HOW TO STOP YOUR DOG JUMPING UP ON people
It's that time again, another training tip has been released into the wild.
This post is about how to stop your dog jumping up at you or other people. Lucky you!
What do you think Bailey is feeling here?
And tip is...
Be more consistent at teaching them not to.
How do I do that Katie?
I am so glad you asked that question. I have many theories as to why dogs jump up and one of them is because we are inconsistent with our training! On a serious note though, also consider how they are doing it...frantic greeting as you've been gone so long, or jumping up and pushing you away with their paws, they may just need to say hello and show you how pleased they are to see you, or even trying to seek reassurance when they're anxious or even frustrated...it can mean so many things. Jellybean would jump for joy, as does Hattie. Ren LOVES leaping at you at speed and sometimes she excited, sometimes she feeling a bit tense.
But the truth of it is, if it bothers you and it will potentially bother others, then you may have to think about trying harder to teach them an alternate behaviour or change their environment (which includes the internal, emotional environment so you may need to address the ‘why’ they are jumping up) to help them learn what to do instead. The one phrase I hear over and over is this "It's not me I worry about him jumping up at, other people say they don't mind and pet him anyway ruining all my training"...or words to similar effect. Yeah, you hear that too? Read on!
Here's a short list of things that may help overall training of not jumping up:
Four on the floor - helps teach them to keep them paws to themselves Chirag Patel has a fab video of this HERE
Quiet time with you - yes, reward the nothing (click here for my article on this), rewarding calm behaviours promotes them!
Quiet time without you - again, the more your dog learns to relax, the more he will relax overall
Teach them to say please - e.g. sit (or stand calmly if they are older or sore), I personally prefer eye contact or a hand boop (touch cue)
Get it and drop it - If your dogs knows these cues, you can use them as a distraction game using a toy, if you think they will jump up accidentally
Basic training exercises - Going back to basics can help your dog to relearn what is expected of them in certain contexts
Crate or boundary training games - These can help develop the bond between you and your dog can learn some invaluable self control whilst playing with you, Absolute Dogs have a puppy video for this HERE
I love teaching boundary games, I started with Susan Garratt's Crate Games DVD many moons ago, and having a release cue can be life saver with an energetic and still learning self-control dog, but if you do nothing else, do this - tell (or shout it if you don't mind being rude) those pesky others not to pet your dog because they've rolled in something unmentionable (stops most folks in their tracks!), call your dog away from the person, praise pooch for obeying the laws of gravity and only allow greeting the dog when their paws are on the ground. That's if they're not covered in cow pat or eau de carrion. Your dog that is not the person!
This video can give you a few few ideas to start off easy:
But I like my dog jumping up at me, Katie!
Me too! But not everyone appreciates how lovely our dogs' breath and saliva is all over their face or how wonderfully muddy their feet are. So, I put jumping up on cue, command or whatever you like to call it and if I don't give the cue, they don't jump up. Your dog may actually find you crouching down to greet them enough to not jump up too and still satisfies their need to interact with you.
Try it!
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Benji learning to jump up on command