# Jumping up (non GSD)



## GunnersMom (Jan 25, 2008)

I need some help with Riley's jumping. When we're sitting down, he has this habit of climbing on our heads.









He's trying to climb completely into our laps, or at least put his paws on our shoulders to nuzzle and give kisses. It's never bothered us in the least and honestly it still doesn't (I think it's sweet) but my ending up in the hospital this past weekend has made us think that maybe we should stop letting him do this. (Or at least, make him understand that he can't do it when we say 'no.') His climbing on me when I was in pain wasn't cool and it's made us think about what would happen if either one of us ever had to have surgery or something. It would be very difficult to recuperate at home with an 83-pound dog climbing on us! 

I've done the 'get up and walk away' every time he does it. Works great... until the next time. Is there anything other than that, that I can do _without_ being harsh? I want to teach him, but I don't want him to think he's all of a sudden being punished for doing something that we've always allowed him to do.

He's extremely intelligent. His only 'problem' is that he's overly affectionate and more than a little stubborn.

Edit: Forgot to mention that I need to teach him before _Gunner_ starts to 'up his correction.' Mom's protector already understands that I don't want Riley climbing on me and he's started to bark at him when he does it.


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## MTAussie (Dec 9, 2007)

> Originally Posted By: GunnersMomI need some help with Riley's jumping. When we're sitting down, he has this habit of climbing on our heads.
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This is a fairly common problem that happens after they are allowed to jump up and give kisses. Unfortunately what happens eventually is they get too big or knock someone in the nose and then it is no fun anymore!
I would start by not encouraging this behavior at all. Do not let him do this at all to you or your family. What I like to do is if they want attention, they must be sitting (or you could even go with down if that is too tempting) either way make this the rule, petting=sit. If he starts to climb on you tell him to "sit". If he still tries to lick, I would go with "down". Reward him lots, but not too loudly or energitic because he will probably bounce right up!








I would continue his obedience commands, and once that is solid, think about giving a command to let him know it is okay to "give kisses" or "hup". Although sometimes it can deteriorate back into a problem behavior so you have to stay on it.

Good luck and keep us updated!


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## MTAussie (Dec 9, 2007)

ps. NILIF is great to follow, if you aren't already familiar with it you can do a search easily for Nothing in Life Is Free, or No Free Lunch. Basically to get what the dog wants, he needs to comply with your commands. NILIF makes a harmonious relationship for you and your pup and helps to eliminate problem behaviors.


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## doggiedad (Dec 2, 2007)

i know the feeling of having a dog all over you when you're sitting on the floor. when my dog wants to get on the sofa with us he'll sit in front of one of us. sometimes he'll paw at you. if you lean forward or move to the edge of the sofa he'll jump up and walk behind you to the other end of the sofa and plop down. if i do't want he on the sofa i can say "down" or "get off the sofa". 

we never allowed our dog to jump on us or anyone else. the few times he tried to jump on us we would say "no jumpimg". if my dog had his collar and leash on when he jumped i would pull him down, make him sit, raise my voice and say "no jumping". if his collar wasn't on i would hold him by some neck fur, pull him down, say "no jumping". i'm sure i said more than no jumping. i was giving him a verbal correction. i've never had to do anything more than verbal corrections. a raised voice is enough with my dogs.

before Gunner ups the correction on something you allowed
why don't you teach "no" or "down" or find a word to teach your
dog to respond to correct/change or stop what he's doing. i like it when my dog climbs on me or jumps on the bed or sofa. i also like that i can tell down and he gets down. 

once your dog learns when it's ok to be on the funiture with you
or to be on you when you're on the floor it's going so good.


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## GunnersMom (Jan 25, 2008)

> Originally Posted By: MTAussieThis is a fairly common problem that happens after they are allowed to jump up and give kisses. Unfortunately what happens eventually is they get too big or knock someone in the nose and then it is no fun anymore!
> I would start by not encouraging this behavior at all. Do not let him do this at all to you or your family. What I like to do is if they want attention, they must be sitting (or you could even go with down if that is too tempting) either way make this the rule, petting=sit. If he starts to climb on you tell him to "sit". If he still tries to lick, I would go with "down". Reward him lots, but not too loudly or energitic because he will probably bounce right up!
> I would continue his obedience commands, and once that is solid, think about giving a command to let him know it is okay to "give kisses" or "hup". Although sometimes it can deteriorate back into a problem behavior so you have to stay on it.


Yeah, I wish we had thought this through when he was a pup. It's not his fault - he's just being a Golden. The ultimate lapdog! LOL.

We did the NILIF when he was younger, but once he grew up and was pretty well behaved, we went away from it. Might be time to go back to it.

I'll try putting him in a sit when I see that he's getting ready to climb on me and see if that works.
Thanks!


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## GunnersMom (Jan 25, 2008)

> Originally Posted By: doggiedadbefore Gunner ups the correction on something you allowed
> why don't you teach "no" or "down" or find a word to teach your
> dog to respond to correct/change or stop what he's doing. i like it when my dog climbs on me or jumps on the bed or sofa. i also like that i can tell down and he gets down.


He knows "no" and "off" - he just chooses to ignore them. He's very good about obeying commands, _except_ when he's intent on climbing up to give his hugs and kisses. He just gets so excited, his whole butt starts wiggling and nothing else in the world matters to him. He suddenly goes deaf. 
The funny thing is, somehow Gunner knows now that I'm serious about not wanting Riley to do this and _he's_ trying to tell him "no." (Riley's listening to Gunner about as well as he's listening to me.







)

And yeah, we had that luxury with our Cooper and it was nice. We could let him climb up on us because he always understood "that's enough" or "not now." Riley's never quite gotten that.


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