I have a 10mo Black GSD (working lines) that gets so excited when i get her out of her yard that she jumps up to my face and nips at my face / hair. i have tried pinning her till she is quiet and giving lots of attention when she is quiet so she is getting what she wants but without trying to remove my face to do so, but as soon as she is released it starts again. I have been walking off and heel, halt and this works but it is the initial exit from the yard where i want her to be somewhat still so i can latch it again. So what i am asking is for any ideas or "tricks of the trade" that my be of use to me. Last night i thought about taking some cotton wool out with me covered with tea tree oil (as most dogs i have met hate it) and if she jumps in my face give her a face full, what do you think? If anyone has better ideas, hit me with them!
Thanks
Julie

Julie,

I would start by teaching 2 things: 1) teach her to wait at doors or the gate to the kennel. The idea being that if she wants out she must be under control of herself. 2) teach her to sit to get attention. She can't jump up if her butt is firmly locked to the ground.

With a 10 month old I would catch her just below the breast bone with a knee for jumping up on me. Done right you can knock the wind out of her with out much force. Follow that with an immediate sit command. It sounds like you have fairly good obedience control and you can use that to make her do something incompatable with jumping on you.

Here's an article I wrote on this topic a few years back.

++++++++++++++++

Just about all puppies will jump up if given the opportunity. They want the face to face contact that they enjoy with their peers. The best way to stop jumping up is before it starts.

Failing that you need to recognize when the act of jumping up starts. There are several precursors to jumping up. There’s a weight shift to the back legs and usually a slight crouch in the front legs. Next the head comes up. When you see these quickly extend your hand in front of Fido's face. Let him jump up so HE RUNS INTO YOUR HAND. Make sure that he is responsible for this action. If he gets past your hand, it's too late to do this. The act of your hand hitting him in the face must be due to HIS actions, NOT YOURS. You merely put your hand in his path and he runs into it.

You can't miss the timing and put your hand on his face and push him away. He will interpret this as play and it will only encourage him to continue to jump up.

As with just about all aversives, if the dog thinks that the unpleasantness came from HIS actions, rather than yours, the behavior is much more likely to stop.

There is no command or "NO" that comes with this. Remember the theory is that HE did it NOT you.

If you're a bit slow and don't get your hand up bump the dog in the chest with your knee. This must occur after he's up so he doesn't see it. Don't bash him into the next county, a common error that people make, especially if it doesn't work the first time. All you're doing is tipping him away from you, knocking him off balance. It's a gentle shove, but hard enough to bump him backwards, so he loses his balance.

Again, no command or "NO." is issued. It's HIS action of jumping up that brings the unpleasant loss of balance.

Both of these techniques, the hand and the knee seem to work well with dogs that pee submissively because it's THEIR action that brings the discomfort, not yours.

With both of these techniques you must think "HAPPY" thoughts as you do it!!! Especially with a dog that pees submissively. You're not disciplining him. Think that you are playing a game with him and you're much more likely to have that play body language, that avoids the submissiveness.

I also train the dog to come up on my arm so that he can get the face to face contact that jumping up is all about. From a "sit at heel" I extend my right arm, bent at the elbow so it's parallel to the ground. This allows the face kissing, which is of course a sign of submissiveness, that many dogs enjoy, but it's controlled and directed.

Tried the knee thing last night, the dog seemed a little baffeled at what had happened but it seemed to work!!
I was short on time but tonight i have to take her out to a basic instruction course so i will try it again! I did not even have to use any force at all, i just let her jump into it. The simple things in life are often the best!
Thanks for all the ideas. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" />