Training a GoldenDoodle Puppy in the Palisades to Stop Jumping on People

For this Pacific Palisades dog training session we worked with aa 9 year-old Goldendoodle named Lizzie who is anxious at times and her new room mate Darcy, a 5 month-old male Goldendoodle who jumps up on people.

I was originally called in to help stop Darcy’s marking in the house, but that problem had stopped when the family’s housecleaner stopping bringing her dog to the home (her dog coming from the same breeder as Darcy).

While stopping the visits had resulted in a stoppage of the marking, the lack of a playmate / distraction had resulted in Darcy trying to play more with Lizzie to burn off some of his excess energy. He was also digging, chewing, mouthing and jumping up more.

Although he was getting 2 walks a day, being a 5 month old puppy, his abundance of energy and behavior tells me we need to up his exercise. I suggested a doggy back pack and additional walks to help Darcy.

When I heard Lizzie liked to fetch, I recommended they encourage Darcy to join in. Teaching him to fetch would be best, but even if he simply chases after Lizzie as she fetches, this will be a great way to deplete excess energy.

I was going to recommend an automatic ball tossing machine I use, the Go Dog Go machine, but the guardian said the sounds it made caused Lizzie to get more anxious. Later in the session the guardian said she wanted to set up a follow up session and helping Lizzie get over this fear of the machine. Living in the Pacific Palisades with a nice large back yard, having the ball fetching machine accessible at all times will help curb many of Darcy’s unwanted backyard activities.

I also recommended the guardian look for a puppy socialization class for Darcy. This will help burn off excess energy, help him develop needed social skills and also decrease his mouthing and nipping problem.

One of the major problems Darcy’s guardian wanted to work on was his habit of jumping up on people. I showed his guardians how to stop a dog from jumping up on people in the video below.

Of course it would make better footage if Darcy was jumping up in the above dob heavier training video, but the lack of jumping serves as a good reminder. You only want to use this technique when the dog wants to jump up. This is why I recommended the guardians call or text one another on their way home so they can have him waiting on a leash before they open the door.

Another issue the guardian had was Darcy’s behavior on walks. Because we covered so many other things we didn’t get a chance to go over tips to stop a dog from pulling on the leash. To help the guardian have better control I showed her how to add the special twist of the Martingale collar.

Because I was late for my next session, I didn’t get a chance to go over the 5 rules I have for a structured walk so I promised to include a link to a video that covers that dog training tip and here it is.

The guardian should switch off on the structured walk. As a puppy, Darcy needs to be able to explore on walks too. A good rule of thumb is one block structured, one block being able to sniff around then back to structured. This way the dog practices good leash manners and is stimulated by scent on walks.

To help the guardian remember all the things we covered in this at home dog training session in the Palisades, we shot a roadmap to success video. You can check it out below.

Roadmap