# Puppy jumping up and play biting people whilst out walking! Please help!



## DogLover101 (Oct 22, 2013)

My bull mastiff x staffie puppy is 6 months old. When I take him out on the lead for a walk he will attempt to jump and bite at people and children who walk past! I've had too many close encounters with children who try to stroke him without asking and desperately need some advice on how to stop him from doing this!

When he jumps up and bites it is not aggressive he is simply over excited and cannot seem to calm himself down!

Does anyone have any suggestions on what I can do to stop him from doing this before he gets me into trouble?!


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## Mumtomaddog (Sep 17, 2013)

I know someone will be able to give you some good advice.
If it were me, i would go here>> Yellow Dog UK - Some Dogs Need Space they have ribbons, bandannas etc that state that your dog needs space. Fair enough children might not understand it if theyre very young but it would be a good opportunity to educate people and perhaps ask that they give your boy a wide berth for a while. There are various vests etc that state that the dog needs space or is even in training... shop around and im sure you can find something suitable. It might at first man nothing to people that your dog is wearing yellow but thats the perfect opportunity to tell people that he needs some space while you are training him.

When you see people heading toward you, try to distract him, with treats, a toy or whatever else will get his attention on you and off other people. i often cross the road or turn back if i see something/someone that i know Max will react to and if i know that i wont get his attention. The more he practices this behaviour the harder it will be to train out of him so anticipate it and avoid it whenever possible. Any time that he does ignore other people praise and treat like mad. Ask children not to touch him.

Hopefully someone will be able to give you some good advice as to what might help.


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## smokeybear (Oct 19, 2011)

DogLover101 said:


> My bull mastiff x staffie puppy is 6 months old. When I take him out on the lead for a walk he will attempt to jump and bite at people and children who walk past! I've had too many close encounters with children who try to stroke him without asking and desperately need some advice on how to stop him from doing this!
> 
> When he jumps up and bites it is not aggressive he is simply over excited and cannot seem to calm himself down!
> 
> ...


The first thing to say is that forget trying to excuse/explain his behaviour, it will not save you or your dog if he bites anyone.

Secondly if he can still do this whilst on a lead (I am making the assumption that he is NOT doing this off the lead)! then your lead is too long, your reactions are too slow, you are putting him and others in a position neither should be.

Forget special leads, coats, collars or ribbons;

Many people cannot read for one reason or another and many others will approach BECAUSE you have something special on your dog.

Forget about distracting the dog at the moment as you have already demonstrated that your reactions are not quick enough to deliver this with the relevant timing, TURN your dog AWAY, go in the opposite direction, cross the road.

Put yourself between other people and your dog.

Start training at home and then gradually move to higher distractions.

Look here for reliable advice from reputable trainers and behaviourists

http://www.cleverdogcompany.com/tl_files/factsheets/Jumping up.pdf
Preventing Jumping on Strangers | Karen Pryor Clicker Training
ClickerSolutions Training Treasures -- Quick Fix for a Jumping Dog

Four Feet on the Floor: Jumping Up Behaviour in Dogs and Puppies - YouTube

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 Why dogs jump up at some people and not at others
 Strategies to enlist your family and friends to help with your dogs training
 One easy rule to prevent jumping up
 How to teach your dog to settle calmly no matter what else is going on
Teaching your dog to be calm and sensible when visitors arrive is on the wish list of many dog owners, and its simple to achieve with Sarahs advice and practical strategies.

