Stop my dog from jumping!

Stop my dog from jumping up please!

Basic Obedience is over.

You’ve passed with flying colors.

You resume your normal routine at home.

But before you know it you realize your dog is slowly falling back into some of her bad habits.

Time and time again we see handlers coming back after their dog has mastered basic obedience classes, saying “We need a refresher!”  One of the most common issues we see is that handlers have a difficult time getting their dog to stop jumping up when he or she is excited to see someone.

We asked one of our awesome trainers here at AZ Dog Sports, Devan Johnson (DJ) to give us some tips on how to stop a dog from jumping.

Proper Greeting

First your dog needs to master a proper greeting. 

Remember, a dog will repeat something they are getting rewarded for. Sometimes the reward can be as simple as a stranger coming up and petting your dog when they don’t have 4 paws on the floor. 

In the early stages of training it is crucial that you -the pet parent- maintain that your dog is not accidentally getting rewarded for jumping up on people.  Sometimes this might mean you have to get down on your dogs level and simply hold the harness or collar so she doesn’t jump up.  

Or tell the visitor that they must wait to say hello to your dog- they are learning that they have to sit before being pet!

Practical Training Tips

Practice 3-5 min (2-5x a day) 

Outcome: To help dog understand how to properly greet guests and be a good canine citizen!

Goal of this training tip:  To be able to reach over the dog’s head and pet him while he maintains a sit/ stay. 

Pre-requisites for teaching your dog this task: Dog must know marker word and release word. Dog must also know how to sit and maintain a simple stay. 

Training Steps:

1. Lure dog into sit position 
2. Tell dog to stay
3. Reach towards dog.
   1. If dog does not get up, mark and treat.
   2. If dog gets up, do not treat and note that this might be too difficult for the dog and take activity back a step by working on maybe just a simple hand movement.
4. Make sure to release dog after.

Training Game Week 1: Super Sits!

Practice 3-5 min (2-5x a day) 

Goal of this exercise: To get dog to sit when dog is excited!

Training Steps:

1. Show dog you have treat in hand.
2. With close fist, move fast away from your dog and encourage dog to follow you (you can up the level of excitement when your dog gets the hang of this game).
3. Ask dog to sit, making sure you use the sit hand signal for your dog. Give them the signal before they reach you or are close enough to jump up.  This will teach them that even in an excited state of mind they can still sit on command!  The faster we can get them to sit the better!

Training Game Week 2: Treats on the Floor! 

Practice 3-5 min (2-5x a day) 

Goal of this exercise: To get dog to focus on the rewards on the floor rather than jumping on visitors

Training Steps:

1. Timing is everything with this game. When your dog starts the jump motion, throw treats on the floor to distract them and move their attention away from the person.
2. Practice in all rooms of the house.
3. Make it fun for them to learn!
4. Teach your dog that when treats on the floor no jumping is allowed anywhere.
5. Anytime the dog has his paws on you it is considered jumping. Make sure you watch out where your dog may be doing the behavior.

~ by Devan Johnson