How to stop a dog from jumping on people when excited?
Alexie Orn
2025-06-28 18:02:42
Count answers: 13
The most common reason why a dog will jump up is to try and gain our attention. By reacting to a dog jumping up we can unintentionally encourage them to keep doing it. To stop your dog from jumping up, don't reward your dog's jumping up behaviour, when your dog next jumps up at you, turn your back and completely ignore them. Don't say anything and try not to make eye contact. Be patient and wait until all four of their paws are back on the ground. As soon as this happens, turn around and reward your dog with positive attention. If your dog gets over-excited when you give them attention, consider using a food reward instead. You will need to turn away every time your dog jumps up. Instead they will start to realise that they are more successful at getting your attention when all four feet are firmly on the floor.
Kristian Schroeder
2025-06-28 17:56:35
Count answers: 14
Don’t respond if your dog does jump up. 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. 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.
Garfield Trantow
2025-06-28 16:59:49
Count answers: 13
If your puppy or dog is very excited to see you – first thing in the morning, or when you’ve been out – try to completely ignore your dog before giving it a very casual greeting and a word of praise. Wait until it is calm and has all four feet on the floor. Ignoring your dog means no eye contact, do not speak to them, even to tell them off. Walk past it, put your kettle on, look out of the kitchen window, etc. for as long as it takes for your dog to calm down. Teach incompatible behaviours – i.e. things that if your dog does them, they cannot jump up, like teaching them to sit. When you see someone approaching your dog, ask your dog to sit and reward them for sitting. In an emergency, when you are not able to control the approaching person, or get your dog to sit – turn and walk away with your dog as quickly as possible, or throw down a handful of treats at your dogs feet, as if they are eating food off the floor, they cannot jump up.
Baron Lynch
2025-06-28 15:46:18
Count answers: 11
To control this behaviour, it’s important to understand why dogs do it in the first place. Most dogs crave attention, and jumping up is a way to try and interact with you on your level. 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. Our inconsistency here doesn’t help – many people are happy for their dog to jump at them, but not at guests.
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.
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