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## DogLover101 (Oct 22, 2013)

Mumtomaddog said:


> I know someone will be able to give you some good advice.
> If it were me, i would go here>> Yellow Dog UK - Some Dogs Need Space they have ribbons, bandannas etc that state that your dog needs space. Fair enough children might not understand it if theyre very young but it would be a good opportunity to educate people and perhaps ask that they give your boy a wide berth for a while. There are various vests etc that state that the dog needs space or is even in training... shop around and im sure you can find something suitable. It might at first man nothing to people that your dog is wearing yellow but thats the perfect opportunity to tell people that he needs some space while you are training him.
> 
> When you see people heading toward you, try to distract him, with treats, a toy or whatever else will get his attention on you and off other people. i often cross the road or turn back if i see something/someone that i know Max will react to and if i know that i wont get his attention. The more he practices this behaviour the harder it will be to train out of him so anticipate it and avoid it whenever possible. Any time that he does ignore other people praise and treat like mad. Ask children not to touch him.
> ...


Thanks for the advice! I have been considering getting a vest to show people he needs some space but could never find any nearby! I will definitely have a look around though! I try to avoid it as much as possible but this is difficult walking down a high street for instance which is busy and full of people. I guess until I find a vest I'll just have to walk the back ways 

Thanks for your help


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## DogLover101 (Oct 22, 2013)

smokeybear said:


> The first thing to say is that forget trying to excuse/explain his behaviour, it will not save you or your dog if he bites anyone.
> 
> Secondly if he can still do this whilst on a lead (I am making the assumption that he is NOT doing this off the lead)! then your lead is too long, your reactions are too slow, you are putting him and others in a position neither should be.
> 
> ...


It is not that my reactions are too slow he has gotten very strong and I am walking 2 dogs at the same time when I take him out. He does this off the lead when he first sees people aswell but I can tell him to sit and he will stop. On the lead he is very unpredictable, sometimes he will walk past people and ignore them completely and other times he will jump up. It is not always possible to avoid people where I live as it's very busy and he is on a very short lead all the time so the lead isn't too long at all.

I'm just struggling to calm him down on the lead which can be hard with two extremely strong dogs.

Thanks for your advice


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## Sarah1983 (Nov 2, 2011)

You need to work with him on it 1 to 1, not with other dogs in tow I'm afraid.


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## smokeybear (Oct 19, 2011)

DogLover101 said:


> It is not that my reactions are too slow he has gotten very strong and I am walking 2 dogs at the same time when I take him out. He does this off the lead when he first sees people aswell but I can tell him to sit and he will stop. On the lead he is very unpredictable, sometimes he will walk past people and ignore them completely and other times he will jump up. It is not always possible to avoid people where I live as it's very busy and he is on a very short lead all the time so the lead isn't too long at all.
> 
> I'm just struggling to calm him down on the lead which can be hard with two extremely strong dogs.
> 
> Thanks for your advice


I am afraid it is totally unacceptable to allow a dog off lead if you have, as you have demonstrated, insufficient control over your dog.

Therefore you should be working on your recall so that the dog never gets the opportunity to practise this behaviour.

You decided to have two extremely strong dogs, and now you find yourself in a position where you are struggling, therefore you need to make some different choices on behalf of your dog and others.

You are not doing your dog any favours at the moment.


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## Guest (Oct 22, 2013)

DogLover101 said:


> It is not that my reactions are too slow he has gotten very strong and I am walking 2 dogs at the same time when I take him out.


Then you'll have to walk him by himself until you get his behavior under control. I'm not entirely up on the laws in the UK, but from what I understand, your could be seriously endangering your dog by allowing this behavior to continue. In the US you could easily wind up with your dog in a 10 day quarantine for so much as a scratch on a human, even if he's UTD on his rabies. 
I'm saying all this to try to emphasize the seriousness of allowing this to continue.



DogLover101 said:


> He does this off the lead when he first sees people aswell


For the reasons already stated, please do not allow him off lead if you can't prevent him jumping and biting someone. If that were my child he ran up to and did that, I would not be at all amused, and I'm a dog person as are my kids. I can't imagine that happening to an elderly person, someone with balance issues, etc.

I'd advise a class, a trainer, working on impulse control, general manners, proofing cues like sit and getting behind you. It's all very fixable, easily fixable, but it's so much easier and quicker if you have someone who knows what they're doing guiding you.


