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I used to dread meeting people when I was out for a walk with my dog. And it wasn’t because I was being anti social, it was because I was embarrassed. The problem was that my dog got so excited when he saw people that I just couldn’t control him. He would pull on the leash to go and see the people, he would whine and bark and when he did get close enough he would jump all over the people. I apologized but I know that the people were very annoyed with both me and my dog. It was obvious that I had to do something to stop my dog from jumping up on people.
I used to see other people out walking their nice calm dog and I wondered if I would ever be able to do that with my dog. Eventually I realized that I was not alone and that this was a very common complaint among dog owners. I was determined to fix the problem! And I did! If you want to learn how to stop your dog from jumping up on people, check out my tips. These tips worked for me and now they work for my clients and their dogs too. There is hope, you don’t have to be embarrassed to work your dog!
Tips To Stop Your Dog From Jumping Up On People
Make sure your dog gets lots of exercise
Before meeting anyone make sure your dog gets lots of exercise. A good run around the park or a game of fetch will help to drain some of his energy. A dog with built up energy is more likely to be bouncy and want to jump on people. If you know that your dog is going to be around people, make sure he has a good run beforehand. This will help to drain some of that pent up energy. If you’ve heard the saying, “A good dog is a tired dog.”, it’s true.
Get people to ignore your dog until he calms down
If your dog is overly excited and bouncy, don’t let him meet people. Wait for him to calm down before greeting anyone, if not, there’s a good chance he will jump on them. Wait patiently for him to calm down and when he does you can then allow him to meet the people. If he doesn’t calm down, do not allow him to get close to the people. This just means that he may need more exercise or training before trying again.
Ignore your dog if does jump up
If your dog does happen to jump up, ignore him. Do not look at him, do not pat him, do not pay attention to him. Tell anyone that he jumps up on the same thing. If he gets rewarded with attention for jumping up, he will be more likely to do it again.
Teach an alternative behavior
Teach your dog that sitting is the proper way to meet people. Give your dog the sit command, once he is sitting calmly he can then meet people. If he gets up out of the sit, the people back away and do not pay any attention to him. Your dog will eventually learn that if he wants attention that he will get it when he is sitting calmly.
Get down on his level
Kneel down to be at the dog’s level. If you are down on his level he really has no reason to jump up. If he is hyper and bouncy, this won’t work. The dog has to be calm when you get down to his level.
Distract your dog
If your dog goes totally nuts when he sees people, distract him. You can use either a favorite toy that he only gets when he’s out for a walk or a very tasty treat that he just can’t resist. If you see people coming, distract your dog with a toy or a treat. Do not reward him if he is not calm, this is very important. Only allow him to have the toy or the treat if he remains calm.
Be Consistent
Consistency is important in any part of dog training. You can’t let your dog jump up on one person and then expect him to know that he can’t jump up on the next person that he meets. If you are going to teach your dog not to jump up, you have to consistently work on it and not allow him to jump up on anyone.
Dogs are very smart. If you follow these tips and you are consistent, he will learn how to get attention in an appropriate way. By taking the time to train your dog, even on a busy schedule, it will all pay off in the end.
If you have any tips that have worked for you to teach your dog not to jump up, please share them with us in the comments below.
