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I have a year old labrador who I would like to take running with me. Sadly I don't run very fast, so she'd have no trouble keeping up with me. The only problem is that if I run when I'm around her she jumps and nips me. She used to jump at runners and cyclists when I first got her at four months old, and though I've managed to stop her from jumping at strangers she will still jump at me. I wasn't able to teach her not to before as I've only just started running again following an op. Any ideas?
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Comments
When you run with her and she jumps up, stop, place her back on the ground with no words and then carry on running again, it will be along process but if you reinforce the good behaviour and praise her by running when she is good she will soon get the idea. (IMO) it is key to be able to put her back to the floor perhaps with a hand to her chest and to not speak to her. Its a game and she likes the attention!
It will also work with a dog that pulls ... standing still will make them stop and wonder what the problem is, it usually works
Given her age as well a little and often approach is best as she is still growing, you can both imprve and increase together !!
as an after thought, you might want to finish your run with a 5 minute game with her, a bit of playing ball as a reward !
Does your lab jump up and nip you when you are walking with her to heel on a lead? Does she have decent heel control when you're walking?
YP
Give her something to carry?
She walks to heel fine on the lead, not bad off the lead, but she doesn't jump or nip then. I've tried getting her to carry something, but she gets bored after twenty yards or so. I've tried stopping, but she just stops and sits and watches. Then I start again and she jumps. Anyone in the family, with the exception of my two year old nephew, gets the same treatment if they run in her presence. The rest of the time she is not aggressive, but very energetic.
I think what Meldy says makes sense, and you probably need to do a lot of positive reinforcement / bribery to reward the good behaviour.
My lab is now almost 2 years old, and when I started running with him, I did it as part of a normal walk, always on lead, and typically with some liver cake (or other favourite treat) in my hand down by my side so he was desperately keen to get the treat.
As Meldy says, if she jumps up at all, stop instantly, don't say a word, and (quite forcefully) push her into either a sit or down position by your side. Once she has calmed down, I would start off with a slow walk to heel, then speed up to a quick walk, then slowly break into a jog. If she jogs by your side, give her lots and lots of praise, lots of treats, and hopefully she'll get that's what you want her to do.
Good luck!
Thanks for your help, hopefully I can get it to work.
mikeyF: We've got a 15 month black lab who used to be like that.
I'd to stop a few times and get him to sit and gave him a small doggie biscuit as a reward.He just runs beside me now. Or if I'm running around a grass field he just watches me as he wanders about.
I'm going to try a halter and see if that works. I've tried stopping, but as soon as I start jogging again she jumps.