How To Get Your Dog To Stop Jumping Up On People

How to Stop Your Dog from Jumping On People

Like most forms of unwanted dog behavior, jumping up on loved ones and friendly strangers is a behavior that is completely natural for your dog and would not be considered “unwanted’ if your dog was in the wild. Jumping on a pack mate gets their attention effectively, and most other dogs are not worried about getting clothes dirty or getting scratched or knocked over by some impressive paws.

However, for human beings, jumping can be a nuisance, and a little bit painful. Large dogs can accidentally give you crushing blows, while small dogs can dirty up your clothes with their paws or accidentally scratch up your legs.

What makes this worse is that it is difficult to ignore a jumping dog, and they receive accidental rewards whenever they exhibit the behavior. When you come home and your dog jumps up to say hello, every time you look at your dog or bend towards your dog as a response, you are accidentally rewarding the behavior.

Training your dog out of this behavior, then, requires two things:

• Staying firm with your pet.

• Choosing a single “Off” command and sticking with it.

Staying firm with your pet is key – and that does not just mean making your pet stay off you. It also means telling your friends, family, and anyone else your dog comes into contact with to not allow your dog to jump on them.

It also requires the use of the “Off” command – a command that you use for no other tricks, so that “Off” is known specifically as a command to get off anyone it jumps on. In addition, after using the command, start ignoring your dog and walking away so they are not rewarded with your attention or your affection.

It is especially important that you are as firm with your guests about this rule as you are with your dog. Often times strangers will insist they do not mind your pet jumping, but if your dog jumps on them, it is likely it will jump on other guests that may not be so pleased with it.

As long as you stick to your guns and stay consistent, this is a dog behavior that will easily go away, especially as you continue to give acknowledgement to your dog when it is not jumping on you against your will. To learn more techniques for addressing dog behaviors, sign up for our free newsletter today.