Springer Spaniel jumping up ..help!

snuggles09

We have a 6 month old Springer Spaniel, gorgeous dog, very clever

We've been training him from the get go (house training) etc and he's a very happy dog, full of energy , loves being in the garden, refuses to sleep in the house and snoozes happily in his kennel..a joy to be honest I was expecting it to be a lot tougher to train him but he's in general a brilliant dog and like i said very very clever

He knows his commands like Sit, Wait, Stay, Here (so comes when he's called) etc and these all work fine with myself any my husband but as soon as we add the children to the equation he goes a bit nuts on me

He's not so bad with my eldest who's 10 and he'll listen to her when she says sit and down etc but my youngest are 6 and 4 and he has them mithered..as soon as he sees them he's over widdling all over the place with excitement, jumping on them ( and i know he doesn't mean any harm he's just licking the face off them ) but he gets so over excited at this point i can get no good of him at all...he only wants to play but when we have him the garden or in the park he doesn't do any jumping and even with free reign in the park he'll come when he's called, will not jump on anyone it's just in the house situation

If he manages to get into the living room he's straight onto the couch on top of them and even when I tell him to get down and sit he'll do it but within 10 seconds he's back on the couch again lying on their laps just mad for cuddles but they are little and he's starting to scare them a bit with his carry on

any advice for me? at a bit of a loss at the moment. when i'm at home with him on my own or in the kitchen there isn't a bother on him but as soon as he sees the children it's like he's a different dog once we're in the house..put him outside and he's fine..i need to find a happy medium as I want him to be part of the family and not exiled to the back..I need to learn how to handle him so that we can all sit in the living room in harmony without him going bananas...if it's just myself and my husband in the evening he'll lit down happily but once the children are in he's a nut case..any tips for me?:)

Salt001

Sorry Snuggles,no tips but loads of sympathy.We have a dog that will just not realise that a handshake is enough when saying hello.I cant let her near small kids cos she would totally bowl them over.And like your dog she is terrific in every other aspect.

snuggles09

Salt001 wrote: »

Sorry Snuggles,no tips but loads of sympathy.We have a dog that will just not realise that a handshake is enough when saying hello.I cant let her near small kids cos she would totally bowl them over.And like your dog she is terrific in every other aspect.

thanks for that..i thought i was finished when the children started getting bigger and now here we are with the dog:D

like yours he's lovely in every other aspect and luckily he just seems to have some sort of sensor in his head that he knows not to jump on other people! i've no idea how he knows, we are in the park and he's running around at 100 miles an hour (not really but you know what i mean) and he'll run towards a toddler or child and literally within 3 seconds he stops in his tracks and runs back to us..the only children he jumps on are my 3! i suppose thats better than having it reversed..if i could just get him to calm down with them it'd be great..they aren't "scared" of him but see him as an annoyance at the moment in the house but love it when we bring him to the beach and out the garden

i actually have no idea what to do as every other part of his training went well...maybe it's just his personality shining through..the little rip;)

are you serious

My advice as odd as it may sound is this, you will have to teach the kids to teach him to sit/stay/down and so on, if the dog is playing with them I'm sure they are only loving it, and laugh and try play even though you dont want that to happen..

If I am right then I suggest you try explaining to the kids or say it to them that you need their help in training the dog even more and this is what you need them to do because mammy thinks they will be so good at it...

If you get what I mean I recon in no time at all your problem will be sorted!

snuggles09

thats not a bad idea!

i never thought of it like that..my 6 year old, all she ever does is rub behind his ears and rub his belly, then as soon as he gets up to lick her she's shouting "DOWN" at him at the top of her lungs..i'm convinced she has the dog gone demented:D

i'll have to take the time out with them over the weekend and sort it..they know he's not going anywhere and they have to get on with it and live in harmony with him..they love him to bits but only when he's being cuddly

he's nipping a bit lately too but not meaning to, he's a very gentle bite and he's only playing but they are small and to them they see it as aggressive and then they are bawling..oh the joys of dog ownership:p

ApeXaviour

I'm sure you know the common misconception that the dog thinks it's human, where in fact the dog actually thinks you're part of his pack social structure. And in pack terms he sees himself as smack in-between your 10 year old and the other kids in terms of pecking order, so it's only logical when he sees them in on the couch he'll assume it's his right too. Licking their faces is a way of demonstrating dominance, again another sign he thinks he's higher in rank than the younger kids.

