Knowing how to get your dog to stop jumping on you can be a very difficult task. Dogs will usually jump when they need your attention, whether they want something from you or for some playful fun, such as a toy or some dog treats. However, if your dog senses that you’ve given him or her something that it needs, then he might jump on you.
Jumping on people has been known to cause serious injury or even death in some cases. It can occur if a person is greeting people or is simply going up to someone on their way out. There are several dog training tricks to use if this happens. Here are some of them:
You should never try to push your dog or physically arrest him if he jumps on or comes close to people. Instead, you should greet the person first and introduce yourself. Once your dog becomes familiar with the greeting, you can slowly lead him or her up to you, and maybe even let him or her sit before you allow him or her to come to you. This shows your dog that there is no reason to jump, and that you are welcome and happy to be approaching.
A great dog training trick to use when your dog is jumping on guests, visitors, or on you, is to make a “floor rule”. The floor rule basically says that you cannot allow your dog to jump while on any part of the floor. Let’s say you are entertaining a stranger, and your dog jumps on your guests. If your dog continues to jump after being asked to sit, you can tell the guest to take off their shoes and sit on the floor, and your dog will forget about jumping. In addition to this, the guest will get the added benefit of walking on the cold hard floor, which helps to keep your guests warm.
One dog training trick that is often overlooked, especially by new dog owners, is to make it clear to guests that they need to sit in front of the door. If the dog is consistently jumping on people when they arrive at the front door, they should be told “Sit down” in a firm, non-angry voice. If this doesn’t work, the owner may want to try to put their foot down before saying the word, so the dog knows that it won’t be rewarded for jumping.
Another way to deal with dog jumping is to tell it to “Sit” when approaching a person and to “Stay” if it is not ready to go inside. A dog jumping on someone is not an accepted greeting, and it can be quite embarrassing. If your dog does not know how to behave around visitors, you could try a floor rule. Have a friend or family member stay on the other side of the house, while you and your dog are in the living room or hallway. You can then watch how the dog acts around the guest as they wait for you.
You could also try using a reward system for jumping-up. Place small tokens, such as puzzle pieces or treats, in different locations throughout your home so that your dog recognizes the behavior that it is doing. As it gets good at recognizing its behaviors, you can start to give larger rewards. Once your dog has mastered this simple reward system, you can replace the puzzle pieces and treat treats with toys that your dog will like, as long as it obeys your commands.
If none of these tricks to help you overcome your dog’s jumping problem, then perhaps you need to take your dog to a professional groomer or dog trainer. This can help teach it how to behave around visitors, other animals, babies, and even strangers. Professional help may cost you money, but if you don’t have the money to spare, you should never feel sorry for calling a vet because you just want to know how to get your dog to stop jumping on you when you are shopping or visiting a stranger.
