Jumping may seem like an isolated issue, but it is really a symptom of the way the dog views his overall relationship with you. Remember that dogs do not think like humans. They are canines, and pack animals have a unique body language that helps them establish hierarchy in their “pack.”
When a dog jumps on you, crawls or lies on you, leans on you, pushes into your space (on a bed or elsewhere) or paws at you, these are all **dominating** behaviors in dog language.
When a dog displays dominance in this fashion, you can bet the farm that in his mind HE is the pack leader in your family, and not you. It’s nothing personal against you–it’s just that he doesn’t view you as the authority in the household because you haven’t communicated your authority position in dog language that he can understand. Have you ever seen “The Dog Whisperer”? He really opened my eyes to all the reasons behind the issues I previously had with my dogs (like jumping)!
I don’t mean to some across like Cesar Millan’s PR rep, but this guy seriously understands the mind of a dog, and his training methods have worked beautifully with all my rescues. I encourage you to check out “The Dog Whisperer” and hope that you get great results like I have with my four-legged kids.
I promise if you address the issue holistically you will get lasting results and happy, respectful, balanced girls! 🙂
Pit Bulls ROCK!!
