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Training your dog not to jump on you, good and bad ideas
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My Belgian Malinois puppy Gémeaux learns to "sit" to be petted
Dogs jump to greet us and get closer to our face. It is a playful move to seek attention, and can be self-rewarding. It can also be annoying and harmful to people such as children or pregnant women. Trained dogs do not jump on people.
When it comes to training dogs, it seems that everyone wants to put in their two cents, from your friends and relatives, to the random shopper you run into at the pet store. Some advice you may hear can have negative effects and cause other problems, and some can be downright harmful to the dog. The age and temperament of the dog should also be considered. For example, young puppies generally are allowed more leeway in their behavior, and every dog is different.
Here are some exisiting and common methods to teach a dog not to jump up, some are good, some may have undesired side-effects. I will explain why.
*Advice: When the dog jumps up, grab him by the paws until he is struggling, and squeeze his paws so that it's uncomfortable. Or step on his back paws as he jumps up.
Bad Idea
Not only is this confusing for the dog, it is counterproductive and even cruel. We want to teach dogs, not give them physical pain for something they don't understand. In the dog's mind, you are creating a negative association with greeting people. As he is looking into your face and exited to see you, you are hurting him. He may stop jumping, but he will also not trust you
*Advice: When the dog jumps up on you, turn your back and ignore him.
Might Work
A dog's jumping is self-rewarding because he gets to be close to you. This idea is to take away the reward of the dog jumping up, decreasing the likelihood he will do it again, in a passive way. This method may work for puppies, and can give them a chance to calm down before they get attention. Always remember to withhold attention and praise until the dog is on the ground. Overall, this method might work with some dogs over a period of time, but many are so exited they will just jump and claw your back instead. Many dogs will actually anticipate your move of turning around, and will run around to the other side to jump on you. This method is not harmful, but it is ignoring the behavior and not actually fixing the issue
*Advice: When the dog is jumping on you, ask him to sit, that way he won't jump.
Might Work (if your dog is already trained)
This is a great way to stop jumping, however, it's contingent on your dog already knowing "sit." Assuming you have already taught a reliable sit command, it would work by teaching an incompatable behavior. If your dog is sitting, he can't be jumping, and you can correct him for not sitting. The problem is, when a dog is jumping on you, he is usually in a very exited state, and most likely won't hear you say "sit" or won't obey if he does. So if you have no leash on your dog and you are unable to correct him, you are stuck repeating your command, sounding something like "Sit... no, sit, sit sit!" You were unable to enforce it, and you have just de-valued the command
*Advice: As the dog jumps up, knee him in the chest and knock him off. Particularly with larger dogs.
Bad Idea
This can be unfair to the dog. First, if this is done hard enough, with the combination of the dogs body coming at you, and the knee coming out, it could fracture the dog's sternum. It may work to stop the problem, but will cause the side effect of your dog being fearful of strangers. It can also affect the "come" command, because the dog can be reluctant to come all the way up to you
*Advice: Push the dog off you while yelling "No! Stop jumping on me, get down!"
Bad Idea
By touching the dog as you try to push him, and by talking to him, you are providing negative attention. Just like children, negative attention to a dog is still attention, and you are unintentionally reinforcing their jumping. You may not want to choose to say word "down" because it is an obedience command meaning lay on the ground. If you are using "down" in obedience, you will have to use another cue such as "off."
And finally, my method of teaching dogs not to jump:
*Advice: Teach through an obedience exercise, not through fear, punishment, or passive avoidance
Great Idea!
I teach all things in the context of a whole obedience program. First, I teach the dog to jump up on me. Sounds crazy? Well they already know how to jump on people, you just have to put a command to it. When you have a behavior on cue, you have it under control. Jumping itself is not a terrible behavior, it also provides bonding between the dog and handler, it just needs to be controlled. I do not wait to teach the dog until he is exited and jumping all over me. During training time, I pat my upper body and encourage the dog to jump up, while saying "Up!" than praise him for jumping, and offer a hug and some petting. I always have a dog "sit" straight in front of me after "come when called" so they do not jump or run past me.
Now, time to learn "off." I stop petting the dog, stand straight up, and tell him "off." If he does it, I praise. If not, I give a small leash correction, which the dog already understands as "no", and then praise once he has four feet on the floor again.
I repeat this many times. The end result is that the dog knows he must wait for permission to jump up, and any un-invited jumping can be corrected through the leash and collar. The final result is a dog who is not fearful of jumping when asked, and clearly understands that jumping up on me is by invitation only.
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