Here's a section with jumping up on people:

http://leerburg.com/forums/ubbthreads.php/ubb/postlist/Board/32

Most excellent Wanda!
While there's going to be times you'll question the wisdom of your decision (don't pooh pooh the statment, believe me it will happen more then once), in the end the dog will pay you back many times over. Becoming the dog you always dreamed of.
The form is here for you (and for all of us, thank you Ed and Cindy) when you need or want questions answered or problem solving brainstorming. Just one thing, when you run into problems of one sort or another that you just can't figure out get your quarries out here, don't let it be laying around in the background someplace and build up into a cascade that effects all parts of the dogs behavior. You have a problem you can't solve, get it out here; somebody will come up with a solution.
Again Wanda, congradulations, welcome back to the dog world.
Patience, consistency, patience.
Good luck.

If my dog isn't learning, I'm doing something wrong.
Randy

Hi Wanda,
I'll just chime in here too but there has already been great advice to you.
I have a Schutzhund prospect - very drivey dog.
Here is what I do for a specific problem, putting on the collar and leash. She see's me getting the leash and goes ape.
So I do 2 things. 1- I pick up the leash and the second she goes ape, I put it right back down on the table. We'll do this until she calms down, I only continue with the leash after she calms. Eventually, I can put it on while she sits still, even though she is shaking the whole time :-)

2 - I'll do this several times while I'm home. I don't necessarily take her out for her walk. I desensitize her to "the leash comes on/off for no reason so there is no reason to go nuts".

The point is, I don't reward her for her nutty behavior. She gets more accomplished by being calm. It takes very consistant behavior on your part but it will pay off. You can use this technique any time you need her to do something calmly.

When I come home, she wants to crawl up my face. So I turn my back on her and totally ignore her until she calms down. Only then, I reach down and pat her calmly. That's another thing, people tend to use a high voice and jump around when they greet their dogs. We have to present the same calmness as we want the dog to do.

I let her go nuts on my time - ball playing, tugging, other games. So at least she has an outlet.

Hope that helps,
Lynn

Putting on her leash is a nightmare. She is mouthing my hands the whole time. When I finally get it on her she starts chewing the leash. I've tried turning my back when she jumps up on me so then she jumps up on my back. I learned when we 1st got her at 10 weeks old to speak to her only in a calm voice. She hurt her paw 2 nights ago so we haven't been able to play ball with her since that time. Her paw is better tonight & she is more hyper than ever. I've got my small grandchildren till late tomorrow afternoon so I can't work with her until they are gone. By tomorrow afternoon she should be at her peak of hyperactivity. Where is the Valium when I need it? LOL!

You can reverse the leash problem. Lynn has given a good outline.

The leash will eventually mean "good times" to the dog, and will bring her running, just like picking up the car keys or opening the 'fridge, and even getting near the leashes, do with mine.

Wanda,
Puppys are always going to be a hand full, thats just as it should be. We all here understand your flustration with the leash and collar issues. In my humble opinon the problems you're having arise from some other under laying lack of basic social or pack structure. You'll hear plenty of that around here LOL! Pack structure. It isn't, though, just some theory or training method, it is, how the dog mind works. They are all, every single dog in the world from the wildest wolf to the tamest couch potato, hardwired to a pack structure. It is how they see and negotiate their way through the world. Pack Structure.
The question was asked earlier in the thread, and to my mind was never fully addressed, as the topic seems to have stayed on mouthing and jumping issues, what else does the dog know? Sit, down, come, speak, is she house broken, her name? Nothing is too simple to leave out. What else does the dog know and how was it trained?

If my dog isn't learning, I'm doing somthing wrong.
Randy

Owning a puppy like that takes a big psychological adjustment on the part of the owner.

Many people who aren't used to dogs like this look at the dog and go "oh my god, what are we in for???". I think there's 2 main reasons behind this reaction.

First, it's past experiences with dogs: People are used to nice calm easy dogs, so when they have a high drive mouthy pup charging around the house like a psycho, it is not what they anticipated and therefore very unnerving. Afterall, puppies have teeth and aren't afraid to use them.

Second, again, lack of experience. Someone who has done this several times will know what to expect "at the end of the tunnel". They know there is light and they know what a great dog the pup will grow into with some time and effort. People who don't have this experience have a hard time envisioning this light at the end of the tunnel.

So, the best thing you can possibly dog for you and your pup, is to change your perception and expectations of a puppy.

Your pup will grow up to be a bonded loving member of the family. All this puppy crap is very temporary, so try and remind yourself that "there is light at the end of this tunnel" whenever you feel like cracking him over the head with a wiffle ball bat

You also need to remember that a dog is not a person, a dog is happy with whatever you decide for him. This means that it is perfectly OK for a puppy to spend alot of time in the crate when you are unable to supervise him 100%. Where most people run into problems is by feeling bad for the puppy, so letting him get himself into trouble by letting him out when he can't be 100% supervised. If you can't supervise, he should be in a crate or a kennel run where he can't "make his own fun" (like chewing through walls, mauling kids, terrorizing the neighbors cat etc).

