[Jonty's mum]

Hi There,

I have a 18mth old de-sexed male labradoodle. He has been to puppy school, beginner and intermediate obediance training and passed with flying colours. Now when I let him inside he has crazy behaviour jumping from lounge to lounge and doing laps around the room. He also jumps up and tries to nip. It is interesting as he only jumps up on me and not my partner. I think he is trying to establish that he is the dominant leader when I am. Does anyone have any idea how I can curb this behaviour and train him to know that I am the "alpha dog"?

Thanks

[Missy]

Are you sure that he is not just trying to be near your face? I have a kelpie that will do almost anything to give me a kiss. Either the dog knows that your partner will NOT allow this behavior or doesn't care for affection from him/her. If you want to be the alpha (and you should), don't be a push over. If the dog gets overly excited when greeting you, make the dog sit before you give it attention. You should have the dog on a leash so that you can practice this. When the dog jumps, tell him off (only once) and tug on the leash. Have the leash under your foot so that you can pull the dog down (gently, not too rough). Give the dog plenty of praise with your voice and nice pats when he sits. If you come across an incedent that you do not have the leash on and it decides to jump up, tell the dog "off" (only once and clearly) immediatley turn and walk away. You should be training your dog to sit (practicing with leash) so that he will understand that he needs to sit in order to be greeted.