Stop Dog Jumping

Chronic jumping can be very annoying.  As you probably already know, a jumping dog can not only knock you down and knock things out of your hands, but he can also ruin your clothes with muddy paws.  Since many dogs like to jump on you as soon as you come home it’s a little like being ambushed at the door.

People can be hurt by jumping dogs so it’s a very undesirable habit.  Many times the dog is quite clueless that what he’s doing is wrong, no matter how many times you try to correct him.  It’s usually very enthusiastic, socially bold dogs who become chronic jumpers.  They’re so eager to show their happiness at seeing you that they will jump up on you no matter what you do.  Some people assert that these dogs are also showing dominance by jumping on a person.  Indeed, it does seem to be dogs with more dominant personalities that enjoy jumping up.

The behavior usually begins when a dog is a small puppy and it’s best to try to stop it then if possible.  But whether dealing with a puppy or an adult dog there are two basic approaches to stop a dog jumping. With one approach you ignore the dog and deny him the attention he is seeking by jumping up on you.  With the other approach you teach your dog a more positive behavior to take the place of jumping.  There are lots of variations of these two basic approaches and many of them are very effective at stopping a dog jumping.  We’ll discuss a few of them.

One way to deal with your dog jumping up on you is by turning your back on him.  Say, for example, that you come in your front door and your dog jumps on you.  Your response would be to turn away from your dog without speaking to him, without touching him or acknowledging him at all.  Ignore him completely for a few minutes.  If he jumps on you again, continue to ignore him.  If he sits or calms down go ahead and pet him.  Tell him he’s a good boy (or girl).  One reason dogs jump on people is to get attention so ignoring your dog when he jumps denies him what he’s looking for.  He will learn that he only gets attention when he sits calmly.  Of course you will have to repeat this experience a number of times before your dog understands the lesson.

Jumpers are very enthusiastic and it’s not easy for them to give up their habit.  It helps if everyone in the household is teaching your dog the same lesson.  Have everyone ignore the dog when he jumps on them.  Don’t get angry when the dog jumps on you either.  Anger is just another kind of attention so the dog is getting what he wants.

You can also try throwing your dog off balance when he jumps on you.  Choose a time when your dog is likely to jump up on you — again, when you come in the door (a favorite time for jumpers).  When your dog jumps on you walk toward him.  Your dog will likely lose his balance, making jumping less fun.  Don’t move backwards.  That will pull the dog into you.

The other main approach to teaching a dog not to jump on you is to teach him a better response.  Make sure your dog already knows the Sit command.  When your dog attempts to jump on you tell him to Sit.  If he actually sits (he may not), reward him and praise him lavishly.  He has done a very good thing when faced with huge temptation to ignore the command.  If he does not sit, move away from him and tell him again to sit.  When he finally does sit reward him and praise him.  You may have to repeat this exercise many times to reinforce the idea that your dog should sit when he feels the urge to jump, but eventually your dog will get the right idea.  Try to keep your patience when you teach this exercise.  It may take a while.

There are other, more severe ways to stop a jumping dog but these simple exercises will work with most dogs given enough time and patience.  Stopping a dog from jumping takes a little time and effort but the benefits are well worth the work.