Swagger jumping up by invitation.
Initially, the title of this blog post was “how do I stop my dog jumping?” … then I changed it to “how do I train my dog not to jump?” … then I added “up” to the end. The changes were made because for agility, we DO want our dogs to jump, and I write about agility frequently.
But this post is about dogs jumping on people, and you guessed it, the question about how to teach a dog to NOT jump on people is one we see frequently. I know that many of you will be reading this thinking, “Susan, I’ve seen your dogs jump on you” … and you would be absolutely correct! My dogs jump up by invitation, and it also has a strategic purpose. More on that below.
Dogs Don’t Understand DON’T
When I was interviewed by Tim Ferriss for his podcast… and if you like podcasts, I’d certainly recommend you check out the Tim Ferriss Show… we covered the topic of jumping up. I told the story of training a group of dogs in a B&B we were staying at when on vacation in Ireland to not jump on me, and how it did not take very long at all to change that behaviour.
Anyone can teach this, you don’t have to be a professional dog trainer; you just have to know what you want your dog to DO. The thing is that most people try to train from the world of “don’t”. Don’t jump on me, don’t bite, don’t bark. Dogs don’t understand don’t, because don’t is a concept. Dogs understand DO. They understand behaviours.
What you have to do, is look at what you don’t want, and create a behaviour that you DO want, so that your dog can be right and you’re setting him up for reinforcement. This makes for a much better relationship for you and your dog, and for anybody else who comes in contact with your dog. Reinforcement builds behaviour, and what is reinforced will be repeated.
There are many reasons a dog will jump up, but the main reason is that we teach dogs to jump up with reinforcement. The behaviour continues as our dogs grow up because it is very rewarding. When our dog is fully grown, we decide we don’t like the behaviour because it’s annoying, and it suddenly becomes a problem. The good news is that you can help your dog and have fast results if you know what you want your dog to DO.
Remove the Reinforcement for Jumping Up
We let our dog know that jumping up when uninvited is not appropriate by removing our attention. It is also essential to also reinforce the dog’s good decisions not to jump up. If your dog jumps up without being invited to do so, turn around so he can’t see your face. Turning away removes the reinforcement of your attention. As soon as your dog chooses another behaviour, give him a treat that he loves.
When your dog starts to understand what will earn him reinforcement, you can reward him for all four feet on the ground with your attention, you don’t always have to give him cookies for not jumping up. When we take the reinforcement away for jumping up by consistently turning, our dog is not going to want to jump up as there is reinforcement for alternate behaviour. The dog is going to start to offer the behaviour that has the most reinforcement for him, which is “four on the floor”.
The dogs in Ireland you hear about in my chat with Tim Ferriss. Turning away removes the reinforcement of your attention. As soon as your dog chooses another behaviour, reinforce that!
Embrace Opportunities to Reward Appropriate Behaviour
Look for all opportunities to reward your dog when his feet are on the ground. Reinforcement will show your dog what it is you DO want. By teaching our dogs what we do want, we are empowering the dog to be in control of the ‘good things’, be it a cookie, or our attention, by offering the behaviour we want to see.
Start to notice the good choices your dog makes and be quick to reward those good choices! Be conscious of where you are in your training and what it is you want your dog to DO. This may need considered effort on your part initially, but looking for good choices will soon become a natural part of your life with your dog.
Put Jumping Up on Cue
You might not want your dog to jump on you at all, and if that is the case, ensure you heavily reward all your dog’s good choices for “all four feet on the ground” and be consistent in removing reinforcement by turning away if he does jump up. Empower your dog to make good choices. If you don’t mind your dog jumping up, you can train it as a behaviour.
Putting “jumping up” on cue will help our dogs understand how we would like to be greeted. It is usually easy to teach a dog to jump up on cue. Pat your leg, and when your dog jumps up on you, give him a treat. When you know your dog will reliably jump up on you when you pat your leg, introduce a verbal cue. Give your verbal cue just before you pat your leg, and reward your dog with a treat when he jumps up. Soon you will be able to fade patting your leg and your dog will jump up on your verbal cue. You now have a physical cue (patting your leg) and are introducing a verbal cue (e.g. “paws up”) to let your dog know when jumping up is appropriate.
