To control this behaviour, it’s important to understand why dogs do it in the first place. In the vast majority of dogs, there are two main drivers for jumping – firstly, a desire for attention; and secondly, that they have inadvertently been trained to do it. Most dogs crave attention; and jumping up is a way to try and interact with you on your level. The first method is to divert the jumping behaviour into something more appropriate – usually a “sit” command. As the dog gets more and more excited and bouncy, you tell them to sit – and then reward them when they do, with fuss and/or a treat. The other thing you can do is to completely ignore your dog whenever they jump. You do, however, reward them when their front feet are on the floor. This way, you are teaching them that jumping does NOT result in attention, but standing on all fours does. In both cases, it takes time and patience – but it is more than worth it to teach them suitable behaviour before they knock over your elderly aunt, or squash your young nephew.