Puppies are adorable and fun to have at home, and while their playful exuberance will make most people smile more often than not, there will come a time when that same ‘exuberance’ can be problematic if poor habits are allowed to take root. Imagine getting home in the evening after a long day only to find your groceries being knocked out of your arms.
While jumping can seem charming when it’s a tiny puppy, training your dog to greet you calmly will go a long way in preventing the aforementioned scenarios. Jumping might be irritating to you, but it could be dangerous for small children, the disabled, and anyone who is not expecting to be tackled by an excited 120lb dog. Fortunately there are numerous training options to eliminate this habit:
Option 1: Aversion Dog Training
Aversion training is a type of conditioning that gives your dog negative associations with things you want him or her to avoid.
Understand your dog’s behavior– Dogs greet each other by coming nose-to-nose with them to allow them to acquaint themselves with the other dog’s scent. This is how they’d like to get acquainted with you, but considering that your nose level is quite higher, they will naturally jump higher to get closer to your face when greeting you. This behavior ultimately becomes annoying and uncalled for. Begin curbing this behavior in the early stages. Most of the time, puppies usually jump up on someone while anticipating being picked up and cuddled soon after.
Video courtesy of Brain Training For Dogs
- Begin discouraging this kind of behavior as soon as possible. As happy as you are to see your dog, encouraging this could cost you in the long term. You can discourage this by practicing the no touch, no talk, no eye contact rule when greeting your puppy.
- Avoid giving your dog any form of attention, such as looking or talking to your puppy until she settles down. This kind of reaction will send calming signals to her and avoid getting too excited or anxious about your arrival.
- The younger your puppy, the better she will be at training. Younger dogs tend to learn very quickly.
Ignore your dog when she jumps up. One thing about many dogs is that they revel in the attention you give them. It’s one way they feel loved by their owners. So, one way to teach your dog against jumping up as a form of greeting is by ignoring her when that happens. Do this by turning your back to her and avoiding vocal, physical, or eye contact. In turn, she will do whatever makes you attentive to her. - Tell your dog she’s good as soon as she’s calm and all four paws are on the ground. You can give her a small treat as a reward.
- Talk in a calm voice and pet your dog calmly to prevent your dog from becoming excited again. If that happens, ignore her.
Note that you will be going around in circles at the beginning of this training, but soon your dog will associate her jumping to your lack of attention and stop the behavior. Be consistent in your training. It would greatly help if everyone residing in your home is aware of the ongoing training, and they do the same so that your dog does not become frustrated and both of you actually make progress.
Option 2: Additional Dog Training Techniques
Aside from aversion training, you can use other training methods which teach your dog to obey basic training commands like “sit” or “come” revolving around positive reinforcement. Positive reinforcement associates a pleasant outcome with the desired action.
Redirecting with a sit command- Although simple, you can use the “sit” command in various situations. It is especially a great distraction technique for redirecting your dog’s attention from undesirable behavior like jumping up. Take note that this assumes your dog understands this command; if not, train her first to respond to the command. Make sure to praise your dog every time she sits when asked to do so.
- In case your dog is too excited to follow the command, ignore her until she calms down, then repeats the command. Shower her with praises if she does it right.
- This simple command aims to redirect your dog’s jumping behavior with a task that should be easy to perform and then rewarded well. Soon, your dog will figure out which greetings get your full attention and which don’t
Using a favorite toy– You can keep a special toy by your front door to throw for your dog if she gets too excited when greeting someone that it becomes difficult and time-consuming to wait for her to calm down. This form of distraction will redirect her energy into playing with the toy instead of jumping on you or your guests.
Stay calm– It is crucial to keep calm if you want to receive your dog’s same response. Exhibit a calm behavior in your home by avoiding a high-pitched or loud voice when talking to her. Although tempting, refrain from shouting at her when she begins jumping up. These kinds of tones can encourage more excitement and jump up.
Rather than using physical punishment to discourage bad behavior, teach your dog the behaviors that attract the most rewards from you. You may need to repeat these training actions multiple times, but it will be worth your every effort in the end.
Sources: ASPCA, Humane Society