Jumping up is a natural behaviour for dogs. When dogs meet, they often sniff and lick each other’s faces as a form of elation, so it is only natural that they would try to jump up when meeting humans. Unfortunately, humans are (usually) taller, so there is a need to jump up to reach the face and get attention, and that’s what jumping up is, an attention-seeking behaviour.
With our dogs in the home environment, there is also usually an abundant supply of over-excitement! The key to teaching your dog not to jump up is to teach him that he will only get that all-important attention he is seeking if he keeps all four paws on the ground.
The two most important things to remember when teaching this behaviour are:-
- When he jumps, you ignore him totally. Don’t shout “off”, “no” or “down” and especially refrain from any physical contact like pushing him away. These actions will only reinforce his persistence in jumping on you for attention.
- Immediately the dog has all four paws on the ground, reward him with your attention and a tasty treat. Remember to do this in a calm, non-excitable manner.
All sounds very simple, unfortunately, your own reflex actions often come into play, and you immediately say “OFF” and push your dog away, indicating to him that you actually condone what he is doing and are happy to join him in the jumping-up game. Be aware of what message you are sending your dog!
So, you arrive home after being out all day, and your precious friend is overwhelmed to see you. He instantly begins to jump up. Stand still and do not look at him. Lift your arms up and across your chest. Stand like this until he stops jumping up. The moment he has all four paws on the ground, look at him and calmly praise him; a tasty treat offered to him would be a nice additional reward for not jumping. If he resumes his unwanted jumping (and he will initially), then straighten up and repeat the process.
You can also turn your back on him, which will also discourage his jumping up. Once he learns that all four paws on the ground is far more rewarding than trying to jump up, you can introduce a cue like “ground”, “floor”, etc. – remember always to use the same cue word.
You can teach the dog not to jump on guests in the same way. Elicit the help of a friend and explain to them what you would like them to do when arriving at the house. You can do some practice runs with your friend to get the timing right before bringing the dog to meet the friend.
You can also prevent your dog from jumping up by teaching him a mutually exclusive behaviour (MEB). For example, if you teach the dog to sit on command, you can give him the cue before he jumps up; he can’t sit and jump at the same time. For this to be effective, your dog needs to have a solid sit; i.e., he must sit immediately when cued to do so.