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There are multiple reasons why our pups may jump up at us, ranging from joy and excitement to feelings of overwhelm and uncertainty at how to handle social interaction.
Dogs have an innate skill at making their humans feel loved and needed, and so when they jump up at us when we get home from wherever we’ve been, it can be hard not to encourage the kisses and cuddles from our springy pups.
However, making this behavior acceptable can land your dog in hot water; the habit can follow them into adulthood and even end up with people unintentionally getting scratched, bruised or even knocked over. Especially if your pup is a larger breed dog.
Which is why we are going to look at the best training tools and tips to stop your dog jumping up on you, how to manage the behavior and how to keep a dog from jumping up before they even have the chance to try it out.
As pet parents, it is our responsibility to manage our dog’s behavior and bad habits, and to teach them how to behave politely, especially in a social setting.
Jumping at people is an antisocial behavior that can lead to injury and annoyance, and so we’ve put together a list of some of the most effective training tools to use when teaching your dog not to jump.
Management is a vital step in teaching your dog to stop jumping. By maintaining control over situations in which your dog may be encouraged to jump, you help to deter the behavior before it even happens.
This can be done in a number of ways, such as:
Putting your dog into a separate room or blocking off a specific section of the house with puppy gates can be an effective way to reduce the risk of your dog jumping up at guests. This allows the dog their own private space away from extra stimulation, and guests can be introduced calmly and quietly in a controlled environment.
This method would likely be used when outside, where the risks posed are greater than within the home. However for dogs still being trained this can also be used in the house, particularly when introducing your dog to new people.
By keeping your dog on a leash, you have full control over how far they go and whether they can reach another person in order to jump up. It can help keep both pup and person safe when the stimulation of the outside world gets a bit too much.
Similar to keeping your dog in their own separate space, crating your dog either when you leave the house or encouraging them in just before you have guests over, allows your dog their own little safe space.
Social interaction can be extremely overwhelming for a dog, and even if they are excited they can quickly become overstimulated. Keeping them crated until you are ready to greet them creates a degree of separation between the behavior and the greeting, giving them time to settle down and eventually recognize that they only receive attention when they are calm.
Distracting your dog and redirecting their attention onto something else, such as a trip into the garden for a pee or a run around to release any pent up energy, can help remove the temptation of jumping behaviors.
This technique moves the dog’s focus away from the unwanted behavior and puts their energies towards preemptive measures, in the hopes that they don’t get a taste for jumping.
Probably the most important and effective way to stop your dog from jumping is by managing the environment, as well as your own emotional state. Keeping greetings quiet and calm will stop your dog from getting overexcited, and therefore start to teach them not to jump up when they see you.
Dogs jumping up at unsuspecting strangers can cause a whole host of issues, and can be particularly scary for small children.
Depending on dog age and breed they may be more or less prone to jumping up, but in general the following training practices have proved to be effective for most.
Teaching your dog to stop jumping can be implemented as follows:
One of the worst things to do if your dog jumps up is to pander to the behavior and offer them attention. Giving your dog attention when they are presenting an undesired behavior, even if you find it funny or cute, will give them the green flag that this is an okay way to behave, and will be more likely to do it again in the future.
If you ignore them until they have calmed down they will quickly start to realize that they gain nothing by jumping up, and that they get more love and attention by staying down and being obedient.
To stop a dog from jumping, positive reinforcement is the way to go and keeping a regular training routine which is backed up by rewarding desired behavior and ignoring unwanted will be most effective.
It is helpful to keep training treats on hand to reward good behavior on the go - especially when dogs are young, everything will be a learning opportunity, and the more they practice, the more receptive they will become.
The aim is to get your pup to keep ‘four paws on the floor’, encouraging them to stay down during social interactions and times of heightened emotion.
This behavior can be encouraged by keeping your dog and a leash, putting some treats onto the floor, and when the dog goes to eat them, you or another person can go and pet them. The person should then move away before the dog looks back up again - the whole process can then be repeated several times.
One of the most effective tools in your dog training arsenal is the sit command. Implementing this command early will not only help your dog to stop jumping, but also set a firm foundation for other levels of training.
Teaching your dog to sit helps keep them on the ground and in a calm and obedient state, and being able to deliver this behavior when asked will keep your dog out of all sorts of trouble. This method proves particularly effective when aided by an extra person who can act as the greeter.
Dogs will not respond to shouting or physical violence. This is considered abuse and will only frighten and confuse your dog, making them less likely to be receptions to commands and instruction.
Managing your dog’s behavior and environment early on will make training them much easier. If you put things in place to intercept and deter certain behaviors before they even take hold, it may even mean that your dog never exhibits that undesired behavior.
Before socializing your dog, particularly if they are puppies or younger dogs, you may find it helpful to teach your dog specific commands such as ‘sit’, ‘stay’ or a command which instructs them to go to a certain place like a crate or their bed.
This means you then have a foundation to work from to stop your dog from jumping.
When it does come down to crunch time and you begin to introduce your pooch to other people and more social situations, it is important to communicate to the other person, whether they are entering your house or socializing outside, how you are training your dog and what you expect of them. If unwanted behavior is encouraged by others it can undo the hard work both your pup and you have already achieved.
Our fur babies cannot advocate for themselves, and so standing strong in your training choices and prioritizing your dog’s behavioral management, even when it is challenged by others, is the vital responsibility of a pet parent to ensure the best outcome for their dog.
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