# Help with jumping up and mouthing!



## Jammster (Jan 11, 2014)

My mini poodle has just turned 1 last week. We go to obedience and agility classes and she normally good. At home she is good and wont jump but when at work (I'm a nanny) she always gets so excited and jumps up at the girls and sometimes mouths. I tell the girls to cross their arms and look away and she will get down and run to the next but how can i get her to stop jumping to start with, its tiring and im afraid to let her off lead sometimes incase she jump up at walker by? Thanks


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## fjm (Jun 4, 2010)

I would approach it from two angles. At home I would teach her a really reliable Wait, reinforced at first with treats or a game but very quickly shifting to life rewards (wait, and you get to go out in the garden, or out of the car, or chase the ball, or any one of a lot of other fun things). At the same time I would try hard to manage it so that nothing fun ever happens when she jumps up - no petting, no squeals, no games, no attention, not even scolding - good stuff only happens when she has all four feet on the floor and is not mouthing. If you make it a game for the children, with any jumping or mouthing an immediate cue to be a statue, and a small prize for the one who gets it fastest (making sure everyone wins sometimes, of course!) it might be easier for them to remember. As her Wait cue becomes more reliable, you can use it to interrupt her bouncing at people, and either keep her with you, or allow a polite greeting.

If she has been finding jumping up rewarding for 12 months it will take some time to teach her better ways - research has shown that it takes humans three weeks or so of repetition to gain a new habit, and most of us give up around day ten! I would avoid the temptation to use aversives, especially with children involved. You don't want her to decide that children are dangerous and something to be avoided and chased away, but rather that if she is polite good stuff happens, while if she is impolite it doesn't.


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## Jammster (Jan 11, 2014)

fjm said:


> I would approach it from two angles. At home I would teach her a really reliable Wait, reinforced at first with treats or a game but very quickly shifting to life rewards (wait, and you get to go out in the garden, or out of the car, or chase the ball, or any one of a lot of other fun things). At the same time I would try hard to manage it so that nothing fun ever happens when she jumps up - no petting, no squeals, no games, no attention, not even scolding - good stuff only happens when she has all four feet on the floor and is not mouthing. If you make it a game for the children, with any jumping or mouthing an immediate cue to be a statue, and a small prize for the one who gets it fastest (making sure everyone wins sometimes, of course!) it might be easier for them to remember. As her Wait cue becomes more reliable, you can use it to interrupt her bouncing at people, and either keep her with you, or allow a polite greeting.
> 
> If she has been finding jumping up rewarding for 12 months it will take some time to teach her better ways - research has shown that it takes humans three weeks or so of repetition to gain a new habit, and most of us give up around day ten! I would avoid the temptation to use aversives, especially with children involved. You don't want her to decide that children are dangerous and something to be avoided and chased away, but rather that if she is polite good stuff happens, while if she is impolite it doesn't.


Thank you that is really helpful, more so than our trainer


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## PoodleRick (Mar 18, 2013)

fjm said:


> I would approach it from two angles. At home I would teach her a really reliable Wait, reinforced at first with treats or a game but very quickly shifting to life rewards (wait, and you get to go out in the garden, or out of the car, or chase the ball, or any one of a lot of other fun things). At the same time I would try hard to manage it so that nothing fun ever happens when she jumps up - no petting, no squeals, no games, no attention, not even scolding - good stuff only happens when she has all four feet on the floor and is not mouthing. If you make it a game for the children, with any jumping or mouthing an immediate cue to be a statue, and a small prize for the one who gets it fastest (making sure everyone wins sometimes, of course!) it might be easier for them to remember. As her Wait cue becomes more reliable, you can use it to interrupt her bouncing at people, and either keep her with you, or allow a polite greeting.
> 
> If she has been finding jumping up rewarding for 12 months it will take some time to teach her better ways - research has shown that it takes humans three weeks or so of repetition to gain a new habit, and most of us give up around day ten! I would avoid the temptation to use aversives, especially with children involved. You don't want her to decide that children are dangerous and something to be avoided and chased away, but rather that if she is polite good stuff happens, while if she is impolite it doesn't.


That's great stuff right there.

Rick


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## Chagall's mom (Jan 9, 2010)

Jammster said:


> Thank you that is really helpful, more so than our trainer


I have lost track of how many wonderful training tips I've learned from* fjm *during my years here. I selfishly want her for a neighbor, in lieu of that I wish she had a dog training blog. Good luck with Jammer's training!:dog:


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## fjm (Jun 4, 2010)

I don't really deserve praise - I am blessed with fast reading skills and a reasonably retentive memory, so I squirrel away methods and ideas that look useful. And I have lived quite a long time, so inevitably have years of experience with children and adults of all ages.


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## Lou (Sep 22, 2012)

fjm said:


> I would approach it from two angles. At home I would teach her a really reliable Wait, reinforced at first with treats or a game but very quickly shifting to life rewards (wait, and you get to go out in the garden, or out of the car, or chase the ball, or any one of a lot of other fun things). At the same time I would try hard to manage it so that nothing fun ever happens when she jumps up - no petting, no squeals, no games, no attention, not even scolding - good stuff only happens when she has all four feet on the floor and is not mouthing. If you make it a game for the children, with any jumping or mouthing an immediate cue to be a statue, and a small prize for the one who gets it fastest (making sure everyone wins sometimes, of course!) it might be easier for them to remember. As her Wait cue becomes more reliable, you can use it to interrupt her bouncing at people, and either keep her with you, or allow a polite greeting.
> 
> If she has been finding jumping up rewarding for 12 months it will take some time to teach her better ways - research has shown that it takes humans three weeks or so of repetition to gain a new habit, and most of us give up around day ten! I would avoid the temptation to use aversives, especially with children involved. You don't want her to decide that children are dangerous and something to be avoided and chased away, but rather that if she is polite good stuff happens, while if she is impolite it doesn't.



Wow! Very very well put!! Thank you!!



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## lily cd re (Jul 23, 2012)

Everything that fjm said plus rather than turning away have the kids look up and away. Often when you turn your back the dog will get up and come around to make eye contact, but if you look up and away you just deny the eye contact without tempting the dog to move.

Since this has been self rewarding behavior for a while you shouldn't expect to extinguish it right away. You will also have to work hard to make sure that there is no reinforcement of the jumping up.


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