How to deal with Jumping

Dog Training Tip

This is a reprint from the October 2023 newsletter.

Jumping

Does your dog jump on you and/or your guests? Does your dog decorate your outfit with muddy paw prints? Are you frustrated not knowing how to get them to stop? Fear not, this months training tip will help!

The most important thing to understand is Why your dog is jumping on you. It is really quite simple, your dog wants your attention! So the trick is to make sure you only give your dog attention when he is doing the behavior you Want him to do, not the behavior you are trying to stop.

Think about what you do when your dog is jumping on you, if you are telling him to stop, pushing him away, talking to him, or interacting with him in any way, then you are actually inadvertently rewarding the jumping with this attention you are giving your dog. Your attention is what he is trying to get by jumping on you. So when you give your dog this attention when he jumps on you, in his mind you are telling him you want him to jump on you.

While it may seem counter-intuitive, what you need to do when your dog is jumping on you is to ignore him. Wait him out. The moment he gets bored with you because you are not responding and puts his 4 paws on the floor is the moment you pour on the praise! Make it a habit to praise your dog when he is doing the behavior you want so that he learns that he gets your attention when he is doing the desired behavior. Once you can get your dog to understand that 4 paws on the floor means he gets a greeting from you, then you can start asking him to "sit" before you give him the reward of a greeting. Eventually, with enough practice, and as long as everyone is consistently following this process, he will learn the appropriate behavior when greeting you and your guests is to sit down.

If you have a very large and strong dog and you can't realistically wait him out when he is jumping because he will hurt you or knock you down, I suggest starting this exercise with a suitable barrier (like an ex-pen or a baby gate or something similar) between you and your dog so that he can't hurt you. Once he learns that 4 paws on the floor means he gets your attention, then you can remove the barrier and progress to having him sit before he gets your attention.

You can have a great practice session with a handful of your friends. Have a bowl of your dogs favorite treats handy. Have each friend come to the front door one by one and when they walk in have them follow the same rules described above. If the dog jumps ignore him, this means don't say "no", no eye contact, no interaction in any way. When he has 4 paws on the floor that is when you and your guest can look at him, give him high praise, and have your friend give him a treat. Then have that friend walk out the back door. Guest #2 will enter and repeat what guest #1 did while guest #1 circles around back to the front door and waits with the remaining guest for another turn at entering. If you do this with 5 friends and each enters 5 times, that is 25 valuable training sessions for your dog. Do this for a few days and your dog will become a pro at calmly greeting your guests without jumping because he will have learned that jumping provides no reward and 4 paws on the floor is what gets him attention and the good stuff!

It is really that simple. Give it a try.

You can do this!

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Note and disclaimer: All information in the blog posts on this site is my opinion based on my own experience rehabilitating an aggressive dog. I am not a professional behaviorist or otherwise involved in the Veterinary profession. If you are dealing with an aggressive dog, I recommend you seek the advice of a Board Certified Veterinary Behaviorist.