Ok...the jumping thing...

Does she respond to treats? You said she knows how to sit...so, what I would try is to have a treat ready for her...

Let her know you have it, completely ignore the jumping behavior (don't respond to it in any way). Stand firm, so she doesn't knock you off balance. Ask her to sit...no more than twice. Let her figure it out (don't force her or touch her), once she sits (it might take awhile), give her the treat.

By not responding to the bad behavior, you are not reinforcing the behavior, does that make sense. She probably sees all of the things you have tried as "play" or wrestle time. Just pay attention and praise to the desired behavior only.

Don't give her treats for anything else until she has this down....let this be her reward time. Don't get overly excited when she does come to you and immediately sits for the first time, either...that will just get her jumping. Just pet her and give her the treat.

As far as the dominance thing, Kate is going to trump the males...it is her destiny. Are they about the same age?

For starters, all dogs must follow the same rules. End of story. No dog gets "furniture access" unless all the others do, too. All dogs have to be "equal" with respect to YOUR HOME. And they ALL have to follow the same rules. End of story.

Jumping. Man, Meghane, I HEAR you! It's tough with rescue dogs and adult adoptees. They come with "history" and too often we aren't privy to it.

Whenever ANYONE comes to our home Rex is leashed. He must sit obediently while I leash him. He must remain sitting while I open the door. ("Wait" is a favorite command). He must remain sitting until I say, "let's go say Hi". If he rushes out and is a jerk he gets a corrective JERK and is required to sit and "wait". The leash allows me to CONTROL him and save him from himself. He's pretty good now, but only after we've greeted "POLITELY" will I unsnap the leash.

Now, he never jumps on me or the helpmeet. I was BRUTAL in in squelching that one, lol. I had to be, my elderly mother lives with me and she outweighs Rex by, maybe, 15 lbs.. NO JUMPING. Here's what I'd do: get all the other dogs greeted and happy before going to Kate. Get them in a different room. Out of sight.

Approach Kate's crate matter of factly... "Hi Katey-girl, how's my good girl?", snap on the leash before she can burst into full-fledged freedom. Use the leash (and training collar!), your knee and the very same firm commands you've used in basic Obdience training to elicit compliance. I know how trite this all sounds, but it WORKS. It's gonna SUCK the first few times, but she'll get it. Rotties are really smart and like any working dog they want to please you. TELL HER WHAT YOU WANT in a "one on one" conference. Remind her and praise, praise, praise!

You have to work ALONE with Kate.; she needs to have you UNDIVIDED attention for at least 30 minutes every day. You have use a training collar, the accepted commands for Obedience training, and you have to train, train, train her (and your other dogs, too) ALL the time.

Your difficulty is not about the dog, at all. It's about YOU and how you've gone about training. The dog that most needs to learn the "basics" simply doesn't understand what you want her to do. You aren't speaking HER language. That's all. And I know you're a quick study!

The only advice I can offer is what our puppies are getting in puppy school. We were told to use a command such as OFF (which means all 4 paws have to be on the floor) and while saying it, step into the dog's space and push it away with your hands on its chest. If it is not a person it is jumping but say a chair or door, then use a squirt bootle, say OFF and squirt the dog in the nose. Both are working with our puppies, which are mini labradoodles that can balance on their back legs forever! Guess that is the poodle in them. At first they would jump up on us, then when we pushed them off, they would just dance around and come back for a second try. Now they get down on all fours and USUALLY stay down.

A third suggestion that was offered by someone we knew who took their dog to a different trainer, said to grab the dogs paws above the joint so as not to hurt them and hold on for a few seconds. Most don't like being held there and will try to get down.

No need to be brutal with any dog. Training or not..I have some questions. You wrote that you have them crated and if I understand correctly you are coming to them while they are in the crate and then feeding them or then leashing them up, is this correct. If this is what you are doing, you are doing to have to rethink this part of your routine. Dogs shoud come to you to get fed and to get leashed up, when you go to them you are deferring to them, not a very ALPHA female thing to do. Dogs need to be in a calm state before they are allowed to do anything. Try this. Next time she jumps up, say off or whatever command is good for you and touch her back feet with something, a cane, a stick, your foot, anything - not too hard, most dogs hate to have their feet touched and she should autmoatically back up. This is when you quietly praise her since food and probably high squeeky voices will get her going again.
Training time, for at least 10 minutes after your walkies should be focused on problem areas, your dog will be more tired and easier to train. ONE THING, dont let yourself get frustrated while training, if you get overwhelmed, STOP take a minute to get back in the ALPHA zone before going on. Dogs will respond to your frustration by getting excited.
Are your dogs fighting or are they trying to figure out between them who is the ALPHA position. The poster who stated the dogs should all be off the sofa is absolutely right, Kate will continue to challenge Max since she thinks he is the alpha and not the people in the house. Get them all comforters from the goodwill and make each one have their own PLACE, and you can teach them to go to their "Place" if you need a time out.

