It may appear cute when you have a small puppy jumping up on you but pretty soon when that small puppy gets a bit bigger jumping becomes very rude. In this article, we will go over training a dog to stop jumping up on you!
Why Dogs Jump Up On You?
To understand how to stop a dog from jumping on you we will first cover why dogs jump up in the first place!
The main reason dogs jump up on people is because as puppies that’s how they would normally greet their mothers.
Puppies like jumping up and licking their mother’s mouths this s normally seen as greeting ritual. Although that is normal behaviors for dogs it’s important to teach our dogs that jumping up is not the appropriate way to greet us, humans.
Dogs that like jumping up on people can hurt us with there hard, sharp nails, not mention the bigger the dog the more weight.
Jumping up on people is naturally rewarding for dogs not only because dogs naturally do that from puppyhood, but because you may be unknowingly rewarding your dog for jumping up on you.
Ways You May Be Rewarding Your Dog For Jumping
Petting your dog: The first way that you or your guest may be unknowingly rewarding your dog for jumping is petting your dog when he jumps. If you pet your dog for jumping you are essentially letting your dog know he did something right.
Pushing your dog: The second way that you or your guest may be unknowingly rewarding your dog for jumping up is by pushing your dog off!
Yes, you read that correct, if you are pushing your dog off of you every time he/she jumps up on you. your dog may view that as a game, especially if your dog likes roughhousing
Training A Dog To Stop Jumping
Now that we understand the reason why dogs jump up on you and how you may unknowingly be rewarding your dog for jumping up. Here’s how to begin training a dog to stop jumping up on you and your guest.
Be Prepared and Prevention: Preparation and prevention are key when it comes to training a dog to stop jumping up especially if you want to stop an old habit and help your dog learn a new one!
The easiest way to be prepared and prevent your dog from jumping up on people is to use your dog’s leash!
Your dog’s leash is one of the best tools you have access to for blocking and preventing your dog from rehearsing unwanted behaviors.
Now that you have your dog on a leash and are prepared to prevent your dog from rehearsing jumping up on people.
Heres an extra preparation step!
Whenever your guest or roommates are coming over to your house, have them text you that way your able to be prepared to handle the situation accordingly without being caught off guard!
Redirection: Now that you are prepared to prevent your dog from jumping up on guests the next step is to use the leash to turn your dog’s attention away from your guest and use treats to reward your dog for not darting to jump on your guest.
Once you have your dog’s attention you want to begin approaching your guest with a dog on a leash. When you and your pup are close to your guest as your pup to “sit” and reward your dog for sitting.
If for any reason your dog attempts to jump up on your guest you have the leash to stop your dog before he even lays a paw on your guest.
Rules for your guest: You should inform your guest that you are training your dog. That way your guest won’t unknowingly reward your pup for jumping up.
When your guest arrives let your guest know that they may only pet or greet your pup when his paws are on the ground and not overly excited!
Rules for your dog: Your dog only gets to greet your guest when he/she is not trying to jump up.
You also want to wait for your dog to calm down a bit so that when you do allow your dog to “go say hi” your pup isn’t overly excited.
Conclusion:
If your struggling with training a dog to stop jumping up on guest be sure to take preventative measures, remember the more your dog rehearses a behavior the stronger a behavior will be. If you want to create good habits practice showing and rewarding the pup behaviors you do like while preventing behaviors you don’t like.
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