Jumping is a natural, though undesirable, behavior in dogs. Dogs jumping on people can stain or rip their clothes, knock them over, and potentially cause other types of injuries — which means that it’s really important to train a dog not to jump on people as a way of saying hello. In this quick guide, we’ll explain why dogs jump and then explain how to train your dog not to jump.
Why Dogs Jump on People
Dogs greet each other face to face, and they often try to replicate this with people by jumping up so their noses are on our eye level. While this might be natural behavior for a dog, it can be annoying and even scary for humans, especially small children and frail elderly adults. However, dogs don’t understand this, which is why you need to train your dog not to jump on people when they are young. It’s best to do this when they are a puppy before they grow large enough to potentially knock people over.
Proper training is essential for stopping your dog from jumping on people. If you try to push their paws away or yell at them, your dog might think that you are trying to wrestle with them instead of understanding that you don’t want them to jump on you. To them, receiving any attention is a reward, even if that attention is yelling at them or pushing them away. Thus, you need to ignore them when they jump while teaching them other behaviors for greeting people. You also should not give them antlers for dogs or other treats as a distraction if they have already jumped. This will only teach them that jumping is rewarded with delicious treats.
If you live with other people, they need to follow the same training plan with your dog whenever they exit and enter the house. It’s vital that everyone in the house follows the training plan or else the training will not work. If only part of the household works on training the dog not to jump, then your dog will still think it’s okay to jump on at least some people — which isn’t what you are trying to teach them.
