Jumping is a really common problem among dogs – well, I guess I should say among dog owners? It’s rarely a problem for the dogs themselves – jumping, in actual fact, seems to act as a reward in itself. It’s a different kettle of fish for the exasperated owner, who’s forced to deal with a new set of muddy footprints/gouges in their skin and clothes/offended guests/scared children!
Many owners inadvertently encourage jumping behaviour from puppy-hood: when a small puppy runs excitedly over to us, wagging the tail and making small, clumsy leaps at our knees, it’s almost natural to lean down and respond in kind. Why wouldn’t we – the puppy is just so cute!
Effectively, we reward that puppy’s “jump-y” greeting by reacting with exuberant affection, hugs and kisses. The puppy is learning a fast lesson though - that jumping is a good thing, because it results in plenty of positive attention and physical contact. Plus, greetings between dogs are communicated through sniffing the backside and licking the mouth. So it is natural for a dog to want to greet us by licking around the face if we let them.
So now your dog is not capable of understanding the difference between a jump as a small, cute puppy, and a jump as a huge, hairy adult. A greeting is a greeting, and just because he or she has aged by a few months is no reason to stop jumping – at least, not voluntarily.
This is where you really need to take matters into your own hands, and make it perfectly clear to your dog that jumping is no longer an option. It would have been so much easier, though, if from the very beginning the puppy only got the attention and hugs and pats when all his or her paws were on the ground.
When is jumping not appropriate?
Obviously, whether or not you’re prepared to accept your dog’s insistence on redefining verticality all comes down to personal preference.
Many owners of smaller dogs actually expect them to jump up – among toy dog owners, jumping seems to be viewed as a sign of excitement and affection on the dog’s behalf. The good news is that these small dogs aren’t likely to knock anyone flying when they’re feeling rambunctious, and their size usually won’t intimidate any but the youngest of children.
On the other hand, there is rarely a scenario where strangers will actively welcome being leapt up on by an unknown dog, regardless of said dog’s size; really, it’s just plain good form to teach your dog the “off” command, so that you’re prepared for those incidences when you’re not directly on hand to stop the jumping behaviour.
For owners of large-breed dogs, the “off” (or “no jump”) command is mandatory. Some large dogs are often taller than humans when they rear up on their hind legs (and just imagine the experience from a child’s point of view, with a dog’s slavering jaws looming above your own head!) – they are often heavy enough to knock smaller adults tip over tail. At the very least, a large dog’s paws are heavy enough to gouge long rents in cloth and exposed flesh. Scratches and bruising are unpleasant enough to deal with when they are your own problem; but much worse when your dog has inflicted them on somebody else, especially if the visitor is elderly or a very young child! This can really cause some major damage.
Really, any kind of jumping is just bad manners. All owners with even pretensions of responsibility should arm their dogs with a reliable recall to the “off” command – just in case.
Why does jumping happen?
The main reason that most dogs jump up is really out of excitement: it is an enthusiastic greeting, reserved for times when adrenaline is running high and the dog’s happy about something.
Some dogs don’t jump very much at all, except when their owner returns home after a relatively prolonged absence (like the average workday). If your dog is leaping up on you in these circumstances, there’s no sinister motivation at work here- he is literally jumping because of the happiness in the master being back.
A less common, but a more serious reason that some dogs will jump is to exert their dominance over you (or over whomever they are jumping on). Dogs are pack animals: and they live in designated hierarchies of social rank and order. When a dog needs to assert dominance over a lesser animal, one way of doing so is to declare physical superiority, which is usually done by “jumping up” where he will sling one or both paws over the other dog’s shoulders.
You should be able to tell the basic reason for your dog’s jumping simply by considering the circumstances surrounding the event. If he only jumps up in periods of great excitement (like during play-time, or when you return home from work) then he’s clearly just demonstrating an exuberant frame of mind.
If the jumping behaviour occurs in a variety of situations, then it could be more likely that the dog is expressing dominance over you, which is a more complex issue – the jumping is a reflection of a symptom of an underlying attitude and communication issue. If this is the case then you will need to make some serious adjustments to your overall relationship with your dog, and learn about the alpha-dog techniques (tip: SitStayFetch has some fantastic resources on coping with a dominant dog – there’s a link to the site at the bottom of the page).
Four paws on the ground, please!
How you react to your dog’s jumping plays a big role in whether or not that behavior gets repeated. You’re going to need to make a prolonged effort to be consistent in how you choose to deal with this problem. For your dog to stop jumping, he needs to be taught that it is never ever acceptable for him to do so. This means that you can’t allow him to jump sometimes, but forbid him from doing it at other times. Your dog doesn’t understand the difference between a playful and an irritable mood, or your work and play clothes - all he understands is that, if you allow him to jump up on some occasions, he’ll try to jump up on you whenever he feels like it, because he doesn’t know any better.
Stopping the jumping!
Most trainers agree that the most effective way for you to weed out unwanted behaviours (like jumping) in your dog is also the easiest - all you have to do is simply ignore him whenever he jumps up. The idea is to give him the cold shoulder: withdraw all attention, even negative attention (so no yelling, shoving, or corrections).
Here’s how to implement this training technique: whenever your dog jumps up on you, turn your back straight away. Since dogs understand body language a lot more clearly than they do the spoken word, you are going to be using your posture to convey the message that such behaviour is not acceptable here - fold your arms, turn your back, turn your face away from him and avert your eyes.
This is where a lot of people make a mistake - they confuse ignoring the behaviour with ignoring the dog. You’re not ignoring the behaviour - i.e., you’re not carrying on with whatever you were doing as if the jumping wasn’t happening; you’re ignoring your dog. You’re still going to react; but your reaction is for you to actively ignore him.
By giving your dog the cold shoulder you are effectively communicating your displeasure to him and he or she will catch on very quickly. Without the encouragement of your attention and your reactions to his behaviour, the dog will calm down very quickly indeed.
When to praise!
When all four paws are on the ground, then – and only then – you can praise the heck out of him!
Don’t be confused by the proximity of the positive reinforcement to the negative – dogs have a very short “training memory”, and are only capable of associating a reaction from you with whatever behaviour it is they’re exhibiting at the time of that reaction. In other words – your timing for reward has to be spot on. Any delay on your part for praising the dog could mean that you may end up praising if he or she has jumped up again.
So, it’s perfectly OK for you to react with wild enthusiasm the very second that his paws touch the ground, even if you were cold-shouldering him the split-second before.
Recommended Reading
For more information on understanding and solving canine behavioural problems, you would probably be interested in checking out SitStayFetch. It’s a complete how-to manual for dog owners, and is packed with just about all the information you’ll ever need on dog psychology, canine communication how-to’s, practical advice for dealing with problem behaviors, and detailed step-by-step guides to obedience training.
To visit SitStayFetch, just click on the link below:
http://www.kingdomofpets.com
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