Stop Dog Jumping

“Down Sheba, down! Look what you have done.” That was my wife’s comment when our Rottweiler gently pushed her off. A gentle push by a 100 pound Rottweiler is not pleasant but what my wife was concerned about was the muddy paw marks on her silk blouse.

Well, I remember that when Sheba was just a clumsy puppy, my wife would kneel down with open arms to return Sheba’s attempt to hug and kiss. A Rottweiler puppy like most puppies is so cute that they could get away with murder let alone a soiled blouse. The problem is that puppies grow to be dogs and the jumping and all the rewards they had received before for that behavior is now built in and is the cause of a common problem among dogs. A dog cannot tell the difference between ad cute puppy and a 100 pound power house. To her a jump is a jump.

So, since it is our behavior that rewards the puppy for showing her affection and rewarding him for jumping, it is up to us to fix the problem and make it perfectly clear to that jumping is no longer an option.

The first step is to teach your dog the simple “off” command. For owners of large-breed dogs, like Rottweiler the “off” (or “no jump”) command is mandatory. Big dogs are usually taller than humans when they stand on their hind legs and their weight is enough to knock smaller adults on their tail bone. Can you imagine how a small child would feel?

Why does jumping happen?

Dogs jump for many reasons including sheer excitement. But they also jump to show that they are dominant. In the world of dogs, they assert their dominance over a lesser animal by showing physical superiority, which is usually done by “jumping up” and slinging one or both paws over the other dog’s shoulders.

Knowing the difference between excitement and dominance helps you know what to expect next. First consider the circumstances surrounding the event. If your dog only jumps up during play-time, or when you return home from work then they are just demonstrating an exuberant frame of mind. If the behavior occurs often and in a variety of situations, then it’s more likely that he’s expressing dominance over you.

In the first case, teaching an “off” command can be easy and in the second case, you and your dog need to change a host of attitudes and communication issues. Essentially, you’ll need to go back to the beginning and re-train yourself and your dog and brush up on your alpha-dog techniques. 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

Your reaction to your dog’s jumping plays a big role in whether or not he repeats the behavior. The first rule is to be consistent in how you choose to deal with this problem. It is not enough that your dog negotiates with you to jump less. He needs to be taught that jumping is never ever acceptable.
Your dog can’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 and others whenever he feels like it, because he doesn’t know any better. Stop all dog-jumping-on-people activity.

How To Stopping The Jumping Dog

Try ignoring your dog whenever he jumps up. Your goal is to give him the cold shoulder and withdraw all attention, even negative attention such as yelling, shoving, or corrections. 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’re going to be using your posture to convey the message that such behavior isn’t acceptable here: fold your arms, turn your back, turn your face away from him and avert your eyes.

You are not ignoring the dog, but ignoring the behavior and you are doing it in an active way. If you continue to do what you were doing before as if jumping did not happen, you are ignoring the dog. But when you actively turn your back and give him the cold shoulder, you are ignoring the behavior. The cold shoulder is an efficient way of communicating your displeasure to a dog. Without the encouragement, your attention and your reactions to his behavior, he’ll calm down very quickly indeed.

Praise Time

Only when all four paws are on the ground you can praise the heck out of him! Don’t worry about praising him too soon. Dogs have a very short “training memory” and they associate your behavior with what is happening immediately and not couple of minutes ago. So, it’s perfectly fine for you to react with wild enthusiasm the very second that his paws touch the ground.

Recommended Reading

For more information on understanding and solving canine behavioral problems, you’d find SitStayFetch an extremely valuable resource. 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. Visit SitStayFetch for more information.