How To Teach Your Dog Not To Jump
Posted on: 28 June 2018
Jumpy dogs are excited dogs. They like to see you when you get home, and they're excited that they'll have some company, some fun, a walk, or some food. But jumping is a behavior that can cause injury, especially to young children or to frail visitors.
You want your dog to learn to sit calmly when someone comes to the door. This is a skill that can be taught. Here's how you can help your dog learn to sit instead of jump, even when excited.
1. Do not reward jumping with any sort of attention.
Your first step to curb jumping is to stop any sort of attention when your dog jumps. This is more challenging than it sounds. When you walk in the door and your dog jumps up, keep your hands to your sides or clasp them to your chest. Do not pet, pat, or push your dog away from you.
Do not make eye contact with your dog, smile, or speak. Simply turn away from your dog and look over their head.
2. Reward feet on the floor.
Next, start to encourage the right behavior by rewarding feet on the floor. When your dog finally does put both feet down, you should reward them immediately with pats, attention, and kind words. If your dog responds to this by jumping up again, immediately stop and turn away, breaking eye contact.
3. Use other training commands to communicate what you want.
After using the attention method, you can reinforce the behavior you want by issuing commands that your dog already knows. For example, if your dog starts to hesitate instead of jumping immediately, reinforce this behavior by stating "Sit!" when you first walk in. Reward your dog for obedience by greeting them warmly or giving a treat from your pocket.
You can add verbal cues to the attention method as well. When your dog is jumping and you break attention and turn away, you can say "Off!" Your dog will learn to associate this command with stopping the behavior. This is useful because you can use "Off!" to stop your dog from jumping on guests.
When a friend rings the doorbell, tell your dog to sit before you open the door. If they sit and stay according to your instructions after you bring guests into the house, reward them with a treat.
4. Leave the room.
Dogs, especially puppies, can struggle with remembering training when they are excited. To remain consistent, you should always remind your dog that jumping is not right. Your dog might jump up on you when you come out of the garage or the bathroom. If they do jump, shut the door, leaving them alone once more. Re-enter to allow your dog to try again.
If your dog still struggles behaving after implementing these tips, you should consider enlisting the help of dog training services. The professionals at these services know exactly how to train dogs to stop unwanted behavior.
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