How to Get Your Dog to Stop Jumping

If there is one thing that most dog owners are used to, it’s having their dog jump on them when they get home. While this may not be a big deal to you, it becomes a big deal when your dog jumps on guests who enter your home. While some guests may also be used to this because they have dogs of their own, some people dislike having a dog jump on them. Plus, you never want your dog jumping on a child or an elderly adult when they enter your home. This could lead to someone becoming injured. Allowing your dog to jump up on you or anyone uninvited is actually a disservice to the dog.

Teaching your dog to stop jumping is possible, but first you need to understand why they are jumping. With the help of Steve Lankfer, you can learn the meaning behind your dog’s jumping and how to get them to stop. If you want to learn more tips, then be sure to subscribe to Speak Dog!™. Your dog may not be able to speak human, but you can learn how to speak dog and become the leader your dog wants and needs. 

In this blog, we are going to talk about jumping and how to deal with it! Read on to learn more.

Why Dogs Jump

Most dogs jump on people when they walk through the door, and while many pet owners are used to it, it can be very dangerous for young kids, older adults, and people with disabilities. Plus, for many people who don’t own pets, it can be extremely annoying. 

One of the most likely reasons your dog is jumping on your when you enter your home is because they want your attention. Dogs like to greet each other nose-to-nose and they want to do the same with you. Your nose is a lot higher, however, so they may be jumping to reach it! But jumping on their leader is something a dog would never do in the wild. So until your are fluent in canine your dog is left confused saying “hello” the way it should innately (nose-to-nose) while violating its own biological wiring by jumping up on its leader. 

While you may think pushing them down or yelling at them will help stop them from this behavior, you are actually reinforcing their jumping up by giving them attention. Even negative attention is attention and your dog will get excited when you give it to them.

This attention may be viewed as a reward by your dog, meaning that they are likely to do it again and again, every time someone enters your home. Because they want this attention and generally get it, they will be excited to get their reward whenever they hear the front door open. Instead of rewarding them for jumping on you and guests, you need to reward them for doing the opposite. By training them that they will be rewarded with praise if they keep all four paws on the ground, you can help keep them from jumping. So, how do you do that? This blog will cover the steps you need to take in order to stop your dog from jumping. 

How To Stop Your Dog From Jumping

Getting your dog to stop jumping on you and guests is a learned behavior that will naturally fall into place as you establish yourself neurologically as your dog’s leader. Until then, most dogs jump until you teach them otherwise using treats and other Pavlov techniques (stimulus/response). While there are many methods you can put into practice, there are some that you should avoid doing to get your dog to stop jumping. We will go over all of these methods to help you train your dog to stop jumping. Methods you can use while you are learning to Speak Dog!™.

Don’t Give Them What They Want

When your dog jumps, it’s because they want attention. They want you or whoever they are jumping on to look at them, acknowledge them, and pet them. Even if your attention is not positive, they will still view it as attention and exactly what they are looking for. To begin training them to stop jumping, you need to withhold that attention. There are a few ways that you can do this. 

When you walk through the door and your dog jumps, do not acknowledge the dog. Put your groceries down or whatever you are carrying. Then you can recognize the dog by saying hello as his head is down. If your dog jumps up, then you have to immediately verbally correct the dog. If  his paws hit the ground then immediately praise him.

Make Them Sit

Once you have trained your dog to keep all four paws on the ground when you enter the house, you may choose to add the command “sit” to the mix. First, you will have to teach your dog the sit command, but once that is done, walk into the room and say “sit.” As soon as your dog sits, give them praise. Practice this over and over and be sure to do it every time you enter the house. The more you repeat this, the more your dog will get used to it, and eventually they will start sitting when they hear the door open or you enter the room. 

Be sure to practice this with guests and other people too. When someone rings the doorbell or knocks, make sure your dog sits before opening the door. You can tell your guest that they need to ignore your dog unless they keep all four paws on the floor. This will help your dog learn that no matter who it is, they will not get the reward they want unless they are behaved and calm. 

Practice With Others

Practicing with other people is important, as we just mentioned. Every time you have a friend or family member come over, make sure that they are aware that you are trying to train your dog not to jump. They will need to use the same methods as you to ensure your dog does not jump on them.

If you are in the middle of teaching your dog not to jump on you while learning to Speak Dog!™, then you may want to confine your dog to a different area when guests come over. Since your dog is still learning, it may be hard to keep them from jumping on guests until you have mastered this with them. You can put your dog in a crate, confine them in another room, or put them on a leash to keep them from jumping and only let them out or off the leash when they have calmed down. Even after doing this, you will need to tell your guests to ignore your dog if they jump. 

Once you have mastered the no-jumping rule with your dog, you can start letting your dog try it with guests who visit. Have your guests tell your dog to sit immediately when they walk through the door. Be ready to praise them when they sit and don’t jump. Praise from their leader is a dog’s most rewarding achievement. Much more than a treat.

Keep Them Away From The Door

This one will be more difficult to do when it is you coming home, however, when you have guests at your door, you can train your dog to go away from the door. Every time you have a guest come over, move and secure your pet safely out of the area. Tell your dog to stay while you answer the door. To get them to initially learn how to stay, get another family member to hold them on a leash while they can see what is going on, and give them praise while you answer the door. While your dog is in a secure area, have your guest walk over and give them attention where they are. This will help your dog realize that they will get rewarded for being physically away when someone comes to visit. Eventually, when your dog hears someone at the door, they will immediately head to their secure place and wait for praise and their attention. This guidance may be a bit harder for your dog to follow, but it can help make your guests feel more comfortable entering your home. As a Speak Dog!™ reminder, once you are fluent in canine and neurologically asserted as your dog’s pack leader, he will be looking to you for permission to do anything. Including jumping up on you or your guest. 

At Speak Dog!™, we want to give you all of the training tips you need for your dog that are natural and permanent like the relationship a dog in the wild has with their pack leader. By becoming your dog’s leader, training them in these natural ways can be simpler. These and other tips from Steve Lankfer can help you stop your dog from jumping! Be sure to subscribe to Speak Dog!™ and learn more about becoming the leader your dog needs today!