out of town for a while.. I still have not officially fixed this,but I will definitely keep everyone posted if/when I make progress so people with the same problem can learn from my experiences. Let me know if you figure out anything concerning this behavior too! ^_^


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## Ozzieleuk (Mar 23, 2014)

OK,

I feel your pain; been there and have the cuts and scratches to show it. :-/ 

Try this:
Next time you are working with your little "piranha dog" and he starts chomping on you, stop him immediately with a loud firm "Hey" and grab the scruff of his neck when you give him a verbal correction.

A mother corrects her pups this way and it does get their attention and they stop if they're smart.
I had two female GSD's and three litters so sometimes you learn best from a momma dog in action.

If you grab the scruff of his neck, grab firm and pick up harder if he doesn't respond. IF he mouths your hand; grab that muzzle and hold it firmly with a strong growling "NO". I hope he understands No when you mean it.

My 3 year old Maxwell will get a little grabby when we play, but he knows to stop when I stop him and he knows never to play rough like that with my wife. 

You may have to adjust your technique, but be consistent and firm.
No laughing or mixing play with the correcting, but I'm sure you know that. You know his buttons and what he likes and hates; you may have to use those buttons to enforce your commands during training.
If he does well, be sure and give a reward, but keep him calm.
My dog would think it was rough house time, if I over did it with praise and affection.

Be patient and don't give up; I don't think you need a professional trainer for this problem, but they will gladly take your money to do it for you.


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## jschrest (Jun 16, 2015)

I use the knee trick, always have. I've never had a bitter, but plenty of experience with dogs that jump, both my personal rescues, and friends dogs. It doesn't take long for them to get it, and you have a better behaved dog to show for it. My friends don't understand why their dogs jump on everyone but me. Maybe because I don't allow it? I also ignore the dog and give it no attention when I do it. If you show reaction, it becomes a game. So I just use the knee until the stop (normally 2-3 attempts are made) and then walk away. If he follows and tried to do it again, repeat the process. They generally catch on pretty quickly. 

I'm not as small as you, I'm 5'2 and 115, but have had dogs that out weigh me, and dogs that are taller than me standing on hind legs, and it still works. Don't let your size dictate how your animals interacts with you!


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## Jenny720 (Nov 21, 2014)

My pup is 8 months old gets the zoomies I can tell the lights are out in his brain and he can get rough and start jumping and gets mouthy. I just put him away in his crate. Its very easy to get him all geared up like just sitting on the floor-sometimes. I have to put him away in his crate so he can find his brain.


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## Castlemaid (Jun 29, 2006)

Dogs have a hard time understanding NOT doing something. And getting forceful and physical with them is not a good idea. I'm of the mindset and belief that I should never have to force my dog to do something, but teach them basic foundation of obedience that will serve as a control in all situations. 

Teach your dog a specific behaviour you WANT and use it as a replacement behaviour for what you don't want - something as simple as Sit! If you give a sit command, the dog can't jump up. If you give a sit command, they can't grab your arm. Always make the command something fun in training, using rewards for a loooooooong time. In their mind, the command should be rewarding, otherwise they'll go back to doing other stuff MORE rewarding, like jumping and biting.

At my house, all commands where heavily rewarded with treats, toys, praise. The reward for a command can also be the release from self-control into play. If people have to use physical force to get a command across (like grab the dog and pull them off the bed because they won't get off, grab them and make them move, etc), then you have no authority in their eyes, and you have to go back and think about why this is, or get help. Not saying that is the case here, but something to be aware of. 

As an aside, I'd say that 99.99999% of posts we get on the board of "Help!!! My dog bit me!!", is exactly that type of situation of where a person reached for a dog's collar to pull them off the couch/bed/in-out of the crate etc - my question is, why after all this time does the person still have to physically make their dog do something? Why is the dog not sitting, getting off the bed, entering their crate on their own after one command? This is not an issue with the dog, but an issue with a lack of basic foundation of respect, obedience, and making training and obeying a rewarding activity for the dog. - Again - not saying that is the case in these examples, but they all point towards physical restraint and physical punishment as a solution which could lead to other unwanted behavioural issues if they continue - we as humans have bigger brains, supposedly are smarter, so lets use those smarts to set up our dogs for success. 

