The reason most dogs and puppies jump on people
is
because they are happy and excited to see them! Jumping, leaping and
bouncing are ways your dog shows affection and receives attention. The
behavior is usually learned while they are puppies. When a puppy is
very young, we usually sit on the floor, let them wiggle into our laps
and allow them to lick and nuzzle up close to our face. When they come
bounding over to greet us, jumping and stretching up to our knees,
again we bend down, pick them up and exchange hugs and kisses. All this
time we are training and rewarding the puppy for jumping up. Eventually
we decide we don't like this behavior anymore. What used to be cute is
now obnoxious and even dangerous if the dog is jumping up on children
or the elderly.
The jumping problem continues...
Our inconsistency perpetuates the problem. Some of the time we tolerate the jumping and
ignore it. Other times we reward the behavior by exchanging enthusiastic greetings. But
when we're dressed up and the dog's paws are muddy, it's a different story.
Reprimanding the dog for jumping up usually does not work. Either the dog
misunderstands the reprimand as praise or he gets even more excited and the jumping gets
worse. If the reprimand is severe enough, the dog may stop jumping at that moment but it
doesn't solve the problem altogether; and it certainly is not a very nice thing to do. It's
very similar to a person approaching you with a big smile, arm extended to exchange a
hand-shake and you bopping the person in the nose. Even if your dog learns that jumping up on
you is not a good idea, he will usually get away with jumping up on everyone else.
The End of the Jumping Problem...
A better solution is providing your dog with an alternative method of greeting you and
others. Teach your dog to sit-stay. He cannot sit-stay and jump up at the same time. When
he is sitting you can then kneel down and give him a warm hug and kiss. Practice is
essential. If your dog is excitedly jumping up when you return home from work and this
only happens once a day, then he is only getting one practice session a day. If he is jumping up
on your company and you only have visitors once a week, then he is only getting one
practice session a week.
In order to perfect the proper greeting routine, your dog needs
much more practice than that. You can speed up the training process by leaving through
the back door and returning through the front door over and over again. When your
friends come over, have them do the same. Each time, ask your dog to sit-stay before
opening the door. At first his excitement will make it difficult for him to concentrate but
after you've repeated this process 10 times, he will calm down and be able to concentrate.
Before asking your dog to sit-stay in this distracting and exciting situation, be sure he has
a reliable sit-stay in normal, non-stressful situations.