I'm by no means an expert in this field but I know there's a few things you can do to let the dog know his place. Things like going through doorways before him, feeding him only after everyone else has been fed, and not tolerating his jumping up or on the couch when the kids are around, i.e. put him out of the room for a few minutes when he does it. If you do it right you should only have to do it a couple of times. At the same time if he has a place in the living room, a dog bed or even just a blanket, on the floor, he'll still feel part of the pack/family, submissive though his role may be (which is what you want).

It's worth getting the kids involved in the training and it can be fun... getting him to sit before they will give him food etc. will show him the pecking order.

There are plenty of books out there and I'm sure websites with more tips like this. Bottom of this page: http://yourownvet.com/?p=1739 offers some sound advice specific to your situation.

snuggles09

lads and ladies i love ye:D

will put all the above into action..i know about the pack thing but had no idea that licking their face was him thinking he was higher in the pecking order...he knows i'm the boss alright but as my husband said to me "he thinks he's one of the children"..he has his own bed in the living room and will lie in it when it's just me and my husband but as soon as the kids come in he's up on the couch...it's all making sense now what ye've said

thanks so much:)

Cherry Blossom

The difference is that your 10 year old has grasped the concept of how to communicate with the pup and the other two haven't. Licks on the face mean 'I love you' nothing more or less. He sees the younger kids as fellow pups - because that's what they are. They run around and play like pups so they look pretty good candidates for a game. It's the kids that need the training as someone else has said. Somehow you need them to stay calm when they first interact with the pup until the excitement of the potential game passes. Get them to completely ignore the pup when he is jumping, leave the room and come back even and keep doing that until he settles and it will eventually click what he needs to do so he doesn't loose his playmates. Also find appropriate games they can play together, teach the dog first - then the kids. If he likes balls teach him to fetch a ball, bring it back and drop it at your feet. Once he has it down get the kids involved in the game (always under supervision).

There is no pecking order thing tbh.

<Eta> Actually, put the dog on a lead before the kids come into the room so you have more control to start with, they can approach him and give him pets when he's sitting nicely, that should also help reinforce proper 'how to say hello to the kids behaviour'.

Shanao

ApeXaviour wrote: »

I'm sure you know the common misconception that the dog thinks it's human, where in fact the dog actually thinks you're part of his pack social structure. And in pack terms he sees himself as smack in-between your 10 year old and the other kids in terms of pecking order, so it's only logical when he sees them in on the couch he'll assume it's his right too. Licking their faces is a way of demonstrating dominance, again another sign he thinks he's higher in rank than the younger kids.

I'm by no means an expert in this field but I know there's a few things you can do to let the dog know his place. Things like going through doorways before him, feeding him only after everyone else has been fed, and not tolerating his jumping up or on the couch when the kids are around, i.e. put him out of the room for a few minutes when he does it. If you do it right you should only have to do it a couple of times. At the same time if he has a place in the living room, a dog bed or even just a blanket, on the floor, he'll still feel part of the pack/family, submissive though his role may be (which is what you want).

It's worth getting the kids involved in the training and it can be fun... getting him to sit before they will give him food etc. will show him the pecking order.

There are plenty of books out there and I'm sure websites with more tips like this. Bottom of this page: http://yourownvet.com/?p=1739 offers some sound advice specific to your situation.

Actually face licking is a sign of respect or submission not dominance. Not really sure where you got that from? Also, the whole stopping the dog going through the door before you thing is a farce as well. The dog is being a dog, its what they do as they do not understand otherwise. Reinforce sit/down/stay with plenty of treats and he'll get it in no time. He'll quickly learn that he gets a better 'treat' by sitting down than by jumping up

DBB

adrenalinjunkie wrote: »

There is no pecking order thing tbh.

