jumping dog

Jumping. Most of us DO NOT like when our dog jumps all over everyone and everything. Little dogs can scratch legs while big dogs can even knock people over! At Lost Creek, one of the biggest complaints we hear from our clients about their dogs is that they jump. So how do you keep your pooch from popping up? What an excellent question!

Before I get into how to keep your dog from jumping, it’s important for you, dear reader, to understand the “Why?” of “Why do dogs jump?”. Contrary to popular belief, sniffing rear ends is not the first way dogs greet each other! Dogs actually love to greet each other face to face! This is an opportunity to meet and assess their new acquaintance while still maintaining the possibility of keeping themselves safe. So when your dog (or any) jumps up in excitement, it is simply them trying to greet you face to face!

Some people believe jumping is an aggressive action. Let me put that myth to rest. An aggressive dog will never expose their vital areas (throat, stomach, etc.) to something that they are attacking. There is too great of risk that they will be injured.

Let me drive one point home: dogs jump for one reason and one reason only. WE LET THEM. Whether it is because we don’t know how to stop it or we inadvertently encourage it, this is the only reason that dogs will jump all over us after no jumping rules are established. So let’s get you on the path to having a dog that doesn’t jump!

DO

  • Ignore your dog and turn away from them. Since your dog is jumping for attention, take all attention away when they jump on you without permission.
  • Invite them to jump up with a command when they are allowed to jump.
  • Teach them to get down when told. 
  • Practice the jump up and get down command multiple times to solidify what the commands mean.
  • Use disappointment when they jump without permission.
  • Read more about why dogs jump on our blog post

DON’T

  • Push your dog down. Dogs play more roughly than we do and when we push them down, we are inadvertently inviting them to play with us.
  • Talk to them when they jump on you. This is a reward to them.
  • Let others allow your dog to jump. This will undo any training that you give your dog for not jumping.

Once you have established with your dog that jumping is only appropriate when asked, be diligent to NEVER allow this behavior without your permission. It really is this simple! If you don’t want your dog to ever jump, don’t ever ask!

If you are having trouble with any of these steps, give us a call at (308) 455-0235 or send us email at info@lostcreektraining.com to schedule a session with us!

Thank you for taking the time to read my blog. I truly believe that with diligent education of the general public by expert trainers, we can improve lives of dogs around the world! Remember to Keep Calm and Get Lost at The Creek!

Tiffany Buerer has almost half a decade of training experience with Lost Creek. She is an expert in obedience training and has helped rehabilitate hundreds of aggressive dogs. She has also assisted with the training and certification of multiple service dogs through Lost Creek’s Service Dog Training & Certification Program.