Puppyhood is an exciting time, filled with boundless energy and a desire to explore the world. As a new dog owner, you’re likely focused on essential training like How To Keep Your Puppy From Jumping, ensuring your furry friend develops into a well-behaved companion. This common behavior, while natural, can become problematic, especially for larger breeds that might inadvertently knock people over, or even for smaller pups who can scratch and soil clothing. Your puppy is likely jumping out of pure excitement and a desire to greet you face-to-face, often because it’s an effective way to grab your attention. The good news is that with consistent training and a few key strategies, you can teach your puppy a more appropriate way to say “hello.” This guide will equip you with the knowledge to curb jumping and foster polite greeting manners.
Teaching Your Puppy a Polite Greeting Alternative
The most effective way to address unwanted behavior is to teach your puppy an alternative, incompatible behavior. Instead of focusing solely on what not to do, it’s more beneficial to show them what to do. For instance, you can teach your puppy to keep all four paws on the floor during greetings, as they cannot jump and remain grounded simultaneously. Alternatively, you might opt to train them to sit or lie down for greetings. Whichever rule you choose, consistently reinforce it by only offering attention when your puppy is following it. Avoid mixed signals, such as allowing jumping when you’re dressed casually but not when you’re in formal attire.
Reward Four on the Floor Immediately
Dogs are motivated to repeat behaviors that yield positive results. Therefore, as soon as your puppy demonstrates the desired greeting behavior, such as keeping their front paws on the floor, immediately offer praise and petting. Your puppy craves your attention, so ensure they receive it promptly when they exhibit the correct behavior, especially during the learning phase. Don’t postpone your greeting while attending to other tasks; your puppy may grow impatient and resort to jumping to get your notice.
A Welsh Springer Spaniel puppy is shown jumping up outdoors, captured mid-air with a happy expression.
Remove Attention When Your Puppy Jumps
Conversely, the most effective method to discourage jumping is to cease reinforcing it. Never reward a behavior you intend to eliminate. If your puppy jumps on you, promptly withdraw the attention they seek. You can achieve this by turning your back or calmly walking away, thereby signaling to your puppy that jumping has the opposite effect of what they intended. As soon as all four paws are back on the ground, turn around and quietly offer praise and gentle petting. This teaches your puppy to associate jumping with a loss of attention and polite greetings with its return.
Set Your Puppy Up for Success
While ignoring jumping and rewarding appropriate greetings is effective, it can be challenging for your puppy as it involves trial and error. To facilitate their learning, proactively set your puppy up for success by making it easier for them to adhere to your greeting rule. If the expectation is to sit for greetings, prompt them to sit as soon as you enter the house. If the rule is to maintain four paws on the floor, encourage them to remain standing.
A highly effective strategy to prevent jumping is to scatter treats on the floor. Most puppies find it irresistible to sniff out these hidden goodies, and they are unable to jump while simultaneously foraging for treats. You’ll need to act quickly, but by presenting food before your puppy even considers jumping, you can reward them for keeping their feet on the ground with both your attention and a tasty reward. Your puppy will soon grasp your greeting rule, and you can gradually reduce the reliance on treats. This approach is a great complement to teaching them how to house train a puppy.
Consistently Reward Proper Greeting Behavior
Your puppy will learn proper greeting manners more rapidly if their actions have an immediate and predictable impact on your attention. Keeping four paws on the floor should consistently result in your attention, while jumping should lead to its withdrawal. Therefore, always reward your puppy when they adhere to your greeting rule. Never withhold your attention when your puppy’s feet finally touch the floor, even if you’ve endured a prolonged period of jumping. Inconsistency can confuse your puppy, as the rule will not be reinforced uniformly.
Avoid Physical Corrections for Jumping
Remember, your puppy is jumping to solicit your attention. Even negative responses, such as grabbing their paws or pushing them away, are still forms of attention and thus inadvertently reward the jumping. This can lead to an increase in jumping rather than a decrease. Furthermore, for many dogs, physical interactions can be misinterpreted as an invitation to engage in rough play. They may then return with more vigorous jumping, believing it to be part of a game.
An American Hairless Terrier is shown jumping up on its owner's leg outdoors. ©OlgaOvcharenko – stock.adobe.com
Refrain from Using Your Knee to Block Jumps
You might have heard that placing your knee up to block your puppy’s chest as they jump can curb the behavior. However, as previously mentioned, some enthusiastic dogs may perceive this as an invitation for attention or a wrestling match, leading to the opposite effect. More concerningly, for many puppies, this action can erode trust and damage the human-canine bond. Your puppy is simply attempting to greet you, and a physical response can be interpreted as punishment. This could even lead to injury. A lack of trust can precipitate other behavioral issues, such as reluctance to come when called.
Maintain Calm Greetings During Training
Puppies often struggle to control their excitement when greeting their favorite people. It requires significant emotional self-control for them to resist the natural urge to jump and instead adhere to new greeting rules. To make this easier, keep greetings low-key. Dogs are adept at reading our emotions, so if you are overly excited, they will likely mirror that energy. Instead, remain calm and quiet, even when offering praise. As your puppy begins to understand and respond positively, you can gradually increase your enthusiasm, eventually matching their excitement level.
Prevent Jumping on Guests and Visitors
Your puppy’s jumping behavior is not solely reinforced by you; family members, guests, and even strangers can inadvertently reward it if you are not vigilant. To manage this, implement preventive measures such as leashing your puppy to restrict their access. An even more effective strategy is to send your puppy to their designated “place,” such as a mat or bed, or to confine them to their crate when guests arrive, thus keeping them away from the door. You can also utilize a baby gate to block entryways.
A Boxer dog is lying down outdoors, being trained by a man. ©Jana Behr – stock.adobe.com
Guide Guests in Implementing Your Greeting Rule
Do not hesitate to clearly communicate your puppy’s training goals to guests and strangers before they interact with your dog. While your puppy is still learning, request that people completely ignore the puppy unless you give the signal it’s acceptable. Consider avoiding interactions with strangers until your puppy has mastered greetings with cooperative friends and family. In situations with strangers, employ a “watch me” cue or distract your puppy with a hand target or toy until the stranger has passed. Consistent practice is key to achieving reliable behavior, similar to when you’re working on how to get a dog to stop pulling when walking.
For personalized advice from experienced trainers or if you have further questions about puppy training and behavior, explore the AKC GoodDog! Helpline for online chat options or to enroll in the program.
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