So perhaps you have a new puppy who is jumping up or you have rescued an older dog who is jumping. Very few things are more frustrating than a dog who jumps up. The muddy paw prints on clean clothing, the scratch marks and the upset guests who come to visit your house.
Get on top of the jumping up with your dog and here is how…
Prevent your dog from practicing the jumping up.
A common misconception among dog owners that puppies will “grow out of it” and stop doing the behaviour over time. Unfortunately this is not the case, dogs get better at the behaviours they practice. If they practice jumping up on you they will get better at jumping up on you and your guests.
Therefore, it is essential that we stop the dog from jumping up wherever possible to prevent practicing the behaviour. The faster you are to act on the “naughty” behaviour the quicker you will see results.
Baby gates, crates and barriers
Barriers are excellent for keeping your dog confined to certain areas of the house. For those jumping jacks, a baby gate or crate can keep them away from the front door and prevent them jumping up on your guests.
Leads and harnesses
Keeping your dog on lead is also an excellent way to stop them jumping up on other people. This works when people visit and when out on walks. A lead can be used to maintain your distance from the people your dog is likely to jump on. When they do jump up you can use the lead to direct them back to the floor.
Collars
Baby gates and leads can be extremely helpful but what do you do when your dog is not behind the gate or on the lead? Firstly, you can ignore the dog who is jumping up until they have four paws on the floor. For some the jumping and the scratching makes this difficult, in these situations you can use your dogs collar to hold them steady until calm.
Teach them what they should do instead of jumping up.
Telling a dog “NO” is only part of the solution. It is equally important that you provide a suitable alternative behaviour that you would like them to do and show them how. When trying to change your dogs behaviour it is better to think “not that, do this” rather than just saying “No”.
Teach your dog how to sit and practice this behaviour at every opportunity. Have your dog sit for pats, at mealtimes, when going through the door and when you put the lead on to go for walks. Your dog will learn that sitting nicely grants them access to things in life they want such as dinner, cuddles and walks.
Teach your dog to lay down quietly and practice. It is harder for a dog to jump up from a down than from the sit.
There is no one size fits all approach to dog training. A professional dog trainer can observe the problem and tailor make a solution that is right for you.