Training Your Dog Not to Jump

Dogs are extremely social animals and most of them just want attention in the form of face to face contact. This desire often leads them to want to jump on people so they may achieve this face to face greeting. Unfortunately, most people don't want animals jumping on their nice pair of trousers or skirts and some are even afraid of dogs that they are uncomfortable with. Spaniel owners know of these kinds of awkward situations.

The good news is you can stop your pet from jumping with certain techniques, love and patience. As in all training, you must be consistent with the technique you choose so the animal doesn't become confused.

Different dogs will respond to different things, so your job is to find the one that works best for you. Make sure you make a command for your dog that does not conflict with any other command you use for other training. Pick a command that is only used for the "down" command. "Off" is one, or just "Down"!

One way is if your dog tries to jump on you, get down to his or her level, possibly on your knees so that his need to jump up to yours will not be necessary and his urge to do so is gone. Over time as he grows, he will learn that it's not necessary to jump up to get your attention. Again, there are some breeds that love to jump so much that this technique will not work on them.

Another technique is to just ignore him and refuse to cooperate with him when he jumps on you. Turn your back and look anywhere else but at him. When he gets the message then you can get down to his level again and give him what he wants. This will only work if you are consistent and persistent with your training. Make no eye contact with your pet until he settles down or he will just get excited again.

For Larger more excitable dogs, it has been my experience that some of the above may not work. At that point, negative reinforcement is the way to go. You must understand that this technique will not harm your dog in any way. When your dog jumps up simply lift your knee up in to his chest and give your command "Down". Every time he jumps up do the same thing and then get down on his level to make eye contact. In my experience, this technique works very well over time and does not hurt your animal in any way. If you are hurting your pet, you're doing it wrong.

As in all these techniques, you can't do the half-heartedly. You must be consistent and assure your pet that you mean business and be firm with your command. If you follow those rules, your pet will be a pleasure in a remarkably short amount of time.