So know you know, Kate sees Max as the Alpha especially when he is in the sofa position, being higher than the others, this is why boy dogs raise their leg when peeing, to try and appear bigger, after all it is the dog at the top of the dog pile which is the winner...So regai your leadership role, more training, and I suspept Max is getting special treatment, you can not change this role, always feed one dog first, the same dog first each time. Eat in front of your dogs first, even if it is a carrot. Make them sit and stay or lay down OUTSIDE the crates while you fix their dinner up. They need more control outside the crate, and not just Kate, but Max too. Verbal commands should do the trick. Post again I would like to know what works or if you need more assistance. PS Rotties ARE BULLY BREEDS and are more likely to try and take advantage of an ALPHA that is not paying attention.

Our poodles laughed at the paw-grab and backwards walk idea. They can do that all day. We stored a spray bottle of water in the garage by the door to the house and spritzed jumping poodles in the face. That works pretty well, but DH undoes the training from time to time. The poos are prone to a lot of vertical maneuvers anyway, although when they land paws on you it isn't much of a problem. I don't think I'd like to have a friendly rottie bounce paws off my chest.

OK I tried a couple of things suggested.

Tried standing and ignoring Kate Moss while she jumed on me, lost my pateince at 15 minutes. So that plan is out.

Kate loves to dance too. One of the first things I did with her is get her used to having a good physical exam, nail trimming, etc. So she couldn't care less about me holding her feet. Any attention is good for her.

Tried hooking the leash up before putting Kate's collar on. THAT worked! What I do is when I come home, I take the free-range dogs out first. Then I go upstairs in my office where Tatya and Kate Moss are crated. I take Tatya out first, and she runs downstairs and waits by the door to go out. I make Kate Moss sit at the front of her cage so I can put her training collar on (no collars in cages of course). Then I give the OK to release the sit, and what used to happen is that I'd get jumped on, a lot. Well, with the leash hooked up, she got in about 1/2 of a jump and I corrected her, told her to sit, and her butt plopped down on the floor FAST. She was still pretty excited, so she tried a couple more jumps but was not successful. Before when I didn't have the leash on, she would ignore my voice commands to sit. Now she has a bit more incentive to sit with the correction collar on.

So I think for now my plan is to make sure she is leashed for anything that she has gotten excited about in the past so I can correct her. It isn't going to work all the time, as I can't leash her and take the other dogs out at the same time. But when DH is home, he's going to be the enforcer while I take care of the other dogs. We leashed her up before dinner last night so she wouldn't have the 5+ minutes of jumping before settling into her sit so I could get the food prepared.

Oh, I do NOT feed them in the crate. The dogs have to sit in front of their bowls while I gather the dishes, prepare the food, and until I place their dinner in front of them and release them from the sit. That's the rule.

I do train Kate Moss about 15-20 minutes a day, outside on a leash without the other dogs. My neighbors think Kate is perfect. And without some sort of inciting factor (food, greeting me, potty breaks) she is a very good dog. She's good natured, friendly, obedient, and calm. She's impossible to work with in the presence of food or treats. Kate Moss was about 20 pounds underweight when I got her, and food is the light of her life (unlike her human namesake). I simply cannot work with her using treats. She is a typical Rottie who loves to please, so she isn't hard to train. It's just when she's excited about something it's like she becomes a deaf jumping insane spazz-head; a totally different dog.

There doesn't seem to be anything practical for the Max issue. I'm not going to take a 7 year old dog that has been allowed on sofas all his life and change the rules on him. I'm also not going to make Kate Moss a less-desirable pet by allowing her on the furniture. If her new home wants her on the sofa, that's fine; I'm sure she'll love it. But if they don't I certainly don't want that to be a reason that someone wouldn't adopt her.

I think most of the problem is that Max is not a dog-socialized dog. He grew up as an only dog and got lots of interaction with his family, but not so much playing with other dogs. In fact he doesn't know how to play with other dogs at all. So when Kate Moss stares at him, Max reacts by looking away and barking, but not relinquishing his place on the sofa. I think Kate is confused because he acts submissive (looking away), but won't relinquish his treasured spot to her. Kate totally understands her place with my other dogs, and is fine with that. I think she keeps challenging Max because she can't get a straight answer from him. Unfortunately I think he is incapable of providing a straight answer.

