Putting a Stop to Your Dog Jumping Up

Jumping is a natural thing for a dog to do. Though many people specifically set out to train their dogs to jump, it is a habit most dog owners do not want.

What needs to be understood about your dog's jumping up is that when your dog jumps and you ignore the action and praise him as he welcomes you, he will think that such behavior is acceptable. It will become a problem. Even if you are just patting your dog because you're happy to have returned to him, he will see this as an encouragement to his jumping behavior.

You can remove the need for the dog to jump by teaching him to sit when you arrive at home. When he sits, get down to his level and praise him. This should prevent the dog from jumping up at you. If he still jumps, firmly tell him "No" and step away. Make him sit again, and again praise him. He should soon learn that this is the most rewarding way to greet you when you come home. An alternative is to not immediately acknowledge the dog but ignore it for ten minutes, letting him calm down and then praise him. This action deprives the dog of the attention he wants and discourages his need to jump. He will learn that only calm behavior gives him your reward of love and praise.

This technique should also be carried out by visitors to your home. Tell your friends that prior to coming into the house they shouldn't play or pet the dog until he has calmed down. This makes your dog see that the person is not a big event, so he doesn't need to run and jump up at them.

An old-school approach was to raise your knee each time your dog jumped up to deter his jumping. However, this does not work as well as the methods previously mentioned. Instead, it usually ends up becoming a battle between you and your dog and might end with your dog still believing it is OK to jump up.

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