Does your dog pounce on you as soon as they see you walk through the door, coming back from work? They get so excited seeing their favourite person! If you think about it, we tend to do the same thing, too, when we get excited about someone – we just wanna jump on them! While it helps your pup earn brownie points with other dog lovers, repetitive jumping may cause discomfort among your friends who are not as crazy about dogs as you are. Here are some tips to help keep your dog from jumping:
- Know why they’re jumping
It’s basically their way of telling you to pay attention to them. They can’t help it, they’re social animals! The main reason behind their repetitive jumping is because every time they jump, you touch or talk or look at them – giving them attention. Since jumping = attention, they’ll never stop.
- Put a muzzle on their jumping
The solution is simple: stop reinforcing the behaviour. The next time they start jumping, ignore them. Completely. In fact, just walk away when it happens. Of course, it’s easier said than done, but it produces results. Your dog may jump a bit more in the next few days but if you keep ignoring them, they’ll get the message and stop jumping for attention. Literally.
- Reward them for not jumping
Whenever your dog has all four feet on the ground, reward them. Give them what they want: attention and adoration. It’s best to do this when they walk up to you but don’t jump to begin with. As long as you remain consistent in reinforcing this behaviour, your dog should stop jumping in a week.