Stop Dogs Jumping Up

Think about why your dog might be jumping.  Are they just happy to see you?  Or the new visitor?  If the action is not rewarded it will not continue so the idea to stop this is to remove any interaction at this moment.

Believe it or not, pushing a dog down and saying no, is still a reward for the dog in the sense that you have engaged your attention with it.  That’s the payoff for pooch to repeat the behaviour.  Dogs quickly work out what gets them attention.

Don’t acknowledge the dog when it is jumping up even with eye contact.  Don’t verbalise. Simply turn away.  If the dog comes around the other side to jump on you there, turn away again and so on.  Eventually he will give up.  As soon as he is calm ‘good boy’ and then you may greet.

When you arrive home, go about your business until you see you dog calm down and then do your big hello.  We’re not trying to deny your greeting but just suggesting that whilst he is jumping on you, that’s not the best time to do it.  If you have regular visitors you can ask them if they’d like to be involved in this approach.It may take a few homecomings to alleviate this but it will be so worth it.  We don’t consider it OK for any dogs to jump on people and yes, that includes the small ones. The aim is to have four paws on the ground as often as possible.

 

Leah & Angela OMeara

Hound Dog Day Care (Specialists in Dog Minding & Dog Boarding, Pet Sitting Brisbane & Doggy Day Care Brisbane)