3 year old lab jumping up at children

Discussion in 'Labrador Training' started by belle18, Nov 21, 2021.

  1. belle18

    belle18 Registered Users

    Joined:
    Mar 31, 2019
    Messages:
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    Location:
    Devon
    Hi all,

    As the title suggests, I have a 3 year old female lab, Belle, who is giving us issues jumping up at and bouncing all over children. Up until a few weeks ago, Belle had little interaction with children except passing strangers in the street or when my siblings and their families would come to stay for a few weeks a couple of times a year. My siblings and their children did not live near us until recently, so these visits and Belle's exposure to children were always few and far between, and during the thick of the pandemic, she didn't see them at all. We've always felt she needed to be around the children for longer to really be trained how to behave around them and didn't have long enough to really instil the methods and get used to them being around. Fast-forward to now, one of my siblings has moved to where I live with her family. The children are 3 and 4 and easily pushed over and frightened by Belle getting excited around them and bouncing all over them. Belle loves them and is so excited when they're around, but it's obviously a problem.
    Belle's issues are generally not listening (love that lab selective hearing!) and overexcitement. When she's around the children she's very excited and cannot keep all 4 paws on the floor or listen to us giving her commands. She will get 'the zoomies', and if really excited she will chase and mouth at the kids, which is a huge concern. I will add she is in no way aggressive, but this nipping will be painful for a young child. She tends to focus on something and doesn't seem to even hear us when she's in the zone.

    She is my first dog and being around children regularly is new for us both, so I'm wondering if anyone can advise where I can start? I was reading about techniques like teaching her to go get a toy or go lie down when people come to the door, but I would be interested to know if anyone has used anything in particular in a similar situation or maybe just has better knowledge and could hazard a guess at what would be best?

    Sorry for such a long post and thank you if you've gotten this far!
     
  2. 5labs

    5labs Registered Users

    Joined:
    Mar 19, 2019
    Messages:
    819
    Location:
    North Yorkshire
    You need to teach her self control with increasing distractions. In the meantime, could you put a baby gate across your kitchen doorway or similar so that she can be shut away from the children but will still be able to se the family? Or in the living area in a crate with a nice chew?
     
  3. fabriono90

    fabriono90 Registered Users

    Joined:
    Jan 31, 2022
    Messages:
    1
    Have you tried turning your back every time your lab jumps on you? When he doesn't jump, give him affection. None of my dogs are jumpers, but I have heard that that helps. As for the leash, you can train him by walking the opposite direction while keeping the leash loose whenever he begins walking ahead of you. If you see him continue to walk his way, call his name so that he is following you instead. You can do this without treats, but since it sounds like he is very treat-motivated, you can begin using small treats and then replace the treats with just praise.
     

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