Keep Your Dog from Jumping

Many dogs develop the very bad habit of jumping up on their owner. Often times, the behavior begins when the dog is just a puppy. Puppy jumps are much more forgivable than grown dog jumps, so the jumping is often encouraged in puppy-hood. However, the puppies eventually grow into adult dogs, and at that point have fully developed the habit of jumping. It is important to break your puppy’s jumping habit right from the start to have a well behaved adult dog.

Many people find it best to keep their arrivals anti-climatic in order to calm their dog’s jumping urges. When you arrive home, enter your home quietly and even ignore your dog until he settles down. This can be very difficult for many dog owners who want nothing more than to spend time with their loyal pet upon arriving home after a long day of work. However sometimes it may be necessary in order to alter your dog’s undesirable behaviors. Remember that once your dog calms down, you can return to playing with your dog, and giving him pats. It is just to take the excitement, and thus the jumping, out of your arrival that you are going for.

Even if you cannot bring yourself to ignore your dog when you first arrive home, you can discourage his jumping in other ways. You can make it a habit to bend down to pet him so that he does not feel the need to jump up on you. When he does not jump, be sure to reward him with praise and even treats. Tell you dog to sit to get him to avoid jumping on you. And when he does jump, do not try to punish him as he is only looking for more attention. Punishment may send mixed signals and confuse your dog. Instead, simply ignore him completely until he calms down. However, when he does not jump, be sure to reward so that it is clear in his mind: staying down equals reward and jumping gets him nothing.