# Barking at people? Grab 'em by the EARS!



## keiko (Dec 4, 2011)

Barking at people? Grab 'em by the EARS! that was the advice i was given by someone who is really experienced and knows his stuff. sadly i must admit that it might be the most effective but i find that very cruel and unnecessary. also the advice i was given when dogs jump on you is to knee the dog on the chest. i heard that too many times. again , probably effective but that is just WRONG!! Your thoughts ?


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## billsharp (May 3, 2011)

We used to grab calves by the ears when they got rowdy. Had to give them a good twist to get their attention but it worked every time. IMO that is too rough for a dog, they don't have gnarly, grissle filled ears like a calf. 

Kneeing is not supposed to be hard enough to hurt the dog in the slightest, it just triggers their natural aversion to exposing their soft underside to an attacker. It worked for our Maxie, dog rest her soul, when she went through her short jumping stage.


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## MamaTank (Nov 27, 2011)

When my Keira went through her barking stage, I always just gave her a firm NO, and a slight tug on on her leash or a tap on her head (not hard) and she would stop and look at me. For jumping, I would put my knee up as she did it. she didn't like that too much, so eventually, she stopped doing it.


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## doggiedad (Dec 2, 2007)

i didn't allow my pup to jump on people
when greeting. i use to slide my left hand
down the leash to prevent him from jumping 
on people or dogs. i used "no" or "no jumping"
as i held him down if he tried to jump.


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## Jax08 (Feb 13, 2009)

Not knee them in the chest. If that's what they said then they are doing it wrong. I would put my knee up to block her and put my hands in the air so she couldn't touch them. But I never kneed her. If your knee connects in a hurtful way then your timing was bad or you are doing it on purpose.


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## Kittilicious (Sep 25, 2011)

What do ears have to do with barking? It's like putting your hands over a toddlers ears when they are having a screaming fit, doesn't make sense, does it?


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## KZoppa (Aug 14, 2010)

wow... no. Dogs ears are too senstive to be grabbed like the manner one would talk about to distract from barking. Its also an excellent way to make your dog hand shy which is BAD! Kneeing them in the chest is another no no. To stop a jumper, consistently removing your attention from them, they will eventually get the message when they jump, they get no attention. You dont even touch them to push them back down. Just turn away and remove all attention from them. Might take more time but at least you're not kneeing them which can create a fear of you.


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## WeluvGSDs (Dec 7, 2011)

Never heard of the ears thing, but putting your knee up to avert a jumper definately works. It's not a violent MMA move. It's more of a "blocking" movement inhibiting their ability to get in close on you. We always did this and told others to when our first Shepherd went through his "excited to see you" jumping greeting phase. Seemed to do the trick.


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## Germanshepherdlova (Apr 16, 2011)

People say dumb things. I have never heard about grabbing them by the ears, but was told once when my dog was a puppy that if he wouldn't release something when told to squeeze his nose until he listened.


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## WeluvGSDs (Dec 7, 2011)

Germanshepherdlova said:


> People say dumb things. I have never heard about grabbing them by the ears, but was told once when my dog was a puppy that if he wouldn't release something when told to squeeze his nose until he listened.


 
When our Mojo wouldn't release something I would run my hand under his chin, take my thumb and middle finger, and jam them into the very back of his jaw on both sides, he'd open up and release. Either he didn't like the feeling or it just acted as a "pry bar" - either way it worked.


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