Tricks & Techniques: Curbing Excessive Jumping

We have a lot of daycare dogs who jump incessantly. We see owners bring their dogs in who are pulling on the leash and then jump up on the employees out of sheer excitement. We love that the dogs are so excited to be here, but you and I both want a dog with good manners, right? Jumping up is a bad habit, but one that can be easily fixed with the right technique.

We'll show you how to go from this....

to this... with 3 simple techniques!

Here are three easy solutions, one for when you’re handling the dog, and two for when you are being jumped on. Our training method at Pet U is positive reinforcement. We use tons of praise and belly rubs and head pats when they behave, and just a quick correction that’s over and done with in seconds when they misbehave. The correction doesn't hurt, it just enforces the idea of wrong versus right.

The next time you’re dog jumps, take the leash and give it a quick tug while you say ‘OFF’ or ‘NO’. You have to mean it; your dog will know when he can walk all over you. As soon as all four feet are on the ground, explode with praise and happiness (and maybe some treats). You want to teach your pup that all good things come when 4 feet are on the ground.

If you are the one being jumped up, simply lifting your knee is enough to discourage most dogs. They won’t enjoy jumping onto your knee, and after a few tries will hopefully learn their lesson. For more excited and forceful dogs, you can put a little more energy into the knee right as they jump. Again, it won’t hurt, but it will startle them into rethinking their behavior.

Another tactic is to simply turn your body sideways, so the dog’s paws are forced to slide off.

Remember to explode with happiness when your dog shows the correct behavior!  

The WORST thing you can do is use your hands to push the dog off of you. This turns it into a game, and ultimately winds up increasing the naughty behavior.

I was recently at a friend’s house who had just brought home a boxer puppy. She was SO cute, but had terribly long nails and loved to jump. I like my legs without long red scratches down them, so I started using the knee technique. Within minutes the puppy had learned that I wasn't going to put up with her jumping, so she sat on my feet instead and begged for head scratches. Her owner was impressed!

So there you go, three easy techniques to curb your pup’s jumping habit! Try this at home, and as always, ask us if you have any questions!