Published on Positive Petzine (http://positivepetzine.com)

Jumping and mouthing

By tobytupper
Created 05/02/2008 - 14:35
I have a 6 month old golden retriever. I am having a very difficult time stopping the jumping up and mouthing (or grabbing clothes) behavior. I am using clicker training (after first doing traditional puppy training classes, I switched to positive training). She is very smart and learns other things quite quickly but the jumping and mouthing is a toughie to stop. I keep trying to figure out what she is getting from it that is so positive. I try to ignore but since she also mouths and grabs on that is hard to do. I will put her in her crate for a short time out and she does get better but will go right back to it when a new person walks in or after a bit of time has passed. It also happens sometimes when I have been training and then stop and tell her "ok", "go play", etc.. It is almost like she is frustrated or upset by having to stop and will start to jump and grab at my hands, treat pack, etc. I will tell her to "sit" and after some of the jumps she willl and look up waiting for a treat. I try not to treat exactly as she sits since I don't want her to learn "oh, I jump and then sit to get a treat" Anyway, just wondered if you had any more ideas... the jumping is not good but the grabbing/mouthing that goes along with it is more annoying. Thanks so much!

Source URL:
http://positivepetzine.com/node/255