Re: [pyrnet] Jumping

[Tracy <espinay@bigpond.com>]

<< I was wondering if folks have any advise to stop our pyr (Romy) from
jumping >>

Will try to help <g>.  First thing is to teach him the right behaviour
BEFORE the visitors come.

Teach him that to get attention (pats, praise, treats, ANY attention) he
will need to sit (or at least have four feet calmly on the ground - for the
purpose of the exercise though - sit is good.  Afterall, a dog can not sit
and jump at the same time! <g>).  Also teach him that jumping up gets no
attention at all.  People turn away and ignore him.  Probably a good idea at
least at first to teach him that this applies to everyone - including you.
That way he won't get confused trying to work out who the no jumping/sit
rule does and doesen't apply to.

<< He absolutely loves everyone he meets and gets so excited sometimes that
he seem unable to contain himself.>>

For a while, I would probably suggest having him on lead for any greetings
with people even at home.  That may mean having the lead by the front door
so that when visitors come, you can put him on lead.  Make greetings low-key
and get visitors to ignore him if he is trying to jump up or clamouring for
attention.  He only gets attention from visitors if he is sitting!  The
minute he jumps up or trys to (try and anticipate when he is getting ready
to do it), get them to turn and walk away from him.  Praise and pats and
treats and fun when he is sitting, no attention at all when he is jumping up
or pushing for attention/thinking about jumping up etc.

 <<Currently, we are scolding him and telling him "Bad" when he does this.>>

I prefer to approach it the opposite way - praise (reward) the good and
ignore (no reward) the bad.

<< We  then typically put him in a sit and calm him then encourage the
person to approach and visit again.>>

Sounds good! <g>

<< Any advise?  Should the visitor be encouraged to squeeze his paws or give
some other reprimand? >>

No - ignoring the bad stuff and praising the good is IMO much better.

 <<Sometimes we absolutely ignore him when he does undesired things but it
is hard to tell a visitor to "absolutely ignore him...look off in
space...don't talk...and stand absolutely still".>>

Better to stick to one method as chopping and changing (sometimes
ignoring/sometimes not) can actually have the opposite effect and reinforce
the jumping up instead (ie random reinforcements are the most effective!).
It can be hard, but sometimes visitors can be a real help if you clue them
in beforehand and get them involved in the training of your dog.  You may
find they will be pleased to help (particulalry if they dont like being
jumped on <g>).  Also, you can 'set up' situations with willing helpers.
After you have reinforced the 'no sit + no attention' consistently among the
family, you can then expand it by getting a clued in friend or two to visit
and follow the same procedure.  Once your dog knows what is expected of him,
it will be easier to reinforce with new people.

HTH a little,

Tracy Bassett
Murrumbateman, Australia
espinay@bigpond.com