How to Stop Dog Jumping

Posted by Matt Closson in Puppy Training on February 2, 2010 | no responses

If you have been a dog owner for any length of time you know that a dog jumping on you or others can be be frustrating and embarrassing. I know the situation all to well, you come home from a long day at work, you walk into the front door and boom, your greeted with a big wet kiss sharp paws running down your arms or torso, ouch! Or even worse your smaller child get caught in the excitement and gets knocked over and scratched as well.

Sorry to say this, but you probably taught him to greet you in this manner.

Many unknowing dog owners encourage this behavior early in a puppies life. It’s hard to resist a cute little puppy who is happy to see you. He comes running to meet you, leaps at your knees and what do we you? We reach down and pet or even pitch up the happy puppy and in effect, reword his behavior of jumping on us.

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By doing this, your puppy just learned an important lesson: when I jump up on my owner I get the reward of love! Your dog doesn’t know the difference between the small pup that he once was and the large dog that he is now. All he knows is what you taught him early in his life, when dad or mom gets home I’ll run over and jump on him to show him how much missed him and they will love me back.

It’s Bad form to have a jumping dog.

You have to make it perfectly clear that jumping is unacceptable. Although owners of small breed dogs or “toy” dog breeds may expect their dog to jump, (this is totally up to you) but jumping on an unsuspecting guest could get things off on the wrong foot. That is why, if you do allow your dog to jump, you should at least work the command “off” into it’s training.

For larger breed dog owners, training your dog commands such as “No Jump” and “off” should be mandatory. If not for the social aspect, at least for the safety of little ones in the house or that come to visit. Remember, a large dogs paws can easily be heavy enough to gouge your skin though your cloths, and it’s one thing to put up with bruises, cuts and scrapes from your own dog, could you imagine if your dog did this to someone else, maybe a child. Yes, it is best that you either never teach your dog to jump or get this habit under control quickly.

Reasons why dogs jump.

Most often dog jumping happens out of pure excitement. Usually greeting an owner after a long absents or when adrenaline is running high. Some dog don’t jump at all accept when greeting their owner after a long day away.

The number two reason dogs jump is a bit more complicated and serous. It has to do with dominance. Dogs social order comes from a pack mentality and the only way to move up the ranks in a pack is to show physical superiority over the lesser animal. Dogs often demonstrate their superiority over other dogs by mounting or jumping on the lesser dogs back or shoulders.

Well, how do you know if you have an over excited dog that likes to jump on you or a dog that is trying display is dominance? This is fairly easy to determine, if your dog only jumps on you upon returning home from a long absents, you needn’t worry, this is just a bad habit that can be corrected. If you find that your dog jumps on you or others in many different situations, then you have a communication problem with the hierarchy in your house and it might be a good idea to brush up on your alpha dog skills.

How to stop the over excited greeting.

How you approach your dogs jumping problem will determine whether or not you will succeed in ending your dogs jumping problem. You must stay consistent with your dog training routine, as with all dog training. To stop dog jumping, you must make it very clear that jumping is no longer allowed.

How you react to your dog jumping on you and others will determine whether or not he repeats this behavior. You will have to make a commitment to continuing effort and consistency in dealing with this problem. To stop dog jumping you have to make it clear to your dog that it is never acceptable to jump you or anyone.

Dog trainers world wide agree that the most effective way to curb unwanted behavior (jumping) in your dog is also the the easiest, and that is to simply ignore the bad or unwanted behavior and reward the wanted or good behavior. There is no need to yell or over correct. Negative attention is still attention and that is what your dog seeks when jumps on you.

Stop dog jumping forever.

Here’s what you do

When your dog goes to jump on you, turn your back on him right away. Dogs understand body language much more than the spoken word. So, what you need to do here is use your posture to get your message though loud and clear.

Reinforce his good behavior (all four paws on the ground) with lavish praise. If, at this time he gets overly excited and goes to jump on you again, turn away and give him the cold shoulder. Even if there is only a split second between cold shoulder and praise, keep this up until he is calm. Dogs have a short training memory and can only associate the reaction you give with the behavior he presents to you at that moment. So, don’t worry that you may confuse him.

Continue this cycle and you will notice that he will clam down rather quickly.

Suggested reading: For more helpful articles on unwanted dog behavior such as stop dog barking as well as dog training tips like leash train your dog in minutes check out Matt’s web site at www.ezdogtrainingathome.com