# Jumping on my small 4 year old



## squeakermama (Nov 2, 2010)

Hi. I have a 17 week old female. She has learned not to jump on everyone in the family but my youngest 4 year old son. It's hard for him to physically get her off of him and he just turns away and says no but it does nothing to get her to stop. She's somewhat responsive to me but not always until I put myself in between the two. I've tried using the lease but once she is off and excited all bets are off and she's jumping again .
Any suggestions?
Thanks,
squeaker


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## Val-Hi King Timber (Aug 26, 2010)

My Timber is not much older than your puppy and this was a problem with my 4 year old also.
So far the only thing that has worked (and really only about 90% of the time) is putting the prong collar on Timber when Aidan is around. I NEVER leave the two alone in the same room. So with me on the other end of the leash with prong, as soon as Timber would even get that "look" in his eyes, Id give him a firm NO or Leave it. If he jumped and nipped on him anyway....then he got prong collar correction and another leave it command. I also leave Timbers toys scattered around the floor and on his own he has learned to grab one of his toys instead of chasing, nipping and jumping on my 4 year old.
I guess your little girl has a high prey drive like Timber. I hope someone else can offer some other suggestions as well.
I guess these 4 year olds look and act like a living moving toy (prey) to our puppies.
Im glad you are looking for advice though. It was one of my fears that this behaviour would get out of hand as Timber grew larger and larger leaving Aidan no shot to win the battle. I think thats why I have stood my ground and stayed consistant. Timber is getting a lot better but still needs reminders.


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## squeakermama (Nov 2, 2010)

Thanks for your input. Yes outside of being with them while they are together to correct the behavior I'm not sure what to do. I'm really hoping by be consistent that this behavior will fade. On a bigger concern I want my 4 year old to be considered above our dog and not a toy or prey. It's difficult since my 4 year old is reluctant to tell the dog what to do unlike my 6 year old that has a great handle on her. I've been having him do some light training with her (sit, down) hoping to keep him in the upper position. 
I do notice that this behavior fades after some time has passed and the excitement has wore down after they are together but I just don't like her feeling it's alright to treat him like this.


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

Val-Hi King Timber said:


> So far the only thing that has worked (and really only about 90% of the time) is putting the prong collar on Timber when Aidan is around.


This is a 17 week old puppy - I would not use a prong at this point!

Squeaker, why don't you just keep the leash on? I often have puppies drag a leash around the house - it's much easier to either stop or prevent bad behavior if they're tethered to you or you can quickly grab the leash. Does this happen in the house or just out in the yard?


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## Val-Hi King Timber (Aug 26, 2010)

Squeker......I think I may have your answer!!!
I was getting kind of frustrated with Timber being relentless with Aidan this weekend. I was thinking to myself...all the things Im doing must be wrong. Including keeping Timber on the leash in the house. I did that too. I really thought it was the best approach. However, I was on here reading and I finally realized there was ONE thing I hadnt done yet. 
As soon as Timber would start chasing or trailing behind Aidan in the fashion that he was getting excited by it, I quickly grabbed him by his collar and said "timeout" and I put him in his crate for 5 minutes. I think he quickly got to realize "****...everytime I do that I have to come in here". It worked within a few tries. Now when he looks like he's getting excited I ask him if he wants a timeout. Im sure you can adjust the timeout period to fit your dog by a few minutes more if you need to. But all Timber needed was 5.
Try it and be quick when you catch the offense of and course be consistant. I bet this will work.


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## Montana Scout (Sep 27, 2010)

Val-Hi King Timber said:


> Squeker......I think I may have your answer!!!
> I was getting kind of frustrated with Timber being relentless with Aidan this weekend. I was thinking to myself...all the things Im doing must be wrong. Including keeping Timber on the leash in the house. I did that too. I really thought it was the best approach. However, I was on here reading and I finally realized there was ONE thing I hadnt done yet.
> As soon as Timber would start chasing or trailing behind Aidan in the fashion that he was getting excited by it, I quickly grabbed him by his collar and said "timeout" and I put him in his crate for 5 minutes. I think he quickly got to realize "****...everytime I do that I have to come in here". It worked within a few tries. Now when he looks like he's getting excited I ask him if he wants a timeout. Im sure you can adjust the timeout period to fit your dog by a few minutes more if you need to. But all Timber needed was 5.
> Try it and be quick when you catch the offense of and course be consistant. I bet this will work.


i thought you wern't supposed to use the crate as a punishment?


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## codmaster (Aug 5, 2009)

I would suggest using a tab instead of a regular leash - too easy for a leash to get caught on things in the house.

And just be consistent, remember your pup is still a little baby and will need LOTS of reminders to learn not to jump.


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## squeakermama (Nov 2, 2010)

The problem is outside while out in the yard playing. Mainly when they all go outside to play. She gets excited and jumps on them but my 6 year old knees her and tells her "down" and she gets it. My young 4 year old is kind of blindsided and isn't able to see it coming or to control her. As I said before she does calm down after some time and it's not that bad of a problem but it sure isn't nice and hurts my son


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## Val-Hi King Timber (Aug 26, 2010)

I thought you werent supposed to use the crate as punishment either. But you will find plenty of people on here that will tell you that they do as well.
Its not really a punishment in my eyes. Its almost a redirecting if you will.


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## zyppi (Jun 2, 2006)

Too young for a prong..

Work on teaching 'plazt,' or down ( meaning lay down) and reward, reward, reward.

When pup starts for 4 year old, try the 'down' with a really high value reward in your hand.

No treat around, just gently but firmly put the pup in a sit and sternly say 'no.'

Never correct a pup unless you catch them in the act.


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## selzer (May 7, 2005)

The puppy is too young for harsh corrections, you could even make him leery of small children if you go correcting him with a prong collar when he encounters one. I do not particularly like the kneeing of the puppy. 

This is a very young puppy. But that does not mean he cannot learn. The first thing he needs to learn is that he is only rewarded when he has Four on the Floor. That goes for treats, for praise, for pets, for anything. If all four paws are not on the floor, no positive attention at all.

Time outs in the crate. I think that the crate should be only used positively. However, you kid should not have to go through the next three months being jumped on. When there is a little to much exhuberance going on, I do not see why you cannot place the puppy in a safe zone for a breather. 

My parents have a pet yard set up in their living room. The pet yard is for the kids, not the dog. The grandkids have toys and such in that area and the dog respects it if the kids are there. The kids can always go in their safe place. For a puppy I suppose that could work in reverse. You see the four year old is out of his comfort zone, so scoop up the pup and put it in the play yard or x-pen. It is not a punishment, it is more of a safety net for both dog and pup. 

If the pup only has problems with the four year old outside, maybe there is too much going on outside, kids running, screaming, etc. Maybe it is better to have the puppy not go outside with the four year old until the puppy is a little better controlled.


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## beowolf (Sep 3, 2010)

Be sure to teach your dog to keep all four feet on the ground. When I was 12 I came home for lunch and when I got to the top of the staircase my large, over-excited dog stood on his hind legs in a jump mode and scratched my face, right between my nose and top lip. I had that scar until I was 30. I've always been very careful to remind people around my dog to beware of his front paws. 

My 7 month old GSD loves to throw punches with his front paws. He got me on the side of the head a few weeks ago and I was nearly seeing stars - we were having somewhat of a tussle over his harness when he gave me a left hook, lol.


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