How to Stop Your Dog from Jumping on People

One of the biggest problems that dog owners face is when their dogs jump on visiting guests. You know the scenario. The doorbell rings and your dog goes CRAZY, jumping on top of whoever enters. In this article you'll learn how to combat this problem and stop your dog from jumping on people once and for all.

Your problem is way more common than you may realize.  Nearly 85% of dog owners face the obnoxious dog jumping at some point in their dog’s life (usually when they’re young).  If the problem goes untreated, jumping puppies grow up into overwhelming, jumping dogs.  Hopefully, you’re trying to catch the behavior problem early.  Either way, the tips below should help.

The root behavior isn’t so hard to understand.  Dogs jump for a few different reasons… 

First and foremost, dogs are extremely social animals.  Most of the time, they’re jumping to greet the person. 

The second reason your dog may jump is to establish social dominance.  This is common in dogs that have aggressive tendencies.  Hopefully, this isn’t the case for you.

Thirdly, dogs often jump out of conditioned habit.  From the time that they’re puppies, owners and visitors can’t help but invite the cute little guys to jump up on their lap for some attention and petting. 

How many times have you said to your little puppy:

“Awww…cute little puppy…come here! Come here!”

The puppy jumps up and you pet him and PRAISE him, positively reinforcing the negative behavior trait.  In your puppy’s mind he’s thinking “Hey, these humans want us to jump up on them.”

It’s not your fault.  Really, most dog owners don’t know they’re creating this pattern at the time.  It’s hard to think that sharing affection for your dog can do any harm, right?

Anyway…

Over time, as the puppies get bigger, they don’t understand that the earlier invitations to jump up were based on their smaller size.  The habit is already formed and your dog continues to jump up for attention.  This scenario is the most common – especially for first time dog owners.

So, what’s the solution?

1. So here’s the tactic that over time actually stops his jumping…

When your dog jumps up on you, simply take hold of his paws and squeeze them.  You don’t have to crush them.  Just gently squeeze them with a firm grip.  The idea here isn’t to hurt your dog.  It’s to make him feel vulnerable.

Dogs don’t enjoy having their paws held for an extended period of time.  They’re very sensitive about having their paws exposed, touched or held out of their control.  After a few seconds of holding your dog’s paws, he’ll begin to pull away. 

IMPORTANT:  You need to hold on to your dog’s paws until he begins to struggle away.  Don’t just touch his paws and let go (he’ll think you’re playing with him).  You need to make sure he’s uncomfortable and struggling to get his paws back.

While he’s struggling, you want to use the command “OFF”.  Be stern with your tone.  Let him know with your voice that this is disapproved behavior.  Do not use the command “Down”.  “Down” should be used when you want your dog to lay down.  If you use the same command for two different purposes, he’ll just get confused.  Say “OFF” when you want your dog to stop jumping up.

After doing this for a couple of weeks, your dog will definitely get the message.  I recommend when you enter the house, if your dog is staying calm, give him a treat to positively reinforce his calm behavior.  Don’t do it every time.  Only positively reinforce the behavior if you can tell that he’s consciously restraining his jumping.

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