May 17, 2021
My puppy jumps all over my nephew and scratches him. Please help!
Full Question:
Hello! I love your videos and guidance. I do have a question though. My 14 week old Boston Terrier puppy ONLY jumps on my two year old nephew, and in her excitement, she scratches. It is hard to train her out of this because we see my nephew only every few weeks. I know we don’t use positive punishments, but in the moment she’s jumping, what can I do? I don’t want to put her on a leash and pull the leash and make her leash shy (we rarely use the leash and so she doesn’t have enough positive experience with it). Should I say NO (which I don’t do)? Because if I simply pick her up, and remove her, she jumps again when she is not being held, and that doesn’t teach her anything right? And the child is too young to turn his back or walk away. I just don’t want this to become a pattern and it’s tough to train because she doesn’t do it to larger people, only my small nephew. Please help! 
Cindy's Answer:
It will be very difficult to teach your puppy how to stop jumping on people/kids without managing her ability to access your nephew. You should do her a favor and accustom her to a leash so that she's desensitized to it.
When I raise a puppy (and I raise at least one every year or so) that puppy is not given the opportunity to practice behavior I know I won't like when he or she is an adult. Puppies learn through practice so the more you let her practice excitement and jumping the harder it will be to correct later.
We use a leash (just to prevent or block the pup from getting into trouble or do things we don't want her to) an exercise pen and a crate.
We have some puppy videos that will help you with this and give you some ideas for how to redirect her energy into behavior that you want, instead of creating an overly excited dog around kids.
When I raise a puppy (and I raise at least one every year or so) that puppy is not given the opportunity to practice behavior I know I won't like when he or she is an adult. Puppies learn through practice so the more you let her practice excitement and jumping the harder it will be to correct later.
We use a leash (just to prevent or block the pup from getting into trouble or do things we don't want her to) an exercise pen and a crate.
We have some puppy videos that will help you with this and give you some ideas for how to redirect her energy into behavior that you want, instead of creating an overly excited dog around kids.
User Response:
Thank you so much!
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