Why does my dog jump on random people?
Nigel Sporer
2025-07-18 17:59:11
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When your dog jumps up at strangers – or, indeed, anyone – they’re in all probability just looking for attention. It’s behaviour learned from a very young age – if you’re a young puppy and you’re competing with a number of siblings for attention from your mother, it’s the natural thing to do. You may see it as you being annoyed at them, but they see it as getting them the attention they want. If you give them something to eat or some other kind of treat to draw them away, well, that really is only going to encourage them. The more you react to it – even if that’s shouting at them to stop, or trying to push them away – the more they are likely to view it as mission accomplished.
Merlin McDermott
2025-07-06 17:07:16
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Probably the most common behavioural problem in dogs is inappropriate jumping. 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. This is especially an issue when you have visitors – because the chances are, you’re greeting or talking to your guests, and ignoring the dog. They just see you ignoring them and lavishing your attention on your guests, meaning that they feel left out. In addition, most puppies learn early on that jumping gets them attention. As puppies, this is often in the form of reward, as people think that they’ve “learnt a trick”. Our inconsistency here doesn’t help – many people are happy for their dog to jump at them, but not at guests, or when wearing some clothes but not others – but by accepting any jumping behaviour, they are essentially teaching the dog that jumping at people is acceptable. So, jumping up may be seen as a way for your dog to demand attention from you – or from your visitors themselves. Alternatively, it may be because they have learnt that jumping is an appropriate response when they’re excited to meet new people.
Gerry Maggio
2025-06-28 19:54:20
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They’re saying hello. One of the most common reasons why dogs jump is to say hello. Dogs greet each other and us by saying ‘hi’ face-to-face. Dogs can only see us face-to-face if they jump up. Since one of the many ways dogs show us affection is by licking our faces, is it any wonder they want to jump up and say hello face-to-face too. They’re excited. Dale explains nearly all dogs who jump are excited. Common reasons why dogs jump out of excitement include the following: you or another family member are returning home, a new guest is entering the home, food or treats, you’re playing with them, they’re ready for their daily walk. They’re seeking attention. One of the best ways to get someone’s attention is by jumping on them. Though we humans can’t get away with this behaviour, our dogs have realised this is one of the best ways to get our attention. They’re acting aggressive. In some cases, dogs aggressively jump on people. Dale explains that most aggression is fear-based and advises dog parents to read their dog’s body language for signs of fear during the jumping.
Cornell Armstrong
2025-06-28 17:22:21
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Most dogs jump up to get our attention. Your dog is likely to jump up at you when they’re excited to see you. But it could also be an attempt to communicate that they’re worried about something. The action of jumping up can become a channel for excited or nervous energy that dogs repeat again and again. This is because dogs generally do whatever works out well for them. So, if you reward your dog with attention whenever they jump up they’ll just keep doing it. Often, we encourage jumping up in puppies when they’re small and cute. But this can make things confusing for them when they grow up and we no longer want them to behave like this.
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