Jumping Up: Solutions for a Natural dog Greeting
Tip 1:
calm dogs get cuddles
When dealing with a bouncy pup, the first question to ask yourself is “What is reinforcing this unwanted behavior?” In most cases, the answer is attention. For social dogs, pets and praise are highly rewarding!
Behavior that is reinforced will be repeated. This means that a dog who gets pets for jumping will continue to jump. If you are looking to reduce your dog’s jumping, start by refraining from giving attention to your pup when they jump. Consistency is key here, so be sure to communicate with guests and family that they should do the same!
Tip 2:
Train a polite greeting
The best strategy for training out an unwanted behavior is to replace it with something you like. Teaching your dog a distraction-proof ‘sit’ as a replacement for jumping is a great option.
Step 1: Teach a Solid Sit
The first step is to ensure your dog can reliably sit on cue (this can be a hand signal or a verbal cue). Work on this indoors, where there are fewer distractions, until your dog is quickly moving into the sit position when asked.
Step 2: Sit-Stay with Distractions
Once your pup is acing step one, you can begin to challenge them a little more. First, work on building the duration of the sit by withholding the treat for a couple seconds before rewarding them. See if you can get to a ten-second sit for one treat!
Now you can begin to add distractions. Try dropping a treat on the floor while the dog is in a sit - if they stay seated, feed them an extra-tasty reward! You can also practice your ten second sit while you have guests over, and in new locations such as outdoors.
Step 3: Replace the Jumping
Now you can finally bring the training into the problem-context; greetings. Begin asking your dog to sit each time you or another person would like to greet them. In time, your dog will likely learn that sitting results in pets, and they may even begin to sit automatically when they want attention (without you having to cue them)!
Struggling with a jumpy pup? Contact a trainer!
Thought of the month
Whilst most people don’t love being jumped on, we have to remember that it is a natural greeting in the dog world. For our canine companions, a face-lick is like a friendly handshake or a hug! Since we humans are vertical, our pups’ attempts at reaching our faces often result in jumping up. Teaching your dog another way to get attention is a great way to handle this well-intentioned behavior (See ‘Tip 2’ above).