The Advantages of “Paws Up”
As I said at the start, my dogs jump up on me. They do so when invited with a verbal cue “paws up” and the way I present my body. As well as being something my dogs and I enjoy, jumping up can be used for balance breaks, as a good trigger, and to make sure you have optimal “desire” (the D in my D.A.S.H. acronym) when you and your dog are working together. Remember that work = play and play = work.
If you are training with food rewards, having your dog jump up on you to be rewarded with a treat is far more dynamic and engaging to keep enthusiasm up and to maintain your connection, rather than just mindlessly feeding him a cookie. We always want reinforcement to be a celebration with us.
Rewarding Tater with a “paws up” cookie to maintain enthusiasm and connection.
Do you have a dog who jumps up and you want to change that behaviour? Let me know in the comments what it is you want your dog to DO instead. Have you trained your dog to jump up on cue? Let me know what the cue is, and where you use it!
Today I am grateful for our dogs letting us know where the reinforcement is… that knowledge gives us great information to train what we DO want to set them up for success.
Update: Due to popular demand, I’ve got a tutorial video on YouTube with three easy steps to stop your dog jumping up on people for good.
My 2 dogs off 5 years, know my command word to jump up. My new dog 11 months & since 4 weeks here, doesn’t yet know the word, but knows already my body language.
My dog jumps at me when he is excited also when I enter the house. He will also nibble at me, With his mouth pretty much closed, like dogs to to each other. I believe this is to initiate play. He doesn’t do this to people he doesn’t know. But, if he meets someone he is worried about he has lunged, jumped up, and sprung away, as though he is pushing them away. This is a reactive dog to certain things. I will now teach him to jump up at me on cue like you said. I suppose the ultimate goal would be, when he gets excited he comes to me wagging his tail in a sit, so I can greet him.
My dogs jump when up when I come home.I turn and show my back when both dogs sit they get a treat. When company comes to the door they have to go to their crates because they are not able to control their jumping.
My 5 month old lab doesn’t jump up on us at home but is practically uncontrollable when approaching strangers when we’re out. Although good at recall can’t let her off leash in case a little human is around .
When my “extremely” enthusiastic 17 month old Lab jumps on me, I tell him “off” and turn my back, or turn and walk away. Unfortunately, he will jump on my back when I do this. He’s very persistent and determined!I do reward for him getting off, but don’t always have a treat available. When my family comes over he goes crazy and jumps on everyone as they come in so we have to hang on to his collar until he settles. I know he’s just happy and excited, but he’s overwhelming!
Just a thought, rewarding your dog for getting off could easily create an unwanted behaviour chain since he can not get off without first jumping up. Instead, maybe leave the room completely for a brief time if he jumps up when you turn your back, or mark and reward his approach before he starts to jump. That way he doesnt NEED to offer the unwanted behaviour to get rewarded
I am happy for Mack to jump up when excited to greet me, but would like him to stay on all fours to greet others. This is very helpful, I’ll start working on it right away ! Thank you!
I use “Stay Off” and tell my dog “Good Off” when he stays off and keeps 4 on the floor. I also ask people to pet him only when he is staying off. When doing agility he likes to run back to me and throw his body up against me.i put my hand out and tell him off, and then reward him for staying off.
Hi Susan,
I have a 15 week giant Schnoodle who is jumping up on my island and yesterday she jumped up at the cook top where I was making bone broth. I need some ideas to help her make a good choice and leave things alone.
It’s Yer Choice.
I have a 1 yo bloodhound that is NOT food motivated. Cannot use food rewards as reinforcement. I’m at a loss. I have him sit before people greet him, but eventually he will jump up. I tell them to withdraw attention, and I manually have to get him to sit again and they cycle starts over. Toys, praise and treats done work. Do you have any suggestions?
