Jumping
.jpeg)
Jumping is natural dog behaviour. It is a self rewarding behaviour. Young puppies will often jump to reach their mothers face and lick it as appeasment behaviour to let them know they love them.
Why do dogs Jump (Functional reward)1. We teach them to jump – when your dog was a puppy they were much smaller and would have tried to jump up t reach your arms and face to get your attention. When this happened we went AWWW how cute, carried them cuddled them or played with them. The only difference now is a dog that is a lot bigger. 2. Jumping gets our attention – We are often busy creatures and it’s not always possible to constantly entertain our energetic pups. Dogs will quickly learn that simply whining or nudging and licking you won’t work. They then resort to jumping as this never fails to get your attention and even a negative reaction is still a reaction and for a bored pup can be better than no reaction at all.3. It feels good and releases their energy – You may notice that when your dog is full of energy they jump up on you or on to objects or even on other dogs. Just like us when dogs are exited they jump for joy. 4. It makes them feel more in control – Sometimes dogs will jump up on people or other dogs when they feel insecure, uncomfortable or frustrated
Jumping at the Door
.jpeg)
- How to stop a dog from Jumping at the door
- Teach an alternative behaviour – Start training by charging up the marker 5 times. Then step outside the door for a second, walk back in cue the alternate behaviour (Sniffing the ground/shoes, sitting on a bed, hand touch, down etc.) try to avoid a sit for extremely excitable dogs.
- Practice the new behaviour – As the dog understands the new behaviour increase the time spent outside the door slowly. Just 5 mins in the start then add more time slowly. When the dog gets good at the behaviour slowly increase the difficulty by introducing more people like friends and neighbours.
- Avoid rehearsal of the old behaviour- For the new behaviour to take hold quicker it is important to avoid letting the dog rehearse the old jumping behaviour. You can do this by using a crate, putting up a barrier like a baby gate, or using a platform for your dog to stand on.
- Help your dog calm down – Some dogs can get overly excited when people come to the door. These dogs could use a little extra help to calm down. For more information on how please refer to Teaching your dog to be calm in the training manual.
- Don't train when the dog has been left alone at home all day. Set your dog up for success, start training after small periods of absences and build up. Start with a minute then five, then 10 etc
- Put the alternate behaviour on cue.
Exited or frustrated jumping
.jpeg)
Some dogs get over exited on in certain challenging, stressful or frustrating situations. They may then release this energy by jumping up on their handlers, other people or even other dogs.
If the dog is jumping on people or other dogs
- Use a positive interrupter like their name a squeak or a high-pitched fun sound when you notice they are about to jump
- When the dog has redirected to you cue a "Touch" or another behaviour like a "Check in" to direct attention away from the person or animal they are about to jump on.
- Once you have redirected the jumping, help the dog calm down by taking it for a sniffy walk through the bush or far away from any potential triggers.
- You can then reintroduce your dog to the previous trigger that was about to cause the jumping, walking calmly with them on lead using your verbal Yes and Good markers to shape the best way to approach said trigger.
If your dog is frustrated or exited and jumping up on you
- Identify the function of the behaviour (are they tired, do they want to walk on, or could they be after those treats in your pocket etc)
- We can now ask them for a calming behaviour like a "Go sniff", a down, a deep breath etc. Then reward by fulfilling the function.
Jumping for attention
.jpeg)
.jpeg)
Small dogs and puppies often get affection or carried when they jump up on us looking cute as a button. While we may love this behaviour it can easily become a problem when they start to do the same with guests, young children or when we are eating or arn't ready for them. The easiest way to overcome this issue is to put the jumping on cue. Train the dog to sit or wait. Reward them, and then ask them to jump up and give them cuddles and affection, if they enjoy it. When the dog jumps up without your permission simply put them back down and repeat the step.
Large breed dogs are often allowed to jump up when they are cute puppies, however as soon as they get too big we find the behaviour inconvenient. The best solution is to remember how big your dog will become and teach them how to behave accordingly.
To stop a dog that has learnt to jump up for attention avoid giving them what they want. If the dog jumps up simply turn your back and walk away. When your dog has 4 feet on the ground turn around and give them the attention on their level.
Note- Some dogs may form a pattern such as if we jump on them first then they ask us to sit which brings the rewards. So we need to jump first and then do what they ask us to do. In situations like this do not reward the dog for the next few minutes, get up walk around after which ask for a completely random behaviour like a shake or a spin and reward that. This helps keep you one step ahead of your clever pup
Jumping up on guests
Sometimes our dogs get really excited and happy to have people in their home. This excitement can manifest in the form of them jumping on your guests.
To help resolve this you can put your puppy n a safe space like a crate or a spare room while you let your guests in to the house. Then bring your puppy out on lead when they are calm and teach them to politely greet your guests.
Jumping on children
.jpeg)
Children can often be overly excited and noisy. Some dogs pick up on this excitement and respond by jumping on them either to play or to get them to calm down.
ALL INTERACTIONS BETWEEN DOGS AND CHILDREN SHOULD BE SUPERVISED
It is important to teach our dogs how to react around little children.
Teach the dog a Down and cue the behaviour while they play with children to teach them they need to self-handicap. It is also recommended to teach the dog to Go Sniff or to ignore the children while they run around not to engage or chase them.
It's also important to teach children how to properly interact with dogs. please click This Guide to learn more.
Videos by other trainers
These videos are made by awesome trainers from around the world. Please remember to like and follow them to get more great content.
