Training Tips For Dogs That Always Jump Up On People

Most dogs learn to jump up when they are puppies. They do it because they are happy or excited
to see us. We often get down on the floor to play with them and let them jump on us and climb
in our laps. As they get a bit bigger, we think it’s cute when they begin to recognize us and run to
jump up on our shins. As a reward, we pick them up and cuddle them or laugh and tell them how cute
they are. But as the behavior continues, it looses its appeal, especially if the dog grows up to be a big bruiser
who tears people’s clothing or knocks them down every time he’s excited to see them.

Dogs also touch noses or sniff when greeting each other, so it is natural for our dogs to want to
see our faces. We can sometimes prevent them from jumping up simply by bending down to
greet them. But you will need to be careful in case the dog still jumps up and hits you in the nose
or scratches your face. If you can grab a hold of the dog first and keep his feet on the floor,
this will be safer.

It’s best to discourage jumping up right from the start, but even with an adult dog, it’s not too
late to teach it more appropriate ways of greeting people and expressing excitement.
Unfortunately pet owners often encourage the dog’s jumping by reacting to it inconsistently.
When we come home from a particularly demanding day at the office, we welcome the dog’s
attention and let him jump up and lick us. We are happy that at least someone appreciates us and
is glad to see us.

But when we have our good clothes on, or small children come to visit, the dog is reprimanded
for his jumping. He often doesn’t understand what the owner is angry about, especially since
just the other day jumping was fine. So the dog will continue to jump or even increase its actions
to see if that makes things better. The first step in teaching dogs to not jump up is to enforce the
same rules every time.

This is also true for dogs that jump up on counters, although the reason for this bad behavior is
different from the reason dogs jump on people. Dogs that jump on counters are either after food,
or they are bothered by the fact that they can’t see what is up there and their curiosity gets the
better of them. With curious dogs, you will see this type of behavior in other areas. Debbie
described how Indy follows her around the house. He is not panicked, like a dog with separation
anxiety, he is simply curious. He wants to know what is going on, and he doesn’t want to miss
out on anything.

If a dog is jumping up on counters you will have to provide negative consequences for the
behavior in order to deter the dog. If he has successfully acquired food from counter tops in the
past, that has been a powerful reinforcer and it may take awhile to overcome that conditioning.
For curious dogs, it will simply be a matter of making jumping up on the counters not worth the
effort.

Stopping Dogs From Jumping Up On People

1.) DON’T REWARD THE DOG FOR JUMPING UP
If your dog jumps on you, do not pet him or touch him
in an encouraging manner. Firmly but gently push him down off you and refuse to pay him any
more attention until he stays down. Then praise him or give a treat. (Don’t let the dog see the
treat first or this may cause the jumping). You will need to be sure other people understand the
rule as well, or the dog may refrain from jumping on you, but think it’s okay to tackle everybody else.

2.) TEACH YOUR DOG AN APPROPRIATE WAY TO GREET YOU
Most dog owners like having their dogs greet them, they just don’t want to be bowled over or
have their clothes ruined. By teaching the dog an appropriate method of greeting you and other
people that come to visit or that you meet while out walking, you allow your dog to express his
happiness without becoming obnoxious.
A Sit-Stay combination works well. The dog is still within reach for us to pet him, but he is
sitting calmly and waiting for us to approach him. Some people allow the dog to walk up and
nuzzle their hand or shake hands as long as they remain on the floor. Whichever action works
best for you and is easy for your dog to learn is fine. The Sit-Stay combination is taught in basic
obedience and used for a number of training activities and forms of behavior modification.

3.) TEACH YOUR DOG TO JUMP UP ON COMMAND
If you want your dog to jump up sometimes so you can pet him and cuddle him without having
to bend down or get on your hands and knees, you can teach him to jump up on command. Pat
your stomach while saying the verbal command you wish to use, such as “Hup” or “Up.” When
your dog jumps up, you can pet him and tell him what a good dog he is. But you should also
have a command that signals it is time to get down. “Off” or “Enough” work well, but you
should avoid the word “Down” if you use this to tell you dog to lie down. By teaching your dog
when it is okay to jump up, you also teach it when not to behave in this manner.