Hi Beverly, Bloodhounds are very cool dogs! Susan’s IYC Summit (it’s free) will help you with see the possibilities to help your dog understand what you want him to do, and give you a depth of learning on choice in dog training. We would love to have you join in.
https://recallers.com/iycsummit-join/
@Beverly, I recommend what is known as “ditching the food bowl” in this way you can use your dog’s meal for training. Also to you can get dog food meat logs that cut up nicely into bite sized treats. This is a great option to give a high value food reward and still provide a balanced diet with vitamins and minerals. 😉
When you are unable to have your dog work for his meal in a training session I recommend feeding him out of a kong or other food dispensing toy. This way he still has to work for his meal. Dogs who are just given their meals often don’t feel motivated to work for food rewards. Thus always having your dog work for his meals will motivate him to keep working for his meals. 😊
Thank you, thank you, Susan! Tried this & it was effective right off! Now, if I could only get the folks at our dog club to do the same rather then to encourage her to jump up at them….you’d think they’d know better but it never fails…”oh, it’s ok, I love PIA”…fine, but when I am out with her & strangers want to greet her, I don’t want her jumping.
I have a young staffie x lurcher ,who jumps up at other people not me ,how can is top it on walks?
Hi Fiona, you might like to join in with Susan’s IYC Summit (it’s free) as it will help you with all the possibilities to help your dog with what you want him to do.
https://recallers.com/iycsummit-join/
Terrific note, Sue!
Our 18 mo Irish Setter is the epitome of a “rollicking Irish Setter”, especially when either my husband or I come in the door after being gone, even briefly. He gets VERY excited, jumps up and paws us, barking and whining/. He does the same thing when it’s time for a meal, twice a day, or when he goes outside and wants some company to play ball! Turning our backs on him with arms crossed across our chests will occasionally get him to sit, but not stay for very long. I’ve tried putting a leash on him so I can step on the leash to stop the jumping, but he’s too quick for me. He “gets” positive reinforcement in other areas of his training, knows sit, stay,heel, down, etc, but in this we are at a loss. He is otherwise a very sweet, loving, and smart dog. I’ve trained many Irish but he’s confounding me. He came from a show home. We got him at 15 mos, from his breeder, a friend, after he’d been out with a professional handler finishing. He was a kennel dog along with his sister but supposedly did have some regular house time. So, he needed some “civilizing to being a house dog’” after he came to us😉 My plan was to train him to be a therapy dog ; he has the desire to please and the right temperament, but uncontrolled jumping won’t work in the hospital! Thanks so much for any ideas!
Duke is now 16 months old. He is still jumping on us. I have worked with him asking him to spin instead of jumping up. If I spend enough time with him when I first get home asking for spins & other behaviors he does pretty well.
It is the jumping on me from behind that is a real serious issue. He could easily knock me down. How do I stop him?
When doing the 180 turn around doesn’t work. Tried walking forward while having back to her didn’t work either. Tried the knee thing didn’t work. Praised her with high value treats when she did keep all paws on floor. Which is what I say feet on the floor only works for 2 sec. or so but that don’t really work either. She doesn’t jump on me it’s just when people come over. I put her in crate to calm down then I leave her out doesn’t matter.
“Dogs don’t understand don’t” – I love this so much because it’s so true for not only dogs but any living creature with the language equivalent of a toddler.
As a SLP and dog lover, I can attest that giving directives that clearly communicate your expectation rather than using negations to discourage a behavior.
This is two fold:
1. If you’re told not to do something, you’re told to cease or not engage in a behavior but you’re never told what the replacement behavior or expectation is.
This is confusing and in a dog’s mind, not even really a complete command. You’re only giving partial information so don’t be annoyed when you get partial compliance!
2. Language by its very nature is creative and generative. That is, the language we use creates our realities. Negation doesn’t make it not so.
