How to Prevent Your Dog Jumping on People

They're excited, they're happy to see new people, and they've got a huge vertical leap. Dogs are made to jump and when they want to do it, it can seem next to impossible to stop them from getting up in the faces of your friends and family.

Luckily, in terms of unwanted behaviours from our dogs, jumping up on people is one of the easiest to resolve.

 

Here are some much needed dog training tips to help take control of your dog's natural inclination to jump up.

Why She's Jumping

First, know your dog is jumping up for a reason. They don't just want to get closer to your face. They want to assert dominance over new people in their home. She's trying to say that he knows she's the alpha leader of her pack and that she has the control needed to do as she pleases.

Of course, not every dog jumps on people to show them who's in charge. Some dogs just do it to be closer to them and to greet them. Dogs will smell each other's faces to greet one another, so naturally they try to climb the ladder to reach our faces.

Stopping the Jumping

 

Okay, so let's move on to how you can stop the jumping behaviour in dogs. To start with, you need to stop making a big deal out of returning home. If the dog is allowed to get excited and bounce around whenever someone comes in the house, she will continue doing so for strangers, even children or the elderly.

 

You should wait at least 10-15 minutes after you return home before greeting your dog. This will disassociate the return home from the excitement behaviour that she displays. Second, you should get down on your dog's level to greet them.

If your dog is simply trying to reach your face to greet you, get down to her face and let her sniff you on her own terms. By removing the need for jumping, you can teach her that greeting only occurs on this level.

Teaching your dog to respond to specific commands can also be very useful. You'll want to teach dogs to sit and stay first and then learn the "Off" command, which will teach them to get off of you immediately.

 

The Off Command

 

To teach your dog the off command, start by saying "Off!" immediately whenever the dog gets on you. It may take time for them to understand what you're telling them to do, which can be very frustrating. But, if you immediately reward them for getting off of you with praise and a treat, they will learn.

It is important to be very consistent with the new command as well. Communicate to everyone in your home that the dog must follow these new commands and that failing to do so is not acceptable. This way, the dog will learn much more quickly what "off" means.

The last thing you want is your dog jumping on guests and possibly hurting them when they visit your home. This can be especially dangerous for children and old people who can get hurt if they fall. To avoid this, teach your dog early and often that jumping is not acceptable.

They will learn much faster than you expect.

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