How do I stop my dog from jumping up?
— Laura ScottAnswer: On the agility course having a dog that jumps is a very good thing, but when that same dog is jumping up on you and everyone else, it’s a bit less desirable. Teaching your dog to keep four on the floor just takes some patience and practice.
1. Don’t reward your dog for jumping on you: Many people respond to a dog jumping on them by yelling at the dog and pushing them off. This is what the dog is looking for... attention. When you yell at them, they get the eye contact and verbal interaction that they want and when you push them off you’re touching them in almost the same place they normally get pats. If you don’t have another training plan, ignore the jumping dog.
2. Teach an alternate behaviour: Dogs learn much faster when you give them clear direction on what you want them to do. Instead of just telling your dog not to jump, tell him to do something else instead. Sit is a good alternate behaviour. Reward your dog for sitting when people say hello and make sure that people know they aren’t allowed to say hi unless the dog is sitting.
3. Self control: Not jumping is all about your dog’s self control. Practicing other self control exercises like “leave it” and “stay” with distractions will also help when teaching your dog not to jump.
4. Use a timeout: If your dog is unable to sit nicely to say hello, give him one chance to get it right and then if he jumps up again, give him a timeout. There are two ways to do this. You can remove your dog from the interaction (ie to a crate or small room) or you can have the person who was going to pat your dog turn their back and walk away. Time outs should be short (20 seconds) and then your dog gets another chance to try and get it right.
5. Put it on cue: Teach your dog to jump up as a reward. Have him sit in front of you, tell him to “jump up” and you take a half step back (to brace yourself) and bring your hands up to your face. Reward your dog for jumping up. Once he understands this, you can use it as a reward while training. And by having it on cue, your dog can better understand when it’s okay to jump up (when you tell him) and when it’s not (the rest of the time).
When practicing this, it’s important that everyone is using the same rules. Your dog isn’t going to learn very quickly if he is sometimes allowed to jump and sometimes not. If there is a family member who likes the dog jumping up, then make sure they know to give the dog permission to jump first. If you are still having trouble getting your dog to keep his paws on the ground talk to your instructor and they may be able to offer some additional tips.