The Problem Begins The Problem Continues The End of the Problem Check here for Young Puppy Jumping Do's and Don'ts.
Most dogs jump up on people because they are happy and excited to see them. This is
their way of showing affection and receiving attention. The behavior is usually learned
while they are puppies. When a puppy is very young, we usually sit on the floor, let them
wiggle into our laps and allow them to lick and nuzzle up close to our face. When they
come bounding over to greet us, stretching up to our knees, again we bend down, pick
them up and exchange hugs and kisses. All this time we are training the puppy to jump up.
Eventually we decide we don't like this behavior anymore. What used to be cute is now
obnoxious and even dangerous if the dog is jumping up on children.
Our inconsistency perpetuates the problem. Some of the time we tolerate the jumping and
ignore it. Other times we reward the behavior by exchanging enthusiastic greetings. But
when we're dressed up and the dog's paws are muddy, it's a different story.
Reprimanding the dog for jumping up usually does not work. Either the dog
misunderstands the reprimand as praise or he gets even more excited and the jumping gets
worse. If the reprimand is severe enough, the dog may stop jumping at that moment but it
doesn't solve the problem altogether; and it certainly is not a very nice thing to do. It's
very similar to a person approaching you with a big smile, arm extended to exchange a
hand-shake and you bopping the person in the nose. Even if the dog learns not to jump on
you, he will still jump on everyone else.
A better solution is providing your dog with an alternative method of greeting you and
others. Teach your dog to sit-stay. He cannot sit-stay and jump up at the same time. When
he is sitting you can then kneel down and give him a warm hug and kiss. Practice is
essential. If your dog is excitedly jumping up when you return home from work and this
only happens once a day, then he is only getting one practice session a day. If he jumps up
on your company and you only have visitors once a week, then he is only getting one
practice session a week. In order to perfect the proper greeting routine, your dog needs
much more practice than that. You can speed up the training process by leaving through
the back door and returning through the front door over and over again. When your
friends come over, have them do the same. Each time, ask your dog to sit-stay before
opening the door. At first his excitement will make it difficult for him to concentrate but
after you've repeated this process 10 times, he will calm down and be able to concentrate.
Before asking your dog to sit-stay in this distracting and exciting situation, be sure he has
a reliable sit-stay in normal, non-stressful situations.
Check here for other Tips on training the young puppy.