And just putting a puppy away for a bit when they get the zoomies is a perfectly good solution too! Gives everyone a bit of a breather, and stops the pup from practicing unwanted behaviour over and over.


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## DutchKarin (Nov 23, 2013)

Castlemaid said:


> Dogs have a hard time understanding NOT doing something. And getting forceful and physical with them is not a good idea. I'm of the mindset and belief that I should never have to force my dog to do something, but teach them basic foundation of obedience that will serve as a control in all situations.
> 
> Teach your dog a specific behaviour you WANT and use it as a replacement behaviour for what you don't want - something as simple as Sit! If you give a sit command, the dog can't jump up. If you give a sit command, they can't grab your arm. Always make the command something fun in training, using rewards for a loooooooong time. In their mind, the command should be rewarding, otherwise they'll go back to doing other stuff MORE rewarding, like jumping and biting.
> 
> ...


Hallalujia :happyboogie: YES this above is spot on. Lots of strange (some wrong)recommendations above. Stick with this one. It is a training issue and if it is happening at 7 months, find a trainer to help you. Best.


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## onyx'girl (May 18, 2007)

> He seems to do this when he is not getting his way.


 can you share some scenarios in which he isn't getting his way?


many times when a pup does the grab/bitey thing, is their way to try to engage you....I would turn it into a training session, have a tug or ball on string handy and start training. It will give them an oral energy release and work the brain.

My pup(almost 7 months) has just started it as well, he is doing it gently. I know it is his way of trying to engage me. I don't encourage it, but dounderstand why he is doing it.


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## ILoveBella478 (Mar 13, 2015)

Jenny720 said:


> My pup is 8 months old gets the zoomies I can tell the lights are out in his brain and he can get rough and start jumping and gets mouthy. I just put him away in his crate. Its very easy to get him all geared up like just sitting on the floor-sometimes. I have to put him away in his crate so he can find his brain.


Bella is the same way I was sitting on the floor last night watching prison break and she gets a little mouthy and excited to sometimes. So as im sitting she's being mouthy nipping my arm and then she nip my face I lost it I jumped and yelled at her told her go to bed. I didn't mean to jump and yell it was a "out of no where reaction" now I got like a bump on my face I was furious but I let her out after 10 mins in the crate and all she did was lay on me and went to sleep


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## jschrest (Jun 16, 2015)

I just read the article, I didn't last night before posting  I don't in any way knock my dogs over with my knee. I don't exert any force, or knock them off balance. When a dog goes to jump on me, I merely raise my leg up so their chest bumps into my knee, and they can't get to the top half of my body. Once they realize they can't actually reach me, they stop trying. 

I don't in any way encourage physical force on animals. I should have read the article before posting


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## Lilie (Feb 3, 2010)

ILoveBella478 said:


> Bella is the same way I was sitting on the floor last night watching prison break and she gets a little mouthy and excited to sometimes. So as im sitting she's being mouthy nipping my arm and then she nip my face I lost it I jumped and yelled at her told her go to bed. I didn't mean to jump and yell it was a "out of no where reaction" now I got like a bump on my face I was furious but I let her out after 10 mins in the crate and all she did was lay on me and went to sleep


You do realize that you punished & corrected your PUPPY for it's attempt to engage play with you? Even though you were sitting in the EXACT area that you sit in when you engage play with your PUPPY? And that you made no attempt to redirect your PUPPY into a different behavior, yet you corrected your PUPPY for doing exactly what you've asked it to do in the past......