Because negation is a concept that needs to have the opposite true (confirmation) to make it reality, by telling someone not to do something, you’re actually putting more focus on the very thing you’re trying to discourage.
Try it: Whatever you do, don’t think of a purple elephant walking through the doorway.
If you’re like most people, the first image that came into your head is the very thing I told you not to think of. And I’d imagine that dogs, being very visual in language as it is, would have even more difficulty with this concept than a typical human.
Cool article. I love the overlap between human and animal cognition and behavior!
Ok, not a jumping issue but relating to the “turn your back” to remove reinforcer. I have a tiny 8lb rescue that barks like crazy when people come to the door – and barks worst of all when it’s me at the door. I’ve been working on hot zone with some success for general self-control. It’s a balancing act with her. When she first came, she was terrified to engage and it has taken years to get her to actively engage us; she still shuts down if she perceives any social pressure. I believe the barking now is anxiety (typical rescue don’t leave me issue) but also excitement and lack of self-control. I spent three days this week going in and out, in and out, sometimes 15 minutes at a time before she was quiet when I entered and we had 2 full days of no barking when I came in. Then we had a day of a lot of people coming and going (we usually have a lot of people coming and going so this is an ongoing challenge) and everything she learned with me not only appeared lost, but it was worse; when I’d step back out the door, she would literally shriek and run through the house like she was panicking. After ten minutes of trying, I finally stopped going out the door but instead, stayed in her sight with my back turned and the shrieking stopped and she eventually was able to calm and quiet with my back turned. I’m probably trying to achieve too many things at a time with her but can’t quite sort out what the best order of priorities is. Sigh. Anyway, just feedback that the “turning” works even for her in a really aroused state.
I am at a bit of a loss with my 8 month old pup. She is a large GSD x Lab and jumps on peoples backs ! So if I turn away from her she just jumps up on my back instead. She finds great fun in running up behind people who are walking ahead of her and leaping on their backs.
I don’t know how to stop her doing this.
My one year old rat terrier jumps up my back while I walk with her in new parks off leash. When we have people coming into our home she jumps up them barking like crazy. When she sees kids in the park she jumps up them barking like crazy
Hi Susan, my dog is large and can push a person over too easily. Would an alternative be to teach him to shake paws?
Our 5 month old CS puppy jumps up, and when we are walking along will jump up at the back of us. He went through a stage of stopping his jumping, but has gone back to it.
how do I get my 17 month old beaskie to stop jumping on guests when they come in the house… she goes crazy jumping and barking.. is there a step by step video on how to train her to stop this.. thank you
My Cocker is 15 mons old. Neutered male I am 81 ! Having big problem with his aggressive acts towards other dogs and urinating when ppl pet him and jumping on guests then me at high speed! He knows to come and sit. Will not eat treats. Please help! I am crippled and hard to get him to stop these horrible trates. Thank you!
I understand how to keep my dog from jumping on me. What I do not know is how to keep her from jumping on guests or new people she has just met?
This is my issue as well. :\
I have this huge problem too. When I turn away from my puppy I fall!
I have been using the command off to replace down for two days now. It appears to be doing the trick. Learning process but is getting Polly’s attention and obedience to command. 4month old girl not always attended to command. Learning process.
Hi i,am from europe Belgium so sorry for my English
How do you chance a behavior of a dog thats jumps up and shows its sexuali drift at the owner
Grt Garry
It is so much easier for us to think DONT rather than DO because, I think, that’s what we have been brought up with as children. Life for many of us, I feel, has been a constant series of admonitions to NOT do something when we were young…just think of all the prohibited behaviors in school!.It is very refreshing to look at the positive, i.e., behavior we would happily reward!
Thank you for emphasizing the positive!
Hi, I loved what you shared, especially about put jumping up on cue . I’m going to combine it with what I’m doing to improve my results.
Thanks.
Hi! I am at my wits end. My 5 mom.old BC puppy has a bad habit of circling the stairs, jumping and barking when my boys go from the first floor to the second. It seems to be an obsessive herding behavior. She will even lie on the floor and wait for them to go upstairs. Any advise? I am so unsure of what to do about it. Thanks so much.
