How do I get my dog to stop jumping when people come over?
Mertie Zboncak
2025-06-28 16:05:49
Count answers: 9
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. This way, the dog gets some attention and learns that “sit” is appropriate, but “jump” isn’t. 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.
Brenna Frami
2025-06-28 15:07:38
Count answers: 7
If your dog does jump up at you then don’t react at all. You should stay calm, quiet and wait for them to stop. You can then reward them when all four paws are back on the floor. Your dog needs to learn that they won’t gain anything by jumping up. Instead, it’s keeping all four paws on the floor that will get your attention. Make sure you reward your dog with praise when that's the case, especially at times when they’d be most likely to jump up. You can prepare yourself by making a list of all the situations in which your dog might usually jump up. Be quick to interact with them before they do. This might mean having a handful of treats or their favourite toy with you when coming home from work. Then you can open the door and go straight down to engage with them before they start jumping up. Teach your dog to sit when meeting people, ask a friend or relative to walk towards you and your dog, when you get close to them, stop a short distance away and ask your dog to sit. Have some extra tasty treats ready to reward them with. Continue to reward your dog for as long as all four paws remain on the floor, giving them a treat every now and again while you talk to your helper.
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