Amen to this!
OP, think about it... Do you really believe that your happy, wiggly, wriggly, dribbly, eejity, floppy, sloppy pup is trying to establish dominance over your children?
He isn't, is he? It makes no sense, because it's just nonsense. An outdated and disproven view that needs to be lost in the mists of time asap.
Seriously, if that's what dogs were all about, how could we keep them in our homes, cuddled up beside us, playing with our kids?
He's licking your kids to bond with them and to try to put them, and himself, at ease. Nothing more sinister than that. That it has the opposite effect on the kids isn't his fault, he's just talkin' dog to them!
Your pup sounds like a superstar. Try putting him on a lead and holding him on it til he's calm. Then bring the kids in one by one to calmly pet him. If he makes a dive for them, ask them to turn around and walk away til he's calm again. It's a variation on what others have advised, but the lead makes it all so much easier to control.

tk123

With my guy what worked was to stop playing with him - and btw he only did this with the messers in our family - ie the boys lol When he was jumping up for licks, stand up fold arms and turn your back to the dog - ie game over and ignore him. If he was still too bold he was put out of the room for a minute and then brought back in. Now he still jumps up at one person - he knows all about dominance theory and doesn't cooperate with our training methods :rolleyes:

** Be very careful with visitors trying to correct your pup as it could have a lifelong affect - eg my guy can be very wary of men as the person mentioned above alpha rolled him when he was a puppy one time when I left the room - he's crated/put on his lead when this person visits now.:mad:

BrensBenz

OP, Given the pleasure of owning a springer (this jumps out of your post!) the unwelcome behaviour is minor and should be easy to correct. However, not taking action might create fear in your younger children which, I think, would be a great pity. You are right to focus on it.
Big plusses in this situation: the springer is a very good learner, anxious to please and, as you know, a delightful addition to the household, even if a little hyper. (The first four years are the worst!).
I think that fitting a lead before the occasion of sin is a good idea – allow natural exuberance (he is genuinely excited to see his mates) but use the lead to stop unacceptable behaviour. Springers are so smart, he’ll soon learn where the boundary is.
Not sure about face licking = dominance. If so, my son’s nuclear-powered cocker is head of my household!

snuggles09

well i made a start today and it seems to be working! i'm delighted

my 6 year old came out to the kitchen and Q him jumping around like a looney tune and up on her..so I gave her a doggy biscuit and she stood next to me and told him to "SIT"..doing what I do with the treats and raising her arm..i said it once and he sat, then he jumped on her and I told her to say it calmly, short and sweet and firm and not be shrieking it..and what do you know..he SAT! she gave him his biscuit then and loads of scratching the ears off him followed by the belly and when she got up to walk away he went to jump and i told her to turn her back on him which she did and he didn't try it again

now that was only one instance but if i keep this up it may all well work for me:)

i'm in the living room now and he came in all guns blazing straight up onto the sofa ontp my youngest so I've said nothing and put him out in the hall..he's barking a bit but when he stops I'll let him back in and if he jumps again he'll be straight out again..i think i'll take the approach that he'll only be allowed in if he sits in his bed or on the floor and any jumping on the sofa regardless of who's in here will not be tolerated..should I be saying anything to him? I didn't open my mouth i just said "ah" which i always say when i want him away from something and put him out..

he's actually stopped barking now..hhmmm, we'll see how this pans out:)

tk123

snuggles09 wrote: »

he came in all guns blazing

:pac: lol I can I imagine him!! When you're putting him out use a bold word/phrase (we say too bad as that's what they say at the training centre) and after a while he'll associate the words with being put out/know that means he's being bold and he should stop.

iguana

adrenalinjunkie wrote: »

TLicks on the face mean 'I love you' nothing more or less.

They can also mean 'there is something tasty on your face.'

It reminds me of the scene in Pushing Daisies when a crying Olive was comforted by Digby, the dog, licking her face. "While Olive considered how much she loved Digby for paying attention to her when the pie maker would not. Digby considered how much he liked salt."