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## Jenny720 (Nov 21, 2014)

My husband has no patience when max gets like that. Pups don't realize their strength and size. Sometimes they need a little crate time to reconnect. One time we were at the beach and I couldn't put him away so making him sit and stay he was able to work his way out of it. Yeah they seem to regret their zoomies after they are over and are deeply apologetic. I took a picture once in a middle of a zoomie his whole one side of his face looked like he had a stroke. A complete brain malfunction caught on camera!!!


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## Jenny720 (Nov 21, 2014)

Circuit overload!!!


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## zyppi (Jun 2, 2006)

mmm. He doesn't have hands and wants to get your attention.

Teach 'down,' and 'sit.' When he jumps use the command and reward for compliance. Even a "good boy!"

he gets attention and you get left alone.

in other words redirect.


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## ILoveBella478 (Mar 13, 2015)

Lilie said:


> ILoveBella478 said:
> 
> 
> > Bella is the same way I was sitting on the floor last night watching prison break and she gets a little mouthy and excited to sometimes. So as im sitting she's being mouthy nipping my arm and then she nip my face I lost it I jumped and yelled at her told her go to bed. I didn't mean to jump and yell it was a "out of no where reaction" now I got like a bump on my face I was furious but I let her out after 10 mins in the crate and all she did was lay on me and went to sleep
> ...


You do realize I didn't mean to the anger got the best of me

"Out of no where reaction "


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## Lilie (Feb 3, 2010)

ILoveBella478 said:


> You do realize I didn't mean to the anger got the best of me
> 
> "Out of no where reaction "


Yes, I do.


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## ILoveBella478 (Mar 13, 2015)

Lilie said:


> ILoveBella478 said:
> 
> 
> > You do realize I didn't mean to the anger got the best of me
> ...


its hard to think when your puppy put her teeth near your eye socket


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## Lilie (Feb 3, 2010)

ILoveBella478 said:


> its hard to think when your puppy put her teeth near your eye socket


I could totally understand.


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## Neolunakitty (Jun 3, 2015)

Castlemaid said:


> Dogs have a hard time understanding NOT doing something. And getting forceful and physical with them is not a good idea. I'm of the mindset and belief that I should never have to force my dog to do something, but teach them basic foundation of obedience that will serve as a control in all situations.
> 
> Teach your dog a specific behaviour you WANT and use it as a replacement behaviour for what you don't want - something as simple as Sit! If you give a sit command, the dog can't jump up. If you give a sit command, they can't grab your arm. Always make the command something fun in training, using rewards for a loooooooong time. In their mind, the command should be rewarding, otherwise they'll go back to doing other stuff MORE rewarding, like jumping and biting.
> 
> ...


I know you said to use rewards a lot for a looong time, but approximately how long? A year? Two? 

I will keep up with making him sit when he tries to jump and grab, but I tried the turning it into a training session idea..and it was a fail. My dog loves to train, and he thought that since jumping and grabbing my arm turned into us having a training session that he should do that whenever he wanted to train! Haha.

I still have to grab my dog by the collar in some situations, but as of recently it's been less and less, especially with the jumping on certain furniture he is not allowed on or counter surfing. Normally he comes down right away for his treat or praise and petting. ^_^


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## Neolunakitty (Jun 3, 2015)

onyx'girl said:


> can you share some scenarios in which he isn't getting his way?
> 
> 
> many times when a pup does the grab/bitey thing, is their way to try to engage you....I would turn it into a training session, have a tug or ball on string handy and start training. It will give them an oral energy release and work the brain.
> ...


Sometimes it is when I am done playing and he is not, so yes, sometimes it is him trying to engage me. I can see that now. Other times it seems to just be him being a brat. This is happening less often, but here is an example. I am preparing his rewards for our morning walk. He gets impatient and jumps on the counter. I tell him to get down, he does..but immediately jumps back up and tries to steal the food. I move the food out of his reach, have him get back down. He no longer can reach the snacks, so he jumps at me instead.

