• Post published:December 27, 2018

This is the most common problem dog owners have, and most of us cause it ourselves. We think it’s cute when that small puppy jumps on us to greet us, but when he grows into that 50+ lb animal, we no longer enjoy that kind of attention. Then main reason a dog jumps on you is to get to your face for the “PACK” greeting.

Most dogs get very excited whenever someone comes to the door. They jump, bark, and race around the house. These dogs thrive on attention and some of the things people do to stop them from jumping may actually make the problem worse.

Saying “no”, yelling, kneeing him in the chest or pushing him back down are really ways of giving him attention. If your want to stop the jumping, you must be consistent and STOP giving him attention when he jumps. Be consistent, do not allow your dog to jump on you during play or when your wearing old clothes. Your dog cannot tell the difference between playtime and other times and he cannot distinguish between old clothes and new.

Turn your back to the dog and do not respond to his jumping, completely ignore him, don’t even look at him. When he finally quits, you can turn around, have him sit, praise and then pet him.

Teach your dog to sit and when he complies, give him attention and a reward. Once the dog can do a good sit and not jump on you, get a “guest” to come over and repeat the exercise until he is steady with the “guest”. (Make sure the “guest” is someone who won’t pet the dog for improper behavior)

Try walking through your dog… as he jumps, walk into and through him using a shuffling type step. Repeat until he stops jumping, make him sit, then praise and pet him.

Don’t let visitors allow the dog to jump. If they won’t cooperate, put the dog away before you open the door to visitors.

The most important thing is to make sure you pay attention to your dog when he is being good — that means when he has all four feet on the floor, take the time to praise and pet him —  this is the behavior you want — so pay attention to it.