So that's what the plan is for now- leashing her for excitement so I can correct her. So far so good, but we'll see.

Oh, here's a recent picture of the pretty girl
{{gwi:2006898}}

And thank you all for the suggestions! Kate thanks you too, so just doesn't know it yet.

Love the name Kate Moss! :)

Jumping up was Lemon's biggest problem, too. Granted, it's less annoying because she's 15 pounds, but still, who wants muddy paws on their legs? To pass the CGC test, she had to sit quietly while someone knelt down, petted her all over, and talked in a high, happy voice. I died laughing when I heard that... I *never* thought she'd pass. But she did.

The collar and leash is key. Put that on her, then ask her to sit, and put your foot on the leash pretty close to her body. (Put a knot in the leash if that'll help your foot hold on.) Have someone walk up to her and greet her calmly. She'll struggle to jump up, and your foot will keep her from doing so. Say "sit!" The moment she stops struggling, lay on the praise (remaining calm) and give her a *great* treat. Forget store-bought crap. Try dehydrated or poached chicken breast, or a tiny piece of cheese. For the really challenging behaviors, you've gotta make it worth their while.

Do this over and over. The very first time she doesn't try to jump up -- even if it's a split second where her butt remains on the ground and she looks at you -- she gets a jackpot of yummy treats and praise. Work in very small steps and watch for little improvements. Every time she raises the bar for herself, reward her accordingly.

With enough practice, this technique worked for every single dog in our class, and they all passed that portion.

She's so pretty! Rotties are my favorite large dog breed. I don't have any of my own, but plenty of them come thru where I volunteer.

Sounds like you're well on your way to controlling her jumping - good for you. I had one shelter dog I was working with - an Aussie mix who was so smart, but a big time jumper.

My dog trainer told me to replace his undesired behavior with a desired one. So when he jumped on me, I told him to sit and when he sat I rewarded him. So then of course, dummy me, he realized instead he should jump on me and quickly sit so he would get a treat! lol

I then learned to watch while we were walking for him to turn towards me, then I would quickly tell him to sit, and thus avoided the jumping part all together. It worked great on him and he ended up going to a home with two boys and a fenced in acre of yard - he was going to need it!

I confess, my toy poodle jumps on me, and I love it. Of course she's only 10 lbs and she only does it to me, she's scared of everyone else. One time I tried to ignore her jumping by turning away from her - and she promptly jumped up and nipped me in the butt!

How long will you keep Kate Moss before she finds a forever home?
Sher

Lol, Mazer. "BRUTAL" for us means, zero tolerance. Infractions quickly squelched... corrected and then it's over and on to calm interaction and commands easily understood and obeyed. A 100 lb. dog that jumps is NOT OK, esp. when he shares a home with a frail, 80 yr. old who only minimally outweighs him. Perhaps mine was a poor choice of words... ;). But I DID get right in his face and right on his case the first two times he tried to jump on me (at the shelter). He never tried to jump on me again, and my authoritative posture lead the staff to decide our's would be a good home for him. The helpmeet was equally "brutal". We use "OFF" as the command to keep "4 on the floor" or get off the couch/bed if he sneaks up there. "Down" is the command to lie down.

Kate is beautiful. And doesn't it make you want to cry that such a lovely creature, so loving and willing to please you has been denied the opportunity to do so? You'll get there, but it's harder with rescues and "adults" who've learned that they may "have their own way" by the usual dog procedure.

The key to dealing with (bully) Rex was the leash and training collar. And practice, practice, practice. Leashed, I can correct and control him. No matter what. And "Mr. Leash" is our best friend. I am able to use treats with Rex, but he doesn't have "issues" with food... i.e. lack thereof and subsequent obsession. I can get great "results" with a tennis ball, too, lol. I think it's great that you understand the connection with food and the frenzy its presence incites. Very perceptive.

I also think you're wise to discourage getting on furniture. I don't like it, personally. We have one sofa in the house (the most valuable one, lol) that is the "prime viewing" platform. I've acquiesed and it's become Rex's "bed". He's able to see out the window to the driveway and covered, he doest no damage to it. When we had multiple dogs NONE were allowed on the furniture... too complicated with personality issues and wet coats. You're doing her a favor!