Most new dog owners want to know how to handle unwanted jumping with your dog. One of the original points of frustration for new pet parents is the fact that their dog jumps on them when they don’t want them to. Huge problem; easy solution.
First understand that the root cause of most unwanted jumping is lack of physical exercise mental activities and/or overall communications. Asking a dog who has a lot of energy and not a proper outlet to not jump on you is bordering on unreasonable. This is a real puppy behavior.
Your dog should know how to sit and stay pretty solidly before teaching them not to jump on you. I promise you’ll have a much better idea as to how to deal with unwanted jumping over the next several minutes. How many of your dogs jump when you don’t want them to?
Let’s talk about why dogs jump to begin with. There are a lot of common myths out there about dog training. Some say that your dog’s trying to be in control, but it’s the exact opposite. A lot of unwanted behaviors like this are often attributed to a dog trying to be dominant. The reality is dogs are very often very physical and playful beings. This has nothing to do with them trying to gain some type of status within your family. They jump because dogs like to greet us. At the face, that’s how dogs say hello and I love you too.
The golden rule with jumping is it’s your responsibility as a parent to make sure that your dog is not getting any attention from anybody unless all four feet are on the ground. When your dog does something you like or don’t like it’s important that you react quickly and tell them so. If you’re not reacting instantly and your dog is doing something you don’t like, they learn that they can get away with it. They’re like, alright I can jump a little bit, at least I’ve been allowed to do that.
It is vital that you have the right frame of mind when teaching your dog. You can never train a dog when you’re in a hurry or when you’re frustrated. Your choices are to be sincere and patient, but if you’re sincere and impatient, your dog will learn at light speed.
There are two main types of jumping. There’s the kind of jumping where they jump on you, and there’s a kind of jumping where they jump on somebody else. Let’s talk about how we deal with in jumping on us. First, the traditional advice on this is when your dog jumps on you, you should cross your arms and turn around. That’s fine and that’s cool, and you should do that, but what’s missing from that traditional advice is that you need to have some feeling behind it. You need to have some communication with them you got to do this in your own individual way. Look into your dog’s eyes often when you’re training them. Her eyes will get all wide and she’ll say I’m about to jump him.
Use treats in the beginning. That is ideal. When I see that he’s thinking about breaking, I’m instantly removing myself with a severe jumper. You come in like this really slow. Just try and touch her on the head without her jumping. I’ll be one step ahead of them. The closer I get, the more tempting it is for him.
The best time to correct an unwanted behavior is right before it occurs. It’s important that when our dog jumps on you that there is a consequence. The consequence in this case is simply removing our body from them so they can’t jump on it. I want him to know getting up made me get way far away from you because you were thinking about jumping, and see if he’s going in without because he really wants to interact with me. He’s a very happy dog. I will communicate with her, “hey Mia, how are you?” Sit. Very good. Yes, that’s good. Pet them very softly in order to encourage them to be calm.
If you have a really excited dog, using treats might actually encourage them to be a bit more calm as well because all she wants is some interaction. Yes, I touched her. I’ll give her a treat and I haven’t been able to touch him yet again the goal here is to be able to touch him. I’m gonna get a massive treat because he did really good. Jackpot is a term we dog trainers used to mean a giant reward when they really reach deep to do something that was really good.
Over time, as your dog learns they will remember that in order to receive attention they need to keep all four feet on the ground. I saw in Sully’s eyes that he was receptive to staying in order to be pet, so I thought I would test his willpower a bit. Look, did you see the restraint?
Some of us like it when our dogs jump on us from time to time. I certainly do. You can have it both ways. If you ask them to jump, it’s fine. They’re perfectly capable of knowing that it’s okay to jump only when you say it’s okay. Your dog is extra excited after you’ve returned home from work after several hours. You may need to have them in another room like a bedroom or let them in the backyard to run around a bit to get some of that energy out. That way they’re more receptive to learning this concept, but what do we do when our dogs jump on friends, family or strangers?
Tell me if this sounds familiar. You’re walking down the street with your dog. You see a friend approaching you. You want to stop and talk to them. Your dog is jumping all over them and you’re saying no, no, no and you’re trying to maintain somewhat of a conversation. You’re like, hey how’s it going, stop jumping, stop jumping. So you’re giving 50% of your attentions here and 50% to the person. So your attention is divided, isn’t it? You have got to pick your dog in this case. Guys it is totally okay to say I’m sorry I’m trying to teach my dog not to jump. It’s not their fault. They’re not doing anything wrong. They’re just trying to pet your dog, but you’re in between that person and your dog every time they jump. You’re right there. Only then does the person pet your dog when all four feet are on the ground. Our overall demeanor and attitude should suggest to our dogs you’re not going to jump.
A lot of old-fashioned ways for dealing with unwanted jumping are still recommended today by many dog trainers. Things like kneeing them in the chest when they jump, or pulling back by a leash and collar in order to show them who is boss. These approaches tend to really trivialize the sophisticated intellect of our dogs. Use that opportunity to really make them think. The more you physically make your dog through something, the less effective your training will be because it’s not coming from the inside out. If you are a little patient with them and you encourage them to perform the behavior voluntarily, you’ll get much better results.