The biggest adjustment, is accepting all these annoying behaviors, biting, nipping, chewing on your hands, tugging on your clothes, jumping up etc. It's a part of puppy life and the sooner you accept that this stuff is "fun" the better.

Puppies and kids don't mix, I would just seperate them in the house or keep the pup leashed and the kids away. My oldest male was 3 before he could be around my nephews, and I still need to watch that they dont get him TOO excited. Take them on a walk together, give the pup a toy to carry while you walk and let everyone get used to eachother.

Buy the Leerburg DVD's that were mentioned in this thread. Those DVD's will go over all the actual training that will help teach the pup how to behave. But being a frustrated owner does no good for either you or the pup, so seriously adjusting your perception and expectations will help you accept the way your puppy is, rather than stressing over every stupid lil puppy behavior.

And most importantly, stay away from those idiot trainers that are jerking puppies around on prongs making them yelp. It's a "quick fix", but does absolutely nothing for your bond or the puppies trust in people outside the family. It could go as far as the pup developing issues with male humans later in life because of bad experiences as a pup. Don't let people treat your pup that way. It doesn't take much for a person to call himself a "trainer". Also don't go to a Schutzhund trainer and assume that he knows what he is doing because he is a "Schutzhund Trainer". Nothing wrong with Schutzhund or sport, but theres alot of idiot trainers in the sport world too, even ones who have lots of "followers". Bad training is bad training, no matter how many people agree with it.

Hi Wanda - I owned working dogs my whole life. I am 61 years old. Nothing prepared me for this most recent pup addition to our household. I have young ones running around too. The neighbor kids would run the other way when I brought this little maniac out into the front yard on a leash. I had no worries about anyone young or old trying to pet him. They would get mauled. Until he lost his puppy teeth my hands looked like "Shredded Wheat". My hands looked so bad at times, I was embarrassed to go to work. His energy level had no bounds. He would stand and bark at me ready to rock and roll many many times a day. Thank God I am semi retired and could give him a lot of attention. No one else in the family could handle him, even for short periods of time. When I was working he was crated in my truck. I was with him 24-7. I had dominant dog and ecollars on him since he was 4 months old. I needed advice from people on this forum to figure out how to work with this little wild guy.

He is now 8 months old. I've spent tons of time with him. He is turning gradually into a good citizen. He is the best dog I ever owned. I hope you can stick it out. There really is light at the end of the tunnel.

Hi Wanda-- have to encourage you that it is all doable and all worth while. last august we got a 13 month old purebred f spayed GSD who had been 'returned' to the kennel by a previous owner as she was too wild. wolf was fear aggressive, she didn't come - sit- stay - heel- platz bleib or listen to anything at all. she went wild at the sight of a leash or ball, jumped all over everyone, barked at dogs, mailmen etc. would rather play kong than eat. . since my sister had her brother we knew she had potential. i read every one of the leerburg threads and took it one command at a time. i put a fursaver collar on her with a 6 inch long short lead so she was alway controllable. the 1st month she only came out of the crate with me holding the short leash until the long one clipped in . she was fed by hand the 1st month, trained her to come for her food . in 2 weeks she had a pretty solid come, we started work on sit, then down ( platz) and stay(bleib)on command initially with food rewards, later without. i worked with her about 6x a day in short 10 minute intervals and she got 3 long walks of 1/2 hr. only after we did her 'training' did she get to play kong or stick retrieval. 6 months later she is a changed dog: sits - stays- heel(fuss)-comes-down (platz) .stay (bleib) for 10 minutes with me out of sight, always platz before the leash goes on, always sit before crossing threshold or using stairs. Ed's 'Pack Order' and 'aggressive dog' material was invaluable. she is on her way to being a great dog thanks to him and his generosity in making so much available on this website.i read a lot then in dec. I found a great trainer 1 1/2 hrs away and took her 1x a month for a formal lesson to make sure i wasnt screwing up somehow. at the vet last week they had 2 techs ready to hold her down for the vet - i said NO I will platz her and i'll hold her head -and she stayed down thru 2 shots with nary a growl or bark at the techs ...they couldn't believe it was the same dog as the wildwoman of 6 months ago......

Her name is Sheba. She knows sit, off, no bite, & she is house broken. We are working on down. She knows off & no bite but she doesn't always obey. When inside we keep her in a 28" x 42" kennel. I cannot wait for the dvds to get here because I am the one who works with her the most. She had only 3 training sessions. I couldn't deal with the prong collar. The trainer used the prong collar because that was the only way she could get Sheba to calm down & listen to her.