How To Train Your Dog to Stop Jumping Behavior
it’s embarrassing when your dog jumps on people who visit your house and it could potentially be a liability if the dog inadvertently hurts your guest. When your dog jumps up you even though you told it not to, it's annoying. We're going to look at why the problem exists and some training techniques to use to overcome this problem behavior. But first, we're going to debunk some of the myths of how to deter jumping behavior and show you what you shouldn't do.
Don't yell at your dog when it jumps up on people. Yelling just gets dogs more excited and makes them jump even more.
Don't push the dog away or grab it because the dog thinks it's a game and it could result in more jumping.
Don't knee your dog in the chest. This bad tip has been around for years. If you do anything that hurts your dog or causes it pain, the dog will now be afraid of you or mad at you and still have not learned not to jump up on you or your guests.
Don't excite your dog when you get home and greet him because it will only stay calm if you stay calm.
Why do dogs jump up on people? It's not because they're being aggressive or trying to hurt us; it's to meet us face-to-face because we're taller. Although you may have heard that dogs sniff each other's butts, which they do, they also sniff each other's faces. That's what they're trying to do when they greet us, get up in our face. The two basic ways of addressing the problem are these:
1. Avoid giving your dog attention and keep your hands away from him unless/until his paws are on the floor;
2. When your dog puts his feet back down on the floor, praise him and give him attention.
Here are some tips that will help remedy or prevent your dog's jumping behavior.
Keep a toy just inside the door and when you come home, immediately give them the toy to distract their attention from jumping up on you. When guests visit your house, do the same thing.
Stand still, looking straight ahead, then pull your hands and arms up to your chest and don't look at your dog when he starts to jump up on you. Wait for the dog to stop jumping, and then when he is calmly back down on the floor, pet your dog as praise for getting down.
When your dog starts to jump up, bring your hands and arms up to your chest, say "Off," firmly but without shouting, and take a couple of steps toward your dog. The dog should jump back down in order to get out of your way. When it does, say "Sit," and pet your dog as praise for following your commands.
If as you come into a room your dog starts to jump up quickly go back outside of the room and close the door behind you. Then open the door just a crack and say "Sit" to your dog. When the dog sits, walk back into the room and pet your dog as praise.
In order to positively reinforce good behavior, be sure to reward your dog once he learns to quit jumping on you and other visitors to your home. Whenever it doesn't jump on you as soon as you walk in the door, give it plenty of attention and maybe even a treat. Even if you get annoyed at your dog for jumping up, once he jumps back down, pet him.
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