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How to Stop your Puppy from Jumping on You


    You puppy jumping on you and others is a very common problem and a frustrating one at that. When we address jumping we must remember why the dog jumps. There are usually two really good reasons. First, dogs like to greet each other face to face. This holds true for us as humans as well. In order for them to greet us face to face, they must jump up to our level. Secondly, when our dogs are puppies, we think it’s so cute when they put their paws on us for attention or scramble onto our laps when we’re on the floor and put their paws on our shoulders and lick our faces. Our reaction to this is positive with more petting, smiling, laughing, and, in turn, is rewarding the jumping behavior. So, now that our dog jumps on us and others, we find it unpleasant and rude when, to the dog, it used to be OK. So, how do we fix this?

    First of all, the most important thing to remember is the person being jumped on is the only one that can effectively correct the behavior. Often times, when our dog jumps on a guest, we are feverishly saying “off”, “no”, “bad dog” while the person being jumped on is petting the dog and saying “It’s Ok, don’t worry”, “I don’t mind”. While we, the owners are correcting, the person our dog is jumping on is inadvertently rewarding the jumping. So, while you are retraining your dog not to jump, you will need to tell your guests before they arrive what will be expected from them. If you don’t feel comfortable with that, then make sure your dog doesn’t have access to the guests until they are willing to ignore or correct. 

    So, lets discuss how to stop the jumping. As mentioned earlier, we need to change this behavior from a rewarding one to one that is not so pleasant. One of the best ways to do this is to create a noise deterrent. I usually recommend making a penny can. A penny can is an empty coke can that you put either a few pennies or a few rocks into and tape off the top. This will make a noisy rattle, in essence. I would recommend you make several of them and place them around the entrances of your home, preferably outside the home. The goal is to have it with you when you enter which is when your dog is most likely to jump on you. Hide the can behind your back when you enter the home and when your dog jumps on you, whip out the can and shake it in his face simultaneously saying “off”. Your dog will most likely retreat and put four feet on the floor at which point, you can say “good off” and give a pat. If your dog tries to jump again, shake the can again and say “off”. Consistency is crucial here and needs to be done by every member of the house every time they come in so that the dog will begin to see that no one will tolerate the jumping and he will get a correction every time. Soon, you will see that your dog will stop jumping on you but will continue to try with guests. So, your guests must do the same thing, or at least ignore the behavior completely, which is our next suggestion.

    The penny can is the ideal solution but if you don’t have one handy when you walk in the door or your guest doesn’t feel comfortable for whatever reason, the next best thing to do is to ignore. When the dog jumps on you, turn away from the dog and completely ignore him. He may come around and try to jump again. Just keep turning away and ignoring him or even proceed into the house and don’t even acknowledge his presence. 

    Giving your dog little to no attention when you get home is always a good thing to do when your dog is overly excited to see you. When your dog is excited and you respond with excitement to see them, the probability of your dog jumping increases tremendously. Try entering your home saying “hi, nice to see you” in a very calm voice but giving no eye contact or petting of any kind. This will allow your dog time to calm down and at that point, you may reach down for a kind word and a pat. Waiting for your dog to be calm is almost always setting you up for success in stopping the jumping. 

    So, when you enter your home, have the penny can hidden behind your back and correct with that if your dog jumps on you. Also, keep a low-key voice and attitude until your dog calms down, then give affection. If you follow these steps, you should see rapid and marked improvement in the war against jumping.  

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briseye
briseye
April 20, 2009
75.92.228.30
Votes: +0
dog jumping idea

Believe me, I had tried the turning of my back and tried not to give eye contact, no touch and just kept walking into the room, but my dog would keep running and jumping trying to get my attention....after many days of unsuccessful efforts of no attention given to my dog, I used my cat trick. Just one little squirt of water mist, onto the dogs nose has stopped the jumping in less than three seconds. Now, how to stop the dogs over excitement of running around the room/house...there is not enough water in my bottle smilies/cheesy.gif

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