Hi Susie, as Susan notes in her blog, thinking about what you would like her to “do” and training that is the way forward for many challenges. If you write down on pen and paper what you would like to see in this scenario it will help you with clarity to help your pup. You might also like to note other situations you notice this behaviour.
A great start with any puppy is Crate Games, and those foundations, which are for people and dogs, can be transferred to all we do.
https://www.crategames.com/
She does it because it’s FUN to chase the boys! Like Susan says, give the dog something else to DO… They can teach her to heel up the stairs next to them and reward with lots of cookies for heeling and not barking. Or send her upstairs first, do a down-stay and wait for them to come up and play tug with her. There are literally dozens of things she can be taught to do instead. We are supposed to be smarter than our dogs!
When I turn around to avoid him jumping on me he then jumps on whatever part of my body he can get to !
Turn around for just one second, then turn back, tell your dog to Sit and click/treat or say Yes and treat. Be consistent about cuing and reinforcing sit to greet you and your dog will start offering auto sits. Or alternatively have your dog target your hand – a high energy dog can jump up to hand target and reinforce that as a greeting behavior.
My dog Shiloah does not jump on me, he jumps on other people, it’s hard to control because people encourage it. He is a Lab and a big boy and loves everyone. So do I encourage him to jump on me and then give a cue like “off” after he knows to jump on me, then introduce “off”, four on the floor and reward the calm behavior?
I have a similar problem with my Golden. He comes to work with me and overall, he’s awesome and everyone wants to love on him. But, if he’s excited or anxious or, sadly, if someone DOESNT want to pet him, he’ll either jump up (if they’re standing) or crawl into their laps if they’re sitting. I’m not in control of other people’s behavior and most either like it or at least will say “oh I don’t mind.” It’s a big office (150+ People) so getting ALL of them to get on board with the training program simply wont happen. I’m trying to work on this behavior with him at home using the techniques suggested in the blog, and at work I’m thinking of trying to remember to keep high value cookies in my pockets when we’re out in the office so I can reinforce appropriate visiting behaviors, but I’m open to hearing other ideas for when I’M not the focus of the jumping behavior and when the “jumpee” doesn’t cooperate with the training plan!
I have a sled dog (Siberian Husky) that LOVES to jump on me and I hate it, mostly because he is SO long that he is in my face when he jumps up. I notice when I turn my back he then jumps on my back….ARRGH. I will keep trying and see if I can get something to work
Teach him to sit as he approaches you – before he jumps. Toss a handful of tiny treats on the floor and tell him to “search” – to get him thinking about doing something OTHER than jumping up. Try walking forward into him instead of turning your back. Husky’s like to claw you up when you turn your back on them – not sure why.
I call it ‘boing’. My Golden gets to bounce up toward my upward hands. I use it as a reward. She never knows when it will happen, but she works hard while waiting for it.
Hi All:
Thanks for the tips. We do a lot of positive ” It’s Yer Choice” training with our two rescue dogs. They are little terrier mixes. By far, jumping up is the most common issue, as well as launching excitedly into the laps of company.One of them can jump up and look our guests in the eye ( and occasionally gets a lick in there, too).
For us, I would say the biggest challenge is finding people to come over and practice. It’s hard to engage people in coming into the house and ignoring until “four on the floor.” We just don’t have that many people coming over! I feel like this is one of the reasons people have trouble with this skill. Not enough human helpers to help our dogs learn what we want.
When all is said and done, we’re just happy that we have friendly dogs. There are worse problems.
