Dogs Jumping up to Greet

February 26, 2012 | By More

ready…set…jump!

Jumping for Joy

“meet & greet without lifting your feet”

Typically dogs will jump up on you to get closer, or to get your attention.  So, if you push the dog away and say “no, get down” you are very likely reinforcing the behavior you want to stop,  Realizing that the dog see’s this as attention (i.e. you’re talking to him), it’s working quite well.   You may even find yourself leaning over him to scold him, or sometimes even pushing him away.  Jackpot!  You looked at him, yelled at him, got closer to him, put y

I will typically turn my back to a dog that’s going to jump on me and take a step away at the same time.  This will keep the dog from hanging on to the back of my legs and he will usually fall to the floor.  Once the dog is down with “four-on-the-floor,” I quickly turn back to face him with a smile, light praise or somehow let him know that it’s a good thing.  If he jumps again, repeat this over again until he gets it.   And he will.  Do not use treats or effusive praise for this.  You are not rewarding his jumping up and falling down, you are just trying to capture him in the right position and let him know it.  This serves to clearly demonstrate to the dog that “when you jump on me, I go away, when you are on the floor, I come back.”   As usual, there is really no need for words.  Your actions will scream!!For those who are inclined to use physical puishment for this behavior, think about it first.  Your dog is trying to get closer to you, to tell you he loves you and he’s happy to see you.  Is kneeing him in the chest, stepping on his paws, or pinching his toes, a fair response to his affection?   Yes, he must learn the correct way to greet people, gently and patiently….which is precisely the way we should choose to teach him.

Remember, the right way to correct unwanted behavior is always… Handle with Care.

 

 

 

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Category: All Posts, Obedience

Comments (1)

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  1. Thomas says:

    hey there! checked out your wetsibe and am very interested in your assistance. We have a year old lab X greyhound (so we found out afterwards!) and all in all he is an amazing dog, we got him at 8 weeks and he has been around our daughter who had just turned 3 and is amazing with her she lays on him..pushes him is kind of in an agressive stage right now and we try really hard to stress to her NOT to be like that lol but anyways he has never growled, snapped, bit or snarled at her..or anyone for that matter.. he is a very loving and affectionate, licky/kissy dog.however, we have a baby on the way, and my husband was just called into the military and will be going away for quite a while. Bentley(dog) seems to listen to my husband more than me they are BFFS. And Bentley has and always has had an issue with jumping up, and pawing at people lol not aggressively but its still super frustrating, and we are concerned with the baby on the way and such and just want to get him under control while hes still young.Let me know what you think and We’d love to meet!