Hunter was finally allowed out today, no more back ache from carrying him thank God! I took him on a little walk on his lead over to the field near my house, along the way he was really excited when anyone walked past him. Most people patted him but he was jumping up at them. A few walked past ignoring him but he wanted to jump at those too. I'm hoping to take him on the school run soon and I'm worried about him jumping at children, especially those who are nervous around dogs. I tried giving him treats for sitting as people walked past and it worked maybe half the time? If someone offers him attention, the treat has no chance. Is there another way to encourage him to stay down?
Try very high value treats because you have to be more enticing than the distraction. Two, create distance between you and the distraction. Get the dog to sit when the person approaching is say 2 metres away. Treat as long as the dog stays in the sit. As soon as the dog gets up no more treats. Make sure your lead technique is such that he cannot jump up. Practise left-about-turns where your body blocks the dog from jumping up on the person. Third, politely say to the person, "My dog is in training, please don't touch."
