Posts Tagged ‘How to stop your dog from jumping’
Keep Jumping from Your Dog to a Minimum
Many people have dogs that are constantly jumping, as it is a typical issue. When a dog is a puppy and jumps, many people find it cute and endearing and so the problem is allowed to continue unchecked. Eventually, you won’t be able to control the behavior because it becomes so normal to the dog as they age, and they could hurt someone else in the process.
It is crucial that you begin training your dog as soon as it arrives in the home. Puppies are undoubtedly easier to train and that is why it is ideal to start early, however a patient and consistent owner can train any dog of any age. If you begin to train your new pet as soon as they come to your house, you become the master, or alpha, and your dog may never act badly if you keep it from happening right from the start.
Step #1 – Institute an Off Command
The first item is to institute and off command. When your dog jumps on you or other people, you want to have a single word Off Command that you can use to remind your dog not to jump. The word “off” is good, but you can use “down” or another word of your choice. At every instance of the dog jumping on you, forcefully use the off command. Your dog will learn at an even quicker rate if you have other people use the same commands when your dog jumps up onto them, showing your dog that no one approves of that type of behavior.
Step #2 – Teaching Sit
Training your dog to sit is a fundamental training command and it can also be advantageous when dealing with jumping. When the dog is coming towards you, before he even has the chance to jump on you, command him to sit. As the training proceeds, you will soon have your dog sitting when he greets you, rather than jumping on you and ruining your clothing or knocking you over.
Step #3 – Eye Level is Best
When you are greeting your dog, you should bend or stoop down to be on the same level as your dog. Not only will this make your dog feel happy and well-loved, but it will also take the point out of jumping since you will already be eye to eye. Your dog will have no need to jump if you bend down to see him. When you finish acknowledging your dog, if it jumps up for more attention, demonstratively use the off command and then the sit command to make it known that jumping is not allowed.
Step #4 – Use a Time Out
You can use a time out with your dog if they don’t pay attention to your commands of off or sit, to make training a bit easier. You can put your dog in time out in their crate if you feel your dog is blatantly misbehaving and not listening to your commands. The dog really only wants your attention, so a time out is very effective in negating the bad behavior by having the dog associate the constraint with the denial of your attention.
You can show your dog that you don’t approve of jumping and keep him from continuing that type of behavior if you are consistent with the plan. It is natural that some dogs will learn this faster than others, so you may also need to be patient. If your dog doesn’t seem to listen, be persistent, patient, and do not give up. You can always ask a professional dog trainer to help you if you feel that your dog isn’t gaining anything from the way that you are training, as they may help you to improve your methods.