How do I get my dog to stop jumping when people come over?
Ludie Ankunding
2025-07-12 16:34:13
Count answers
: 20
Dogs jump for all kinds of reasons: attention, excitement or not knowing what else to do when they see a person. Solving a behavior problem like jumping requires both management of the situation and training your dog. Management means you must control the situation so your dog doesn't have the opportunity to jump up. To manage your dog's behavior, you could do one of the following before your guest arrives: Put your dog in their crate. Confine them in another room. Restrain your dog on a leash and ask them to sit while the guest enters. Be sure to reward good behavior. Teach your dog that they receive no attention for jumping on you or anyone else. You can turn your back and only pet your dog when all four paws are on the floor. Teach your dog to do something that is incompatible with jumping up, such as sitting. They can't sit and jump up at the same time. If they are not sitting, they get no attention. It is important to be consistent. Everyone in your family must follow the training program all the time. You can't let your dog jump on people in some circumstances, but not others. When you encounter someone while out walking your dog, you must manage the situation and train your dog at the same time: Stop the person from approaching by telling them you don't want your dog to jump. Hand the person a treat or get a treat ready in your hand to reward your pup for good behavior. Ask your dog to "sit." Tell the person they can pet your dog and give them the treat as long as your dog remains seated.
Mertie Zboncak
2025-06-28 16:05:49
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: 17
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
: 18
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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