How To Stop Dog Jumping Behavior Before Something Bad Happens

Posted by Lee Dobbins

It happened again; you walk into a house and are rudely assaulted by four paws and a tongue! Most dogs prefer to greet people this way, and many believe these dogs are just trying to make friends, but jumping up on people is a dangerous habit for your pet to develop. A big dog that is allowed to jump up on guests can be scary and intimidating, and an unfortunate incident may be the result of your pet’s misbehavior which is why learning how to stop dog jumping behavior is critical for the safety of your family, friend, neighbors and, even your dog.

A dog’s natural behavior is to jump up on a person when they want to be friendly. As the owner of the dog, you need to train your dog not to jump up on people. Also, let people know if they want to pet your dog, to kneel down to the dog’s level. As the dog’s owner, you should be an example, and kneel down to your dog. At the same time, show where the dog likes to be given attention. For example, rubbing behind the ears, sniffing your hand first, or scratching a dog’s chest.

Many people want to learn how to stop dog jumping behavior before they have even trained their dog in the basics. When training your dog to stop jumping on you or others you must make sure that he is properly trained in sitting first. It will be to difficult trying to teach your dog two commands at the same time. Be patient with your pet and diligent, soon your hard work will pay off.

When training, you need to pay attention to the signs your dog is giving to you. Many times you can tell when a dog is about to jump up on you. Before they jump, give the ‘Sit’ command. If they disregard the ‘Sit’ command, and don’t worry if they don’t listen right away, lift your knee to the dogs chest to block the jump. The command used in combination with the knee is ‘Off’. Be sure to use the command ‘Off’ rather than ‘Down’. ‘Down’ is a different command to make a dog lay down and if used here, will give mixed signals to your dog.

The next time your dog comes to jump on you, just gently raise your knee to prevent him from getting to your body. This should throw him off balance and cause him to drop to all fours. Gently and firmly say “Off” as you are doing this so he will associate the word with the action. If he tries again, repeat the command and the action. Always praise him and tell him how good he is even when he is not sure of the command, he will eventually understand the action, the command and the reward and should stop the habit of jumping on people.

A dog that jumps up on people with no control is an accident waiting to happen. Learning how to stop dog jumping behavior in your dog can prevent harm to others and, maybe even to your dog.

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