Stop Dog Jumping Up

Preventing your dog from jumping up on people should start when the dog is a puppy. You may tend to overlook a puppy jumping up on you because she is cute and you a glad your puppy is happy to see you. The temptation to reward your puppy with praise and affection must be resisted when your puppy does ANYTHING that is negative. A bad habit is always a bad habit. What is cute as a puppy may not be tolerable when the dog is a full grown adult.  

A puppy is much easier to manage than a full grown dog that can knock the owner off balance if it jumps up. A dog jumping up on a person can create a safety problem. It can be frightening and it can be dangerous when there are young children or elderly people involved. Your dog can knock these individuals over and cause them harm, even though the dog's intent is not to harm them. Though it is welcoming to have a puppy greet you with excitement, a full grown dog jumping up on someone creates problems.

Why Do Dogs Jump Up?

As mentioned dogs will jump up to get your attention.

A dog will jump up to establish dominance. Whether he jumps up on you, another person or the furniture he is trying to exert himself as the alpha leader. This is something you do not want to allow. You must establish yourself as the alpha dog leader because a dog that feels he is dominant is hard to control and more difficult to train. If your dog is jumping on people and furniture you need to start using some alpha dog training techniques to establish yourself as the alpha dog.

Another reason for your dog jumping up is because they have been rewarded in some way for doing it in the past. You may not even be aware that you did reward them. 

Remember that playing roughly with your dog encourages your dog jumping up on you. Avoid wrestling and other rough play that allows them to jump up on you.

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Stop Dog Jumping Up

Prevention is always the best cure. Since dogs like to greet other dogs by sniffing around their faces it would be a good idea whenever you greet your dog to bend down and greet him at a level more comfortable for him.

Another method to stop dogs jumping up is to put your arms in front of your body not allowing the puppy to successfully jump up. The rebuffed puppy will be surprised by this action.  You must now turn your back to your dog and refuse to give the dog eye contact. The dog wants to get your attention and affection.  When your back is turned and there is no eye contact the dog is not receiving the attention he desires. The rejection you are displaying towards him has a greater impact than other actions you could take. This type of rebuff is the discipline method that his mother used with him prior to his being weaned. 

You can also put your dog on a leash and have a friend or family member approach the dog. When your dog gets up or acts like he is getting ready to jump, quickly walk away. Continue to do this until your dog stops trying to jump as he is approached. When he allows the person to come up to him without jumping immediately praise him and give him a treat. 

You can also teach your dog the "sit" command. Once your dog understands and responds well to that command tell him to sit whenever he looks like he is about ready to jump up. This will stop a dog jumping up by focusing him on sitting. A dog cannot sit and jump at the same time.

You Must Be Consistent

When these things are done on a consistent basis the dog will learn that jumping up does not produce the desired attention. You must reward positive actions with enthusiastic praise and possibly treats while rebuffing your dog's negative actions. Never allow your puppy to successfully jump up on you. A single success can negate several stopped attemps. This is why you must always stop your dog jumping up on people.

Once the dog calms down occupy his attention in another direction. As soon as the puppy does something positive give him the appropriate praise and attention that he needs. Always rebuff negative actions and praise positive good actions. After a negative reprimand find a positive action the dog has done so it can be praised.  Always have your last response an enthusiastic affirmative praise for your dog. 

This method of rebuffing a dog from successfully jumping up on people works with puppies and adult dogs alike.  Physically it is harder to rebuff the adult dog than it is a small puppy but the rebuff action is the same. An adult dog will be surprised by the rebuff and the reactions will be similar. A negative habit performed by an adult dog may take longer to break. Again, it cannot be emphasized enough, you must be consistent. Do not allow your dog to successfully jump up on anyone. A bad habit is always a bad habit. You must always be consistent and fair with your dog.