Jumping up - What to do?

This post was written in a response to a question from my facebook page.

So your dog gets a little excited and jumps on you occasionally. Or maybe it jumps all the time, craving attention. Don't worry, with patience and consistency, jumping up is one of the easiest behaviors to phase out.

First, you have to ask yourself if you are giving the dog enough time and attention. Is your dog jumping because there's no other way that you pay attention to him or her? Do you make time to play with your dog or do things your dog enjoys? If not, this may be a contributing factor to your problem. For this to be effective, you need to make sure your dog gets the attention it craves in good ways so that your dog doesn't feel as much of a need to jump up.

The easiest way, and one of the most effective too, to get your dog to want to stop jumping is two-fold. First, you must completely ignore him/her when jumping up. Second, you must praise your dog when "all four are on the floor".

Dogs lick each others faces to show affection, and your dog may want to do the same to you. Your face is much higher than your dog's, so jumping seems like a natural choice for him/her. If your dog normally greets you by jumping up, freeze in place, cross your arms over your chest, and then turn/look away from your dog. No matter how much he jumps, whines or barks, do not pay attention to him. Don't even look. When the dog gives up, calmly pet your dog with "all four on the floor" and give verbal praise and maybe a treat. Do not act excited because this could trigger a jumping reaction again. If your dog jumps while petting, stand back up and ignore until all four are on the floor. If your dog knows commands like "sit", you can ask them of your dog when your dog is calm, however, you want your dog to learn to calm himself down and think it through without requiring a cue from you. You can keep treats near your door for easy praise, or even in your car to carry in with you.

Now, when your dog is calm and sitting nicely or doing his own thing, go up and show him affection for being calm. This will help to lessen the reaction when your dog is actually excited and wants to jump. By showing affection, giving treats, or verbal praise when calm (and all four are on the floor), your dog will give you more calm behaviors in hopes of getting more praise. Also, get down on your dog's level for games and affection sometimes. By doing this, you make yourself more accessible and show that he/she doesn't have to jump to see you properly. Only do this when the dog is calm, though, because they can easily jump all over you when you're on their level, undoing progress.

Dogs do what pays off for them. If being calm pays, they'll be calm. If bouncing around like a maniac gets you to notice them, that's what they'll do. If they've been doing this and rewarded for it (with attention) for a long time, the jumping habit will be harder to phase out. However, if everyone is in on it and follows 1. ignore when all four aren't on the floor and 2. give praise and affection when calm, your dog will stop jumping eventually. Never allow anyone, not even a visitor, to pet your dog when all four feet aren't on the floor. This reinforces bad behavior.

Dogs crave our attention and if we don't give them enough of it, they will create ways to get our attention, such as jumping up. Even if the attention that they receive is negative attention (scolding, etc) it's still attention and rewarding to them. Think of it like a young child who is constantly poking you and being obnoxious. They're doing it for attention, even if you are angry or frustrated with them. Dogs who jump up are typically either very excitable or not getting enough attention or both. By showing our dog attention and praise for doing the right things, he'll have no need to do the wrong things to get noticed.

It won't happen overnight. As with most training solutions, it takes time. But, if everyone is consistent about ignoring the dog when it jumps and removing the reward (attention) that it gets from jumping, and instead rewards all four on the floor, your dog will get the hint and stop jumping up.

If you have any comments or questions, please ask them. I will do my best to address your situation.