Tough to address everything you mentioned in super depth but will touch on them best I can. I will say that Bella has inspired us to push out a solid “Jumping Puppies” article really SOON! Might even move some of these comments there so everyone can benefit and share input! :)

From what you described, it’s pretty clear that she’s jumping up because she’s had a history of reinforcement attached to that behavior. Pens, Mittens and other goodies are making it a lot more fruitful for her to keep jumping up. First off, you need to Bella Proof your counters and table tops so there isn’t anything of much interest. You want to ensure 0% success at being able to reach or grab anything. This might seem difficult but it’s only temporary to help. Retrieving goodies is cute but not ideal in this case.

It’s great to know you guys remain patient when entering the home allowing Bella the chance to sit. You want to encourage this behavior. You can greatly improve her sitting calmly when you come home by offering her a really High Value treat when she does. Family and Friends enthusiastically loving your puppy at first sight is far too common but since you’re trying to work with Bella and help her build good behavior, you need to be stern with your house guests. You have to put your foot down and lay down the rules. Consistency is everything. Again with guests you can offer Bella really high value treats when she sits or abstains from jumping up. You can also have your guests treat her. You might want to have a friend drop in and out a few times for the sake of this exercise. The more repetitions in practice mode the better. It’s never easy to be as prepared or ready when real life situations come about.

You have to devise a plan that truly discourages jumping up and greatly reinforces no jumping. Once you’ve practiced and see improvement you can try timeouts when Bella jumps up on a table or even on guests. When it happens, nicely and quietly say “oh-noooo that’s no good” and gently direct her to her crate or designated timeout spot for a couple of minutes. Timing is key – when the jumping up happens. Your puppy will start connecting the dots pretty quick if you guys are clear and reliable. YES you never want the crate associated with anything negative but for peaceful timeouts – it’s Fine! Your dog will not dislike the crate after timeouts if she’s already crated trained.

Everything you described, including escaping and jumping fences is again all normal but might require amping up her exercise and training. Mental games, clicker training, solid walks will really help calm Bella down. You might also want to consider tying Bella to a long 30 or 50 foot leash so she has ample space without having to worry about her trying to go exploring in your neighbors space.

If you surf, you’ll read about using a corrections via collar or even doing the knee-up block. These methods CAN and WILL work if done right but we DO NOT recommend them. The knee block is very dangerous, especially with deep chest breeds like Weimaraners. .

All of the above is much easier when the pup is much younger but it’s never too late. Might take a little more effort but you can establish some positive changes very quickly.

Oh – You definitely don’t sound like you’re complaining!!! Taking the time to ask questions tells us that you truly want to work with Bella and do good by her. You obviously love your little Weimy Beast and it shows! :D

Hope this helps in someway or sparks a ‘Stop Bella from Jumping’ Mission… ;)

She was definitely born with springs in her legs! She is ALL THE TIME putting her paws on the counter tops and table to see what’s up there. It doesn’t matter what it is (her favs are pens, mittens, wrappers) she’ll pull it off the counter/table and bring it to us like she’s bringing us a present!

She also jumps up on people. We are trying very hard to fix this. When we get home and let her out of her crate, we don’t warmly greet her until she is sitting. She’s getting this figured out with us, but our friends “ooohh and ahhhh” and “she’s fine it’s cute” when she jumps on them. So we try and make sure to put her on a leash or grab her collar before others walk in to control her from jumping on them.

And finally, she likes to jump the fence :) She always comes back (when we bribe her with treats), but she she likes to run into the neighbors’ yards. This wasn’t a problem until we got 30 inches of snow and the drifts made our fences seem quite short! We tried digging a trench around, but between the snow being so hard and our dog being an excellent leaper, she was able to clear the 2-foot trench with no problem.

So – I hope that gives you an idea of some of our struggles. The last thing I want to do is sound like I’m complaining about our dog. I just want to have a well behaved puppy/dog that I can be proud of and not worry about. We absolutely adore her and want to be good puppy parents. This jumping thing is just an area that we’re really struggling with.

Thanks again for your help and suggestions. They are welcome and very appreciated.

Happy Friday! ♥
Sally

It is so great, I got our son who has two cats a clicker training kit for cats. He trained his cats also and loves showing off all the tricks they learned.

For starters, if your Pup is getting rewarded for jumping up whether it be to get a bite or grab something or for what seems like pure pleasure, you need to first remove any apparent distractions or goodies from the counter tops. Make a habit of never providing food or any other perks in close proximity of the counters.

Then you want to reinforce 4 paws on the ground close to the counters with heavy praise and treats. There are a few variables like how frequent the undesirable behavior is, quite often? sometimes?

If it’s often and predictable, you want to setup the situation when your alert with treats handy. Get him close to the counters and treat if the paws stay grounded. If he jumps up just say “oh-no that’s no good” or anything else to let him know there’s no reward for that. Don’t sound angry or punish the puppy.

If your Weim is happily crate trained you can also use the crate for timeouts when jumping occurs. Then reinforce with treats and praise when the dog doesn’t jump up close to the counters.

You can also tether your puppy to your waist so you can be ready when the counters are in proximity to treat or deliver a no reward sound or mark “uh-oh that’s no good”.

These are just some quick ideas, some more info would help diagnose the problem. Does your Weim jump on people as well? Do you allow it? Or is it a Counter or Table thing only?

Many might recommend traditional methods or using the word “NO” harshly and tugging (yanking) your dog off the counters. Then treating for desired behavior. This too can and will work if done properly but it’s not necessary and not HBD recommended! :)

Your Weim will do what works and if not jumping is more reinforcing or rewarding then jumping, you’ll be well on your way.

Hope some of these ideas help, we’ve got an article planned for this real soon! Jumping Puppies is very common…

Our world is teaching for the most part to unconsciously focus on what isn’t right. Instead focus on what you want, or what you want from your dog to do. Mark the right, not the wrong!

Timing. Timing. Timing. As with most things in life people don’t realize being in the moment is a great place to be, like the dogs teach us!

Awesome website. Stunningly beautiful Weimaraner.

We have some great reads coming!

Did you get a chance to read Halle is so Much More than a Pet Dog article? You might like it.
Happy to hear from you.