Learn How to Stop Dog Jumping

Jumping is an undesirable habit for your dog to have because it can cause physical injury. The majority of the time however, your dog is going to be unaware of the fact that he is doing anything harmful or wrong despite the fact that you are constantly correcting him. This is because jumping is a social behavior that indicates excitement and the desire to play and bold dogs are going to be more likely to become problem jumpers. There are some who believe that this is part of a dominate behavior. When you stop dog jumping in your home you are addressing your dog’s alpha behavior and establishing yourself as a leader at the same time.

Most of the time this type of behavior begins as a puppy and it is best to stop the behavior as early as possible. There are however, two basic approaches, whether the dog is a puppy or an adult.

Approach number one: consists of ignoring your dog and not providing your dog with the attention he wants to get from jumping.

With approach number two: you simply replace the behavior of jumping with a more positive alternative. While these are two simple approaches there are a number of variations.

The first variation falls under the first approach. In this variation you simply turn your back as soon as your dog begins to jump. Do not touch or acknowledge your dog in any way. Ignore him for as long as he chooses to jump. This should last only for a few moments. As soon as he sits or calms down, praise him. This will help to draw the attention getting behavior away from jumping and place it with the calmer alternative. As you repeat this process your dog will eventually get the message that sitting down or behaving in a calm manner is what is going to get him attention. When you train like this to stop dog jumping, you will get a calmer dog as a side benefit.

Dogs that are jumpers tend to be enthusiastic and that makes it difficult at times to break the habit. It is a good idea to have everyone in the household working to teach your dog to stop jumping. The worst thing you can do is get angry since it provides attention to the dog and counteracts progress.

Another option is to figure out the timing of your dogs jumps and throw him off balance as soon as he jumps on you. To do this move forward as your dog jumps instead of backwards. Moving backwards provides your dog with balance when jumping, moving forward does the opposite. This makes the entire prospect of jumping less fun.

The second approach involves replacing the jumping behavior with a more appropriate response.  The first thing to do is make sure that your dog is trained in the Sit command. Tell your dog to sit as soon as he begins to jump. If your dog sits, reward him and praise him. After all your dog has just faced a huge temptation and failed to act on it, acting on your command instead. If your dog fails to respond and continues to jump, move away. It is important not to turn away and make sure to repeat your sit command. Repeat this as many times as necessary until your dog obeys. Then reward and praise your dog. Remember to maintain consistency and reinforce. It is going to require patience and depending on your dog it may take a while to see results.

These are some of the simple exercises that you can do when working with your dog. There are more severe methods, however with time and patience these simple exercises can provide you with what you need to stop dog jumping in your home and enjoy the benefits of time and effort on your part and the part of your pet.