My white west highland terrier Molly is now 6 yrs old – and she would jump up so happy to see me when I came home
I tried all sorts down and only then pet her – turn away and she would get you in the back of the knees which was even more annoying – now when I come home she brings me one of her soft toy 🧸 which all have names and we say hallo Molly and thank you for bring ducky or lovely etc when the greeting is over she will leave it or I can throw it for her to chase – it as you say trying to train your guests to play the game the one who do enjoy the encounter the others who try to ignore her get jumped on 😁
I have a Doberman and a Chihuahua. The problem I get is that they both get each other excited. I have taught Nitro the Doberman to go to his place in order to meet people. They are not allowed to even talk to him unless he is on his place and then they go over give a treat and then Nitro can say Hi properly. No jumping.
Hi. My dog jump on my back while i’M not locking at him. He is doing that when he is having à lot of fun.
Any idea?
My older terrier has learned to sit for attention, though she will often paw at people if they don’t reward her with attention fast enough (or long enough for her satisfaction) however ai recently adopted a five pound mutt that jumps up for attention. He will literally jump up and then CLIMB and claw his way up the body. I have a fourteen month old grand baby that he is fascinated with and is constantly in her face or jumping on her. I usually leash him and give the leash to my older grandchildren (7 and 5) to “walk” to keep him away from the baby while I train him. (Realizing he needs training BEFORE the kids are here, I know he needs more practice. However ai live alone and rarely have company. He has some separation anxiety and whenI come home he loses his mind jumping. He may only be five pounds, but it is still not okay to have him demanding attention In inappropriate ways. I am training him to sit for attention, but first I had to teach the sit. Removing attention at this point just seems to make him even more wild in his demands.
My verbal command is “uppy” with a tap on my stomach. I use it as part of our “celebration” after a successful performance. I also use it as part of our warm up before an agility run or other work. It helps them stretch out and focus on me, as well as be rewarded.
Great article and.makes.perfect sense now you say it like that.
My viz x lab is grade 1 ability, she jumps up and ‘nibbles’ ‘nips’ during the round, we believe usually when we have a pause, I stop or hand signals change…
She gets so excited and loves to please…but how do I get her to concentrate until I give her the queen we are finished?
Sue
We have two 4 month old Portuguese Water Dog puppies who go crazy when we greet them or when someone comes to the house. I am especially concerned with my 5 year old granddaughter who they literally knock down. Their excitement is to the point where I cannot get their attention. The problem is horrible because we have to keep them confined and cannot let them out when she is here. She wants to play with them but how can we keep them from inadvertently hurting her? When they jump up they are as big as she is! Please help.
Two pups the same age are ten times harder to train, because they reinforce each other’s behavior. You’re expecting them to do doggy calculus when they don’t know how to add 2+2 yet. Read Susan’s blog again. Read her book “Ruff Love” (which is NOT about being rough.)
Training is very simple, but it takes time and practice. First train them separately to do a reliable “sit” when there is nothing going on. Gradually add easy distractions and get them to do it together. Then ask a reliable friend to come over often to help you train the pups to behave well. Then, when you know guests are coming over, crate the pups in another room. Invite your guests in, sit them down and explain the rules. If the pups are too excited, they have to pretend to be a tree (sitting down calmly & silently). IF guests won’t cooperate, then they don’t get to see the pups at all. Unless you have two handlers, bring in ONE pup at a time ON LEASH. YOU reward the pup with good food treats for calm behavior. Walk them near the guests and ask for a “sit”. Only when the pups are totally relaxed can the guest quietly pet them while all of their feet are on the floor.
Hi Lynne. We have had a personal trainer come to the house to work with them and they can both do a sit, even extended until released, separate and/or together. But that all goes out the window when company arrives, particularly a little human their size! I will have our trainer work on this on one of our future sessions. The sit till release was their last one but didn’t work with distractions. That is the next lesson.
Thank you for the tips 🙂
My problem is that my rescue dog likes to “paw”, almost as if he is giving a paw for a handshake. Unfortunately, his claws are so strong and exposed that he really hurts, drawing blood on occasion. Husband is disabled with thin skin. Any ideas would be welcome.
Thanks, Susan. I have an enthusiastic, hoppy young Vizsla who loves everybody. I turn my back and have taught “Paws Up!” for his Trick Dog title. Now if I could just convince other people to try it instead of encouraging him to get all crazy on them!
