Stop Your Dog From Jumping!

A jumping dog is the number one complaint of people with larger breed dogs and of the friends and family of people with little dogs who think that it doesn’t bother anyone that their dog jumps to greet them.

It’s important first to look at what we do to contribute to this response. Our front doors are typically a place of greeting – animated voices, excited energy of seeing who’s there and welcoming them into our homes. If they are dog lovers or suffer from guilt of not being, they may anxiously speak to the dog as they touch him as he’s jumping up on them. You’re telling the dog “off!” and your friends are saying “Oh, it’s okay!” I think it’s obvious to understand the confusion of the dog.

The focus is the door and the entry. Good things happen there! Your dog is not only responding to the excited energy of everyone greeting each other, but to being touched as he jumps. So, he’s also getting affection while he’s jumping. Not exactly what you want!

The other part of this is the all-important question of how much you’ve actually worked with your dog using a situation like this for training purposes. Here is one way of breaking your dog from the habit of jumping on people when they are at the door.

• Stage a visit – have a friend or neighbor come over and work with you and your dog.
• Put a leash on your dog and keep them back from the door far enough so that they can’t immediately jump on your guest.
• Invite your guest to let themselves in and to walk past you as they ignore the dog. Yes, ask them to ignore the dog – completely! If the dog jumps as they enter, immediately correct them and have them sit (the dog, not your guest!)
• When your dog is calm and sitting, you may have your guest greet them.

This may not produce instantaneous results, as it is a process. Consistency and patience will pay off and will bring better results. Your dog will learn that they get affection and praise when they are away from the door and off your guests! There are other suggested ways to work with your dog not to jump. I’ll cover those in later posts.