Dogs jump up to say hello, quite simply. They don’t know how humans prefer to be greeted, and it never occurs to them that they might knock us over or ruin our clothes. Thankfully, consistent anti-jump training can quickly solve the problem for good.
Anti-jump training when you arrive home.
Open the door a teeny bit. If your dog jumps up, close the door.
Repeat until you can step through the door without your dog jumping up.
If he jumps on you, turn away. If he keeps jumping, go back outside and start again.
Whenever your dog keeps four paws on the floor, praise and pet your dog.
Anti-jump training inside your house.
When your dog jumps on you, stand tall, no eye contact and if needed turn your back to your dog. When he stops jumping, turn around to face your dog and reward your dog for keeping all 4 paws down. If he jumps again, turn your back to your dog again.
Repeat until he stops jumping. Then pet and praise your dog.
If your dog keeps jumping up when you turn your back, walk away from your dog, ignoring your dog completely. If he follows and jumps again, give your dog a time-out. Either close a door between you or put your dog in his confinement area for a minute or two. (The point is not that he is being bad, but that you won’t play when he jumps.)
Anti-jump training when visitors come to your house.
When someone comes to the house, put your dog on leash before you open the door.
Open the door and invite the visitor in. If your dog jumps up, tell your visitor to not make eye contact and walk your dog away from the visitor. Once he calms down, let your dog try again.
Leave the leash on your dog during the visit. You don’t have to hold it the entire time. Remember to praise and reward your dog with pets and attention when he keeps four paws on the floor.
Once your dog can keep four paws on the floor in the above situations (and you have trained sit), begin to ask for a sit before he says hello. With time and practice, your dog will automatically sit when he wants to greet people.
Training Tip: The key to anti-jump training is consistency. You can end jump-up
