Have you ever seen puppies greeting their mothers? They jump up and lick her face. Dog friends also go through this ritual when they meet. However, greetings that are considered polite between dogs can be downright dangerous between a dog and a person.
It’s no use trying to explain to a person that your dog has knocked down that he was only trying to be polite. Jumping up on people is not acceptable. Here are suggestions from the Humane Society of the United States on how to train your dog to not jump up.
Tell People to Not Look at the Dog
The dog is jumping up to get your attention. Tell visitors to your home to not look at the jumping dog or to even turn their backs on the dog. Praise the dog whenever all four feet are on the floor.
You should not greet or pet your dog when you come home and your dog is jumping about. Get other members of the household to do the same. This will help impress on the dog that he will only get attention when all four paws are on the floor.
Get Your Dog to do Something Else
Channel your dog’s energy to so something else other than jumping up. Use positive reinforcement to encourage a dog to fetch a toy from another room, sit in her dog bed or lie down.
Keep training sessions short in order to keep the dog’s attention. It may take many weeks of sessions before your dog learns what to do. Each dog learns at her own pace.
Things to Avoid
Many dog training books influenced by Barbara Woodhouse from the 1990s to early 2000s advocate using a choke chain. Sadly, many dogs have needlessly suffered from this advice. It takes a long time to learn how to use a choke chain without injuring a dog. Never use a choke chain on your dog. Dogs can be seriously injured from a choke chain.
Never wrestle your dog to the ground or physically hold the dog down. It does not work. This can injure or kill very small dogs. Large dogs may misinterpret wrestling as playing and want to keep the game going.
Take Necessary Precautions
If you are unsure if your dog will jump up on visitors, don’t take chances, especially if children or senior citizens are visiting. Put the dog in another room or in his crate. Keep the dog on a lead so you can help control and distract the dog from jumping.
When taking the dog out for a walk, warn anyone who wants to pet your dog that he may jump up. People would rather be warned about a jumper than finding about it the hard way.
