by Jane
(New Brunswick, Canada)
Sunshine, 5 months old, challenges me when overexcited, listens and does sits and stays when calm. Gets frustrated when overexcited, she also chews on leash and when corrected jumps and nips. Have tried just about everything, ignoring behaviour just makes her more assertive.
I understand she is still puppy but at 60 pounds she can cause problems, can not allow her to meet new people as she jumps and gets overexcited as she loves people.
We do not have any formal obedience classes in our town.
Also have 9 years old rottie who comes to us and stands in front of us when she gets too hyper. Is he trying to protect us or does he want to have us take over the correction phase of this hyper pup?
Hi Jane
To deal with your older Rottweilers' behavior first.... I would say that he's actually doing both of the things you mention. He stands in front of you because he senses the pups' over-excited and emotional state of mind and he want to make sure that she realizes that you are 'his' to protect.
But he's probably also looking to you for leadership, right now he's doing what he thinks he needs to because you are not in control of the situation. This could lead to problems if he feels he needs to be more 'assertive' in order to set things to rights.
Your pup IS still a pup, but she's a big pup and can't be allowed to behave this way. There are some things you can do to help show her that this isn't acceptable, but I also strongly suggest that you find an obedience class for her, even if you have to travel a bit. She (and you) need the help and the socialization and hands-on approach will make this a lot easier.
For now I would suggest that you set up 'practice sessions' where you can work on this jumping. You'll need a long training leash (see my Leash Training A Puppy page) or a length of strong, but light, rope.
Practice appropriate behavior for greeting someone at the door..... attach the leash/rope to her collar, and you (or another member of your family) should hold the other end of the leash lightly and loosely. Then have someone go knock on the front door or ring the bell and another family member should open the door and invite them in. Sunshine will likely leap on them and they should say 'no jump' and hold their hand up palm forward, simultaneously the person holding the end of the leash needs to give a firm, but quick, jerk of the leash to put her off balance and return her feet to the floor.
Repeat if necessary if she tries to jump again, and she will soon stop for a moment to try to figure out what's going on. When she's not jumping, have one of the people at the door tell her to 'sit' and then greet and pet and praise her.
The point is for the leash correction to be unexpected, and for Sunshine not to think of it coming from the person she's greeting. Repeat this several times a day, and then move on to doing the same thing outdoors in other 'meet and greet' sessions. Be patient and consistent and she will eventually begin to 'connect the dots'.
Best of luck.
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