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## Meezey (Jan 29, 2013)

Your dog doesn't need people to give him space, he needs to be trained, he's a young dog, who unfortunately due to his breeding really needs to be beyond reproach, you could lose him, it's as serious as that all it needs is one parent to say your dog bit their child and he's gone..

I'll be as blunt as always, you chose to have two strong dogs, you can't use excuses or use that against training him.

He shouldn't be off the lead ever until you get this under control it's serious, what really is ill mannered puppy behaviour could endanger his life..

I'd take him out alone, get him to training classes and work on it, and train it out of him for his safety.

It's against the law to let a dog be dangerously out of control:

in a public place
in a private place where the dog isn't allowed to be (eg a neighbour's house or garden without permission)
The law applies to all dogs.

Some types of dogs are banned.

Out of control
Your dog is considered dangerously out of control if it:

injures someone
makes someone worried that it might injure them
A court could also decide that your dog is dangerously out of control if:

it injures someone's animal
the owner of the animal thinks they could be injured if they tried to stop your dog attacking their animal


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## DogLover101 (Oct 22, 2013)

Just to make this clear to everyone I do not let him off the lead in public at all I only ever let him off the lead indoors or at my mums house at the moment 

And I do not 'allow' this to happen I have never let him bite anyone which is what you are all accusing me off I'm simply asking for advice on effective ways to train him to get out of this.

So don't be so quick to judge..


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## Sarah1983 (Nov 2, 2011)

Nobody is accusing you of letting him bite someone, they're pointing out that he doesn't have to bite someone to be seized as a dangerous dog. All he needs to do is make someone worried that he may hurt them.

Spencer was very much the same when we got him, someone walked past or showed interest in him he was as likely to bounce up at them and mouth as any young puppy. But at 9 months old it certainly wasn't excused the way it is in a puppy and he's a Labrador, not a breed people generally see as aggressive. Lots of work on keeping 4 on the floor has made him much better, not letting people do the whole "oh it's okay, I don't mind" thing and removing him if he does go to jump means that 99% of the time he keeps his paws on the ground. No way I could have put in that work while managing another dog as well though.


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## totallypets (Dec 30, 2011)

No one has accused you of allowing your puppy to bite anyone, but if someone thinks they _might_ get bitten this enough for them to report your dog under the Dangerous Dogs Act and it may result in him being seized and PTS.

Don't take him to busy areas for now and especially not when you have your other dog too. Walk him on his own in quieter areas as a training exercise, use treats or toys (whatever works for him) to keep his attention on you. The more he practices the behaviour the harder it will be to stop it so you must act now. Check out the links that were given above - all very useful and going to training classes were the trainer can actually see the problems and advise and support your training would be very beneficial.


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## Burrowzig (Feb 18, 2009)

DogLover101 said:


> Just to make this clear to everyone I do not let him off the lead in public at all I only ever let him off the lead indoors or at my mums house at the moment
> 
> And I do not 'allow' this to happen I have never let him bite anyone which is what you are all accusing me off I'm simply asking for advice on effective ways to train him to get out of this.
> 
> So don't be so quick to judge..


You don't let him off at all when out? Your other thread says "and they also play fight the whole time they are off the lead together whilst out so I have had to start letting them off the lead one at a time!" which suggests otherwise.


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## Meezey (Jan 29, 2013)

DogLover101 said:


> Just to make this clear to everyone I do not let him off the lead in public at all I only ever let him off the lead indoors or at my mums house at the moment
> 
> And I do not 'allow' this to happen I have never let him bite anyone which is what you are all accusing me off I'm simply asking for advice on effective ways to train him to get out of this.
> 
> So don't be so quick to judge..


Your missing the point dogs can be lifted if people only feel/fear they could be bitten of injured, no one is judging cept the law and they make fast and often wrong judgment so it concern for your dog!


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