Dogs have their own way of expressing happiness and joy. Swinging their tail, barking enthusiastically, and jumping on people are some examples of this. Nevertheless, the habit of jumping on people can be somehow problematic, especially if your dog does this a lot and if it even jumps on random people on the street when you go for walks. Not everybody loves dogs, and some people might even be afraid of unknown canines, so having a dog jump on them is surely not a pleasant feeling. Moreover, it can be especially dangerous for children, older people or someone with a physical disability.
In this sense, if you have one of those dogs with the habit of jumping on people to greet them or to express happiness, it’s important that you consider the need to unlearn your dog to jump on people. As we have stated, even though this is not a problem for your dog and it does not evidence a bad behavior, it might be a problem for other people your dog encounters, so it’s definitely something to pay attention to. That’s why in this article we’re going to tell you more about the different things you can do to start to change this habit.
What’s the reason behind this behavior?
The main reasons that explain dog’s habit of jumping on people have to do with their need for attention. If your dog jumps on people, it’s a way of saying “here I am!”. As we have mentioned above, it’s also a way they have of greeting people and connecting with others. If the jumping is too enthusiastic or excessive, it might also be evidence of overexcitement, overstimulation or anxiety.
Nevertheless, it’s not only about dogs. People also play their role in this behavior by encouraging it. It’s possible that you or other people don’t do it consciously, but there are some things that people do that make the dog think that jumping on people is an approved behavior, and thus they will continue to do it. If you greet your dog happily and joyfully when it jumps on you, then your dog understands that this is okay.
Moreover, if you push it off, yell or scold it, you are actually also motivating it to keep jumping on people. When dogs get attention, they understand that what they are doing allows them to achieve their aims. So, it doesn’t matter if your reaction towards the behavior is positive or negative. As long as you give your dog your attention, you will be reinforcing this (and any!) habit.
Ignore your dog when jumping happens
So, the challenging question is: how can you stop your dog from jumping if whatever way you react to this behavior is stimulating it? The answer is simple: don’t react at all! That is, ignore your dog and keep your attention away from it as soon as the jumping starts.
A good piece of advice to put this into practice is to turn your back to your dog and cross your arms over your chest the minute it jumps. Stay like this until the jumping stops and, when it does stop, then you can turn back towards your dog again. What the dog reads from this reaction is that, if it jumps, it doesn’t get the attention that it’s seeking, so it will eventually stop doing it.
Another thing that you could do is directly walk away from your dog when it jumps. So, for example, if you arrive home and your dog jumps on you to greet you, go back out again and then come in. This is another way of communicating to your dog that, when it jumps, it doesn’t get what it wants. Also, in this case, your dog will eventually stop jumping.
Train a new behavior
If you want to discourage a behavior, then it’s also important to replace it with something else. Even though your dog can understand that you don’t want it to jump, other people that it might encounter, such as your family, friends or random people on the street, probably don’t know that you’re trying to teach your dog to stop jumping. So, for example, if you go out for a walk and your dog jumps on a random person and this person pets it and greets it, your dog will get confused.
In this sense, a great way of preventing this from happening is to replace the jumping with something else. It can be whatever you prefer: sitting, lying down, staying still. So, when your dog jumps and you ignore it, try to see if you can make another command follow, in order to teach your dog what to do, and not just what not to do.
Another thing that you can do as a solution when your dog jumps on random people, is to try the “watch me!” method. By this we mean that, as soon as you see that your dog is aiming to jump on someone, redirect its attention towards you or towards something else, so it forgets about the person that it was about to jump on. For this, it’s handy to carry a few toys, treats or elements with you that your dog likes. When the moment comes, you can call your dogs name and show the toy or treat to it, to make it forget about jumping on the person it just saw passing by.
Be sure to have treats at hand!
Whatever method or tips you decide to implement to unlearn your dog from jumping on people, be sure to always have treats at hand. This way, when your dog stops jumping, you can give it the treat and it will understand that good, positive things happen when it does not jump. Treats are an essential part of dog training, so whatever you want to teach to your furry buddy, always have yummy rewards at hand to reinforce the habit that you want it to acquire.
Practice, practice, practice
The best advice that we can give to you to train your dog into stopping the jumps is to practice with it, and also, be patient! Changes in behavioral attitudes don’t happen overnight: your dog needs time to learn, understand and incorporate a new habit. That’s why practicing and being patient are the most important things to bear in mind if you want to unlearn your dog to jump on people.
If your dog jumps on people on the street, be sure to spend several moments a day going on walks and implementing the tips we gave you. If you dog is keener on jumping on you when you arrive home, try to come in and out of your house frequently during the day, even if just for a few minutes, to reinforce the training. As we have said, incorporating a new habit takes time and reinforcing it requires repeated lessons.
Positive training, always
Never use a negative training method to teach something to your dog. What we mean by this is to avoid at all costs using punishing or aggressive training methods, not only because you could seriously injure your dog, but because it won’t even give the results that you are expecting.
Instead, as we have mentioned, be sure to always opt for positive training and don’t forget to have treats at hand to reward your dog’s achievements throughout the training process. in this way, you ensure that your dog will eventually show you the right behavior!
What if my dog doesn’t change his jumping habit?
If your dog continues to jump despite all the tips we have given, we understand that you must feel very frustrated. The explanation for this is that you’ve probably skipped a step, or that you’re forgetting something. If this isn’t the case, you could ask for help from a professional dog trainer. Even though you tried your best, unfortunately sometimes it just doesn’t work. Don’t blame it on yourself!
To sum up, jumping on people is a very common habit of dogs and, even though it doesn’t necessarily reflect a problematic behavior, there are many times when it’s important and essential to unlearn your dog from jumping on other humans. It could be dangerous for children and older people. Even some people are afraid of dogs. Keep in mind these tips and ideas that we have shared with you and always remember to employ a positive training method when teaching something to your dog.
With a little bit of patience, love and perseverance, your dog will soon stop jumping on people. Sometimes, your dog won’t stop jumping, even though you followed our tips. In that case, it could be helpful to ask for help. For example, this could be a professional dog trainer. Have you experienced your dog jumping into everyone? We would like to know how you made sure it didn’t happen again! So, share your story in the comments below.
