Dog Training

The Jumping Dog

Your precious pup greets you at the door by jumping on you. How cute, so you respond with lots of happy talk and petting. They think, "Wow, this is great, I jump and put my paws on my person and they love me!"

Time passes, the dog is larger and the jump is more forceful, so now your dog is receiving an unfriendly facial expression and a harsh voice. "I'm confused" thinks your pup, "I'm doing the same thing, but my person's attitude has changed, but hey, they're still responding to me so I won't change anything." Your dog doesn't care if you're harsh; they'll just become more excited, jump even more and may even start barking!

You will probably get a variety of advice for this, from kneeing their chest, to yelling at them. If the well meaning advice fails take some time and learn your dogs' language.

Observe dogs interacting. You will notice when one dog jumps on a dog that doesn't want to be jumped on, that dog will simply turn away or may even walk off. The jumping dog loses interest and will find something else to do, so respond like a dog.

When your dog jumps on you, make no eye contact, no verbal contact and turn away from him or her. You are taking away what they want, your attention. When they stop jumping, instruct your dog to sit and stay, then reward your pup. Even though a dog would not reward with a treat, they may give the dog attention when he or she is calmer.

When you have guests, attach a leash to your dog, (don't grab their collar) and instruct your dog to sit next to you and if he or she tries to jump on them, simply ask your guests to step away from the dog and ignore him or her like you did. When your pup is sitting calmly have your guests pet your pup on the chest or under their chin. Many times petting a dog on the head will cause the dog to look up, mouth your hand and the jumping will begin again.

The key is to teach the humans to respond to the dog in their language.

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