Dog Training Land

Eliminate Dog Jumping

Posted by: Matthew Closson at February 3rd, 2010

If you have been a dog owner for any length of time you know that a dog jumping on you or others can be be frustrating and embarrassing. I know the situation all to well, you come home from a long day at work, you walk into the front door and boom, your greeted with a big wet kiss sharp paws running down your arms or torso, ouch! Or even worse your smaller child get caught in the excitement and gets knocked over and scratched as well.

Sorry to say this, but you probably taught him to greet you in this manner.

Many unsuspecting dog owners encourage this behavior way before it be comes a problem and the next thing you know you have a dog with an unacceptable behavior problem. You see, you would encourage your cute little fluff ball of fun (when he was a puppy) to come running to you and jump on your leg. At that time he could barely reach your knee cap, if that. And then, like most everyone, you would reach down and pet him of maybe pick him up.

Your puppy has just learned a great lesson, jumping up is a good thing, it’s a great way to get positive affection. Your dog doesn’t understand the difference between a small, cute little puppy and in a matter of a few months he is now a larger adult dog with the mass and power to be able to take down a small adult human. All he knows is “jumping gets me love.”

It’s Bad form to have a jumping dog.

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 breed owners, it is very important to teach your dog when and where it is acceptable to jump or not to jump. I highly recommend all owners of dog over 15 to 20 lbs. to work the “no jump” command into their regular training. Not, only is it bad form to have a dog jump on a guest, but could you imagine what it must feel like if you were a small child being jumped on by a dog that could easily outweigh you. Not to mention, a large dogs paws are often times heavy enough to gouge into cloths and break though bare skin. It’s one thing to have to deal with the muddy scratches and scrapes of your own family, entirely different if your dog has inflicted them on someone else.

Why does dog jumping happen?

The number one reason dogs jump is most likely out of pure excitement after a long separation (returning home from work) or during playtime when adrenaline is running high.

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.

The easiest way to stop unwanted behavior in dogs also happens to be the most effective way. Simply, ignore the bad or unwanted behavior and reward the desired behavior. No need to yell, beat or correct harshly, although your first instinct may be exactly that.

Here is the best way to stop dog jumping.

Here’s what you do

When you turn away from your dog, cross your arms and advert your eyes, totally ignoring his jump. You will see, by giving him the cold shoulder how quickly he will calm down.

Reinforce his good behavior (all four paws on the ground) with lavish praise. If, at this time he gets overly excited and goes to jump on you again, turn away and give him the cold shoulder. Even if there is only a split second between cold shoulder and praise, keep this up until he is calm. Dogs have a short training memory and can only associate the reaction you give with the behavior he presents to you at that moment. So, don’t worry that you may confuse him.

Continue this cycle and you will notice that he will clam down rather quickly.

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Related posts:

1. How to Stop a Dog From Jumping.
2. Dog Training Tips: STOP! Your Dog from Jumping on You (2 Secrets – 2 Solutions)
3. Why The Best Number Of Dog Agility Jumps Are 4 To 8
4. Get DOWN Fido!
5. Tricks Training Using Your Dog’s Normal Activities