Training him not to jump!

[Audacious]

So we have a 10 or so month old puppy...he's a german shepherd/malamute and we THINK something else, but he's big..like 75 pounds of pure muscle.

We are trying to teach him not to jump up on people, and he's really good when it's me, my bro or my parents...my mom is more lenient with it but we yell at her to stop letting him jump and feeding him from the table...So for the most part he's pretty good. We'll come down to him to pet him so he doesn't have to jump, and we teach him to sit to get attention. He can't get it by barking, he has to sit first and THEN we'll love him or throw the toy or whatever.

But when other people come over...it's a nightmare. he literally knocks people over because they aren't strong like we are and don't want to push him down or tell him no. So he jumps up on people and they aren't strong willed like we are to tell him no ! It's so frustrating because it looks like we have a really misbehaved dog...but the thing is that he's AMAZING. He recognizes toys by their names, he sits, stays, opens the door to let himself in and i"m training him to shut the door behind him. We can say "go get green toy" and he brings his green frizbee and we say "go get kong" and he gets his kong. We say "go get your bone" and he brings a raw hide. He knows! He's such a smart puppy and we love him to bits...but other people don't love him at all.

How do we tackle this? Any help would be great! Thank youuuuuu

[Tynan]

My best advice is if you know someone is going to be coming over maybe keep him at arms reach until the dog can get used to them. Its a normal dog thing to do. Also a good tip is keep doing what your doing. When he does it get him to stop and firmly tell him no. And keep at that. In time he will not jump on people as much if at all.

[TheBabyEater]

It's great to hear how hard you're trying to train your dog! I always smile when I hear someone training and taking such care of a puppy, because it's hard to be strict when they're such a cute puppy lol A lot dogs suddenly forget all their training when they see someone new, especially puppies. The best advice I could give is to introduce him to a new person from another room, or hold him back when first seeing someone new or someone he rarely sees. Then he'll start to get used to them, and remember his training.

You've also got to tell your friends and family when they're coming over that he's still a puppy, despite his size, and that you're trying to train him not to jump. Explain to them that when he jumps, they should knock him down and give him a strict "NO", or whatever it is you do to train him. Soon enough, he'll see that he's not supposed to jump on EVERYONE, not just you and your family. It just might take some time, this is the hardest thing to teach a dog!

[Audacious]

Thanks guys ! and yes, it is extremely hard.

Funny though...he jumps on my friends and for the most part they're okay with it and just push him down or carry around the water gun that we spray water on him with. He's afraid of the water gun so he doesn't go near whoever is holding it.

One time though my best friend came over and she hadn't met Koda the wonder mutt yet...and she went straight to the bathroom...and our bathroom has 2 doors. One on either side. She shut the first door tightly, but didn't shut the second one as well because she was in a hurry...well Koda and her met very close and personal when he opened the door up and jumped on her while she was on the toilet ! Hahahah. I couldn't even run in to help he because she had her pants down lol.

Maybe when people over we can put him on his leash...then we can hold him and help him say hello but pull him down when he goes to jump...just until he calms down and then remove it when he's laying down and relaxing.

[TheBabyEater]

Yes! I don't know why I thought of leashes. It's good for a few things, it'll help keep him down, but will also remind him what he is supposed to do. I really think it's just that doggy excitement of seeing someone new that is making him forget all about the hard work you put into training. Good luck!

[Audacious]

Yeah it's weird. It's like when we are at home with just me and my brother and parents, he will do EVERYTHING we tell him to. As soon as he gets excited,he's got selective hearing and it all goes out the window. Like, we taught him "come" and he understood it in an hour. Then we keep practicing and he comes in from outside and up from downstairs and all we have to say is "koda, Come" and he gets it. But then one day he got out the front door and he was sniffing around the yard and I said "Koda, Come" like 20 times and he wouldn't come until my brother went and got a treat.

Is this just a matter of time...because he's a puppy? Will the seletive hearing go away as long as we keep working with him?

[TheBabyEater]

The excitement should wear down a bit when he gets older, but it doesn't mean you shouldn't take the excitement thing as serious as possible. Maybe it just goes away for some does because their owners keep at it, not just because they're older. I've worked with German Shepards at work. They're some of the best dogs when trained, because they are very smart. But they're also some of the worst ones when no trained

[Audacious]

We aren't really sure what he is becuase he was rescued from a reservation that was treating him badly...he was tied from birth until he was about 7 weeks old to a 3 foot leash tied to a barn...no food provided, no water, nothing. We got hold of him through the rescue agency and the vet says they think he's some kind of mix between shepherd and malamute. Apparently a very stubborn combination, I'mnot sure. All I know is that all the weight on him is pure muscle. Here's a picture

[TheBabyEater]

He looks very adorable! I'm sure if you just stick with his training, he'll be a great dog. Its great that you rescued him, I'm sure he's much happier now.