If you have ever owned a dog, one time or another you have probably dealt with this problem. Your dog is so happy to see you that he jumps up on you getting his muddy paws all over your new suit or dress. Or even worse, during his excitement he jumps on a smaller child and knocks them down or scratches the child’s face, arms or legs.
Well, I am sorry, but this could be all your fault. Let me explain:
You see, when your dog was just a little pup, you would be so excited to see that little guy that he would come to you in his cute puppy way and jump on your ankle (or barely reach your knee cap at this point) and you of course would bend over and pet him or even pick him up.
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.
Is it bad manners to have a dog jump on you?
You have to put your foot down and make it clear that jumping is no longer an accepted behavior. When is jumping O.K.? Many owners of toy breed dogs or smaller dogs expect their dog to jump up. This is totally up to you. But, when any dog jumps on an unsuspecting guest, it can cause a bit of an awkward moment. This is why teaching your dog the “off” command is also a good idea. You can train your dog to jump on your command; we will get into that later.
For larger dog breeds, there really is no debate on this matter. You should either never allow him to jump or at the very least work the “off” or “no jump” command in to their regular training. After all it is one thing to have to deal with scrapes or soiled cloths due to your own dog, it is quite another to have to deal with him jumping on a guest or stranger.
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.
A much more serious problem is when a dog jumps to display his dominance over you or whatever he is jumping on (another dog, a child or guest). Hailing from a pack mentality, dogs live by a hierarchy of social ranking and order. One of the behaviors a dog will use to exert his dominance over a lesser animal is to show his physical superiority by jumping up on or placing his paw or paws over the other dog’s 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.
On the other hand, if he jumps in a variety of situations, you could be dealing with more of a dominance issue and symptoms of a more complicated problem of communication and attitude. The longer this type of behavior is allowed to happen the harder it will be to regain control of the jumping issues. At this point and time I would highly suggest that you study alpha-dog techniques (tip: you can find more great information on dealing with a dominate dog over at Ez Dog Training At Home, you can find the link for this web site at the bottom of this page)
Your actions are key to eliminating this annoying and possibly dangerous habit of your dogs. As with most all dog training consistency in your training will speed up his learning curve and prove to be more reliable. To stop dog jumping you have to make it clear to your dog that jumping is no longer tolerated.
Staying with your training routine day in and day out is the only way you will be able to beak this habit of your dogs jumping. Taking a day off and not fallowing though with your training can undermine weeks worth of work, so stick to your plan.
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.
Here is the best way to stop dog jumping.
When your dog jumps on you or is about to jump on you, turn your back to him and ignore this behavior. As soon as he has all four paws on the ground praise him. If he goes to jump again turn your back, cross your arms and face away.
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.
Again, as soon as he has all four paws back on the ground praise him lavishly. Don’t worry that you may be confusing him, dogs have a very short “training memory” and they can only comprehend the reaction you give to his behavior at that moment.
Continue this cycle and you will notice that he will clam down rather quickly.
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