How To Stop Your Dog Jumping Up
Does your dog jump up uncontrollably when she sees you or members of your family? What about when you have visitors? Did you know that this is natural behavior and it is their way of saying hello to you? The reason that they do this is because we are taller than they are, and they need to jump up to greet us face to face.
Train Your Dog That Attention Comes When She Stops Jumping Up
You need to train your dog that you will only greet her when she keeps her paws on the ground. You can’t discuss this with her so you will need to follow the steps in this article to help her to understand this.
Your dog wants your attention and wants you to respond when she jumps up. You must show her that she will receive your attention if she earns it through good behavior. So keep this in mind when you are greeting your dog. If your dog jumps up at you then pay her no attention until her feet are back on the ground. As soon as this happens pay instant attention to her and pat her lovingly.
A lot of dogs will jump up when their owners come through a door. If your dog does this then you will need to ignore her until she gets down. Don’t shout at her or attempt to push her away. Just stand straight and look above her. Try not to move your arms and hands.
If your dog continues to jump up on you then turn away from her and walk. She will have to return to the ground in order to follow you. As soon as she does this greet her with love. Tell her that she is a “good girl” and pat her on the head. If she jumps up again then just repeat the process.
You want your dog to make the connection that when her feet are on the floor, she will receive your attention. Make sure that you give your dog your attention when this does happen, even if you are upset by her jumping up on you.
Now Teach Your Dog The Right Way To Greet People
It is now time to teach your dog how to greet people properly. You might want to train her to sit when she greets people rather than jumping all over them. If your dog already recognizes the “sit” command then try this out.
Train Your Dog To Sit To Receive Attention
When she starts to jump up, stand still as before and look above her. Say “off” to her and turn your back on her. Then tell her to “sit” and when she does this, turn to face her and kneel down to give her love. If she tries to jump up at you again then repeat the steps.
Door Training
It is likely that your dog will jump up at you when you come through a door. If this is the case, go back outside the door and just leave it a little open so that she can hear you. Through this opening tell your dog to “sit” and when she does sit, you can walk back in calmly and then kneel down and pay attention to her. If she starts jumping up again then go outside and repeat the procedure.
If your dog jumps up at you in other situations that do not include you entering a door, then remember to stand upright and still, and try to keep your hands and arms from moving. Tell her “off” and then take a couple of steps towards her.
She will have to move back to get out of your way, so when she does this and all of her paws are on the ground tell her to “sit” again. As soon as she sits, kneel down and giver her lots of love. Repeat the process if she starts to jump up again.
Use A Favorite Toy
If using the “sit” technique does not work too well (it should do with practice and patience), then you can try giving your dog one of her favorite toys to control the excitement that she has when she greets you. When you do this, your dog is likely to shake the toy or hold on to it rather than waiting for you to give her attention. The toy method should only be used as a temporary measure.
To put this into practice keep the toy by the front door. When you come home you can immediately direct your dog’s attention to the toy by throwing it for her. If a visitor arrives then put the toy throwing into action again.
Test Your Dog’s Greeting Skills With Others
When you are confident that your dog has learned how to greet you properly, then it is time to test her out with other people. You can start with other family members and then ask friends and neighbors to visit you to see how she greets them.
You will need to tell these people the procedure that they need to follow if she jumps up at them. Tell them to turn their back on your dog, and walk outside and close the door on her. Ask them to knock the door or ring the doorbell, and then go with your dog to answer the door.
When you get to the door tell your dog to “sit” and do not open the door until she does this. As soon as she sits you can open the door to your visitor. If she remains seated then your visitor should pay her full attention and give her a lot of love. If she starts to jump up, then your visitor will need to go outside again and the process will need to be repeated.
With the right level of patience and understanding you can teach your dog to stop jumping up on you and other people. Enlisting the help of other family members and friends is a good idea, but they will need to have patience for this as well.
Never use punitive measures for this kind of training. You can use treats to reinforce the good greeting behavior, and then gradually reduce this when your dog has learned what to do and consistently does it.
Reward Your Dog’s Good Behavior With A Portable Playpen
Have you ever considered getting a portable playpen for your dog? They are great fun for them and you can take them everywhere that you go. Please read our review of the 5 best portable dog playpens.
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