Tips to Reduce Jumping Up
Do you find yourself fending off your furry friend at the front door when you come home from work? Do you worry that Buster will knock over Grandma when she comes to visit? These are some general guidelines to help you reduce and modify this behaviour. Keep in mind that these are a guideline only, for specific help tailored to your dog's and your family's needs, please contact a certified trainer for professional advice.
If your dog jumps up on you, do not reward the behaviour with attention. This includes both positive and negative forms of attention. Petting, greeting, and even scolding the dog (i.e. “GET DOWN!”) can all reinforce the jumping behaviour. Punishment, by definition, serves to decrease a behaviour. So if you have tried scolding, pushing, kneeing, etc. and your dog continues to jump, then these are not punishing the behaviour. Your dog may think you are engaging in an exciting wresting match. Jumping up can be a self-reinforcing behaviour, meaning it's fun to do and gets your dog closer to you or your guest.
I repeat: Jumping up is not an assertion of dominance.
Jumping up is your dog expressing excitement over you coming home or a guest coming to visit.
Some dogs jump to seek comfort when they are feeling anxious.
It may be bad manners, but it is certainly not dominance.
Walk away (but don't look away!)
If your dog jumps on you, turn your body sideways and move away, or stop whatever interaction you were having previously. This teaches your dog that jumping up on you is not the way to get your attention. Keep your dog in your peripheral vision and if your dog offers polite behaviour (four on the floor, sit, lay down, giving you space, etc.), click and treat or acknowledge and reward with praise, throwing a toy, and attention. The idea is to move your body enough that the dog cannot jump on you, but that you can still observe what he is doing and act accordingly.
If your dog is jumping on you because he is excited to see you, or because he wants to play, ask him to do something else to earn your time and attention. Asking him to sit or lay down means he cannot jump on anyone, and then you can give him attention for a desirable behaviour. You can identify specific situations in which your dog becomes over excited and jumps up, such as greeting visitors at the door, or greeting you when you come home.
Practice those scenarios (ask friends or family to help) and give your dog opportunities to practice the behaviours you want him to do instead. Think of it as a rehearsal for the real-life situation, but with the environment (and the guest) under your control, so you can move slowly and allow your dog a chance to practice success many times before Aunt Edna comes to the door.
Manage the Behaviour
While your training for modifying this behaviour is still in progress, utilize management tools to help prevent it from happening. Remember that jumping up can be a self-reinforcing behaviour, so the more your dog is allowed to practice it, the more he will want to continue to do it. Make the alternative behaviours (such as sit or lay down) more reinforcing than the jumping up by rewarding the polite behaviours with his favourite treats, toys, or praise & pets if they motivate your dog.
If you have guests coming over, put your dog in his kennel or behind a baby gate so that he cannot jump on them. Put a leash on your dog so that you can control his movements until he is under better voice control. Be gentle and patient – remember, your dog is just showing how happy he is to see you (or your guests) and needs to be taught a more socially acceptable way to show his excitement.
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