My Aussie is high energy and is Extremely enthusiastic when anyone comes through the front door. I did not like that she jumped on people. My mom is 89 yo and her balance is not as good as it use to be. I instinctively used your method. My dog now jumps on invitation and greets people sitting down. I keep treats by the door and reward her when sitting. She also grins ferociously when happy. So I’ve added the grin command to the ‘’ Coming in routine’’. Now coming in is fun for her and for the humans. 🙂
Perhaps I missed it…what is said or done when the dog wants to greet visitors with jumping up? Ask the visitors to turn away? I understand the removal of attention, turning your face away. Thanks.
You first have to teach your dog the correct behaviour with you and once he understands and does not jump on you reliably (even when you tease him to do so), then you can use it when your dog interacts with others. Explain to people what you expect from your dog I.e. no jumping unless you or them give him the cue to do so.
I use ‘paws up’ but think ‘both’ may be a useful cue.
My 8 month collie never jumps up at me and won’t even do ‘paws up’ on me, but he goes ballistic when people come. I am trying so hard to train him not to jump up at them and do another behaviour, but they ALL say ‘Oh, I don’t mind!’ and then encourage him to jump and fuss him. I explain why I’m doing this, which means I have to take them aside and explain it, and they get bored and think I’m nuts. ‘He’s only a puppy!’ they say!
When I greet people at the door I ask them not to interact or worst invite the dog to jump on them because ‘’ they don’t mind ‘’. I tell them what I demand from my dog and tell them the command to use if they want to interact with my dog. Then reward your dog if he doesn’t jump. You’ll be surprised at how fast their behaviour will change. Greeting someone at the door is now a game.
Good luck.
Early in the training I would also put my dog on a lead and put my foot on it to insure success I.e. the dog could not jump.
I have the same problem. Everyone says that’s ok when Moss jumps up. He is a 67 pound BC and has already knocked an 80 year old man off my door step. Scared me to death. I managed to get one older fellow to make him run to step and sit. Then he gets at treat. Now he does it himself. Now if all the other people would do it he would get the idea , no jump. I get treat. Duhhhh!
What if turning your back makes NO difference to your dog?? My 8 month old is just as excited to jump up on my back when I turn around.
So does mine! I’ll be very interested in the answer to this..
Use the lead trick I mention above. Help your dog be successful.
My dog does not jump up except on cue and I use the same cue as Susan ‘Paws up!’ 😀
My girls sit to greet, but for fun we also have a cue for ‘up’ where I hold my arm out to the side horizontally to invite them to jump towards my arm … they love to run and jump this way and as arm is to the side there is no danger of me being knocked over.
C’est mon problème, surtout avec un chien et il le fait aussi en agility. C’est un rescapé et il est vrai que je ne lui ai pas trop interdit car pour lui c’est de l’amour. Mais je vais travailler sur ce point et surtout pour mon whippet qui saute sur les gens pour dire bonjour! Merci pour cet approche.
Thanks Susan great blog. My cue for 2 paws up is ” both” and my cue to release is ” off”. It was so easy to teach. I also teach my dogs to sit and wait if wanting attention.I reinforce that too.
Reinforce the good stuff and no reinforcement for the unwanted stuff.😊
You are on this, Veronica! 🙂 “Both” is a fun cue for paws up.
Perfect timing for this article as I’ve just started working on this issue. I’m seeing progress and he’s started thinking and doesn’t jump up as consistently. Now I know how to add the verbal since I want it on Que.
What a great update, Darlene!
My dog bounces when he is greeting me, but not jumping on me. I have taught him up, he stands on his back legs and puts his paws in kine, followed by down where he gets off. Should I ignore the bounce, or ask for a different behaviour when he does it? It’s seems to be excitement in him
Hi Alyson, things like this can be fun. It’s your choice for what you would like your dog to DO in your life together 🙂