Dogs naturally greet fellow canines through their noses, smelling each other’s faces. No need to stop dog jumping up in this case. Animal trainers explain this as an appeasement gesture. With us adults, who are bigger and taller, they need to jump up to reach the appropriate body part.
While this enthusiastic show of affection may seem amusing at first, it can later become a bad habit as it can escalate into an alarming territory if left uncorrected. It can even be dangerous with large adult dogs, such as Great Danes and Saint Bernards.
To prevent accidents and help your pet become a better greeter, do these steps.
1) Do reward-based training to make the stop dog jumping up strategy more effective.
Train your dog to sit-stay when greeting people. Any time you see him jump on someone calls for such a training session as consistency is key. Use games, treats, a walk, petting, or praise to reward the desired behaviour.
Whenever your dog jumps, ignore him. Advise your guests to also do the same. But when he corrects himself and puts all four paws on the ground, immediately give him the reward.
If he remains standing or sitting when a person comes over your house, look him in the eyes and award him a treat. Your dog will likely experiment in the scenario and repeat the jumping, so be patient. Soon enough, he will observe that the treats come when all of his feet are on the ground. Consistent supervision will help your pet stay down after a couple of his jumping attempts.
Later in the training phase, you can leave out the material rewards and simply praise him for being a good dog or pet him on the head.
2) Rein in the affection.
Do you lavishly show affection to your dog when you enter the door at the end of the day? If you say yes, that probably explains the jumping.
Remember that your furry friend is a dog and that the best thing you can do for him is to treat him as he is—a dog. That being said, you should communicate to him in ways that a canine creature can understand. So, when you get home, greet him calmly and confidently. Your pet will take cue from your initiative and will be less likely to greet you inappropriately. This is especially important when house-training the dog.
3) Try jump-on-request training.
Training your dog to jump on request is not necessary. But if you are among the dog owners who do like to be greeted by jumping four-footed friends, it is better to train your pet to jump on request to avoid confusion and undisciplined gestures of enthusiasm.
Upon coming home, use the sit-stay training strategy so the dog can greet you calmly. After you close the door and are ready to greet your pooch, say “hug” or a similar command and pat your lap or your chest so he associates the word with the jump. This request itself is your pet’s reward for not jumping on you during the initial greeting.
Bonus Tip on Stopping Your Dog from Jumping on Your Guests
As long as you train your dog not to jump without invitation, you can expect him to behave well consistently. However, if you’re not confident your dog can stay down when visitors arrive, do a simulation of the situation with the help of your friends.
Start with two pretend visitors. When you open the door to let them in, give the sit-stay command to your pooch. If he still jumps, have your friends walk out and stay outside for a couple of minutes. You should also leash your dog. If your dog jumps on them when they re-enter the door, have your visitors walk out again. Repeat this exercise until the dog heeds your sit-stay command even without the leash.
Some dog breeds are more excitable than others, so you need to be extra patient if your dog is among the more enthusiastic ones. To be better able to help discipline your pet, you can learn more about your dog’s ways by comparing dog breeds.
Conclusion
If you’re having guests over, advise them beforehand to greet your dog calmly and ignore him if he jumps. If you prefer him to stay down, be consistent in greeting your dog calmly and not returning a positive gesture to his bouncy greetings.
Further, avoid punishing your pet. The jumping is an appeasement gesture common to all dog breeds and punishing the gesture may only make your dog bounce even more.