4.) BEAT YOUR DOG TO THE PUNCH, SO TO SPEAK
When your dog begins to move toward you to jump up, take a couple steps forward and close in
on him. This will usually stop the dog for a few moments and you can take a hold of his collar
and use pressure to keep his feet on the floor while you pet him and praise him. If he succeeds in
jumping up, give him a verbal command to get down and don’t pet him until he does.

5.) STEP GENTLY ON YOUR DOGS BACK TOES
Some trainers and pet owners have had success in teaching a dog to stay down by gently
stepping on his back his back toes when it has its front feet up on you. This needs to be done
carefully to avoid injuring the dog, and should not be used at all for shy or nervous dogs. You
also have to be careful that it doesn’t become a game with you trying to catch the dog’s toes
while he has fun trying to avoid your feet.

6.) FIRMLY KNEE YOUR DOG IN THE CHEST
When your dog begins to jump on you, raise your knee and firmly, but gently tap him in the
chest while giving a verbal command instructing him to get down. Once all four feet are on the
ground, you can praise and pet the dog. If he begins to jump again, back off and raise your knee
if necessary.

The same cautions apply to this technique as with stepping on the dogs back toes. If the thump from
your knee is unpleasant, the dog will learn to avoid coming into contact with you where you can reach
him, but he may start jumping from behind or lunging in and grabbing your clothes with his teeth.
If you have a high-energy dog or one that is very playful or used to rougher play, this technique
may not work well. Any correction that involves physically reprimanding the dog needs to be done
in a calm and controlled manner.

7.) GRAB YOUR DOG’S PAWS AND HOLD THEM TIGHTLY
When your dog jumps on you, grab a paw in each hand and hold them tightly until your dog
begins to struggle. Then gently push him down while giving your verbal command to get off.
Although this method causes your dog discomfort, we are more comfortable with it than with the
two previous suggestions because it is easier for the pet owner to control the amount of pressure
applied to the dog’s paws. With toe stepping or kneeing the dog in the chest, there is the
potential to lose your balance and really nail the dog or to accidentally step too hard. Any
correction that involves physically reprimandi ng the dog needs to be done in a calm and
controlled manner.

Tips for dogs that jump up on counters

8.) MAKE THE COUNTERS UNINTERESTING
Perhaps the easiest way to keep your dog from jumping on the counters is to keep fun things like
food and towels or other chewable items off the countertop. Some of this is simply common
sense. If you set a plate of hamburger patties on the edge of the counter and go outside to light
the grill, leaving the dog alone to guard the burgers, you are basically asking for trouble. If the
burgers are there when you come back, you either have a mighty well-trained dog or a
Dachshund that can’t reach past the floorboards!

9.) USE BAIT MIXED WITH FLAVORED DETERRENT
If your dog has learned that good food can be snatched from the counter, you will need to teach
him that not everything that comes off the counter is good to eat. Take a chunk of hotdog, slice
it open and put a few shakes of Tabasco or hot pepper inside. Set it near the edge of the counter
and wait out of site for your dog to get a good taste of it before giving it a firm “No” or “Off”
command. It is important that the dog dislikes the flavored deterrent or you could end up
reinforcing the behavior. If your dog does not react negatively the first time, do not repeat this
training method. But it may only take one time to convince the dog that taking food off the counter is
not a wise idea.

10.) USE NOISE TO CREATE A NEGATIVE CONSEQUENCE
If your dog is known to grab towels off the counter, put a pile of spoons on top of the towel.
When the dog grabs the towel, the spoons will fall on the floor and make a frightening noise,
which will likely make the dog think twice the next time.

You can also hide around the corner with a noisemaker, such as a rattle can or horn, and
startle the dog when it jumps up on the counter. Try to be sure the dog doesn’t see you, and
definitely don’t start laughing or make a game out of the exercise.

Some people purchase action activated buzzers or beepers that send a laser beam of light
across the top of the counter and go off when the dog breaks the beam by jumping up. Either the
dog eventually learns to stay down, or he becomes accustomed to the noise and begins to ignore
it. But the nice thing about the beepers is that it also alerts you to the fact that the dog is on the
counter, and you can go scold him immediately (and perhaps save the T-bone steak you daringly
set on the counter to breathe before grilling).