I originally thought it was definitely a dominance issue since he grabbed my leg, but now he just jumps and grabs my arm.


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## Jenny720 (Nov 21, 2014)

When he is being a brat can you have him sit at a stay and give him a treats as long as he is remaining in a sit stay. You will be a little multitasking. If he is not ready to sit that long at a stay, I would crate him until he is ready for sit and stay. I would practice leave it. If he starts to get anxious when you are getting his treats ready"leave it" treat then have him "sit" treat and then "stay" and step in and give him a treat continual until you finish what you are doing.


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## Jenny720 (Nov 21, 2014)

ILoveBella478 said:


> Bella is the same way I was sitting on the floor last night watching prison break and she gets a little mouthy and excited to sometimes. So as im sitting she's being mouthy nipping my arm and then she nip my face I lost it I jumped and yelled at her told her go to bed. I didn't mean to jump and yell it was a "out of no where reaction" now I got like a bump on my face I was furious but I let her out after 10 mins in the crate and all she did was lay on me and went to sleep


A tooth near ones face will change and make it hard to balance the energy in the room. Best time for crate time


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## Cassidy's Mom (Mar 30, 2003)

Lucia's (Castlemaid) post is excellent!



Neolunakitty said:


> I originally thought it was definitely a dominance issue......


Doubtful, and also not related to him not being neutered. Dogs do what works. If he wants your attention, and jumping and biting you works to get that attention, he's going to keep doing it. It's not because he thinks he's the boss, although it doesn't sound like he respects you much.

Teach him a more appropriate way to get your attention, and make that work for him instead. If you do engage him in play or training, make the end of the session very clear. Use a command like "all done", turn around and walk away, putting the toy and/or treats out of reach. Ignore him for awhile if he continues pestering you. Don't tell him to go away, don't talk to him, don't look at him. "Ignore" means he's invisible. It's also important that YOU initiate play and training frequently so he learns that he gets to do the fun stuff that he enjoys without being a brat until you give in. 

And if grabbing at his collar is a problem,, have a tab or lightweight leash attached to it, so you can grab that instead. 

For now, if he won't stop jumping on the counter while you prepare rewards for his walk, don't let him in the kitchen while you're doing it. Crate him until you're ready to go. If he's pretty good about it but sometimes forgets and jumps on the counter, quickly snatch up the food and walk out of the room with it. If there's no food there and you're gone he's probably going to get down off the counter on his own. Go back and try again. Rinse, repeat. Eventually he'll figure out that if he remains calmly on the floor he'll get what he wants quicker, and if he keeps jumping on the counters trying to help himself to the food it's just going to delay the fun.

BE CONSISTENT.


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## Neolunakitty (Jun 3, 2015)

Jenny720 said:


> When he is being a brat can you have him sit at a stay and give him a treats as long as he is remaining in a sit stay. You will be a little multitasking. If he is not ready to sit that long at a stay, I would crate him until he is ready for sit and stay. I would practice leave it. If he starts to get anxious when you are getting his treats ready"leave it" treat then have him "sit" treat and then "stay" and step in and give him a treat continual until you finish what you are doing.


 Sounds like a good idea! I will definitely give that a try! thanks!!


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## Neolunakitty (Jun 3, 2015)

Cassidy's Mom said:


> Lucia's (Castlemaid) post is excellent!
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Thank you for the good advice! Glad to hear that it is probably not a dominance thing, and also that this isn't unheard of behavior! Until I posted this thread I thought I was the only one having such a problem and that I had done something wrong! It is just something I need to keep working on till I find what works for my puppy! ^_^

And yes..I think he does not respect me as much as he should, but I have no idea why. I am home with him most of the day, I train him, walk him, feed him, play with him, groom him, supervise play dates, bring home the toys, dog food, and treats...he listens to my husband more than me even though he rarely does any of those things!


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