Puppy
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9 min
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Nearly all dogs would jump up to greet people if they could - they’re emotional creatures who can barely contain their happiness when seeing someone they know! Jumping up isn’t the most desirable behaviour however - especially when it comes to your dog meeting strangers, children, the elderly or differently abled people. Though you can teach them to stop at any age, it helps to train them out of the habit when they’re a puppy.
In this article, we’ll offer tips and strategies to stop your puppy from jumping up to greet humans, so you can feel calmer on walks, when the doorbell rings, and beyond!
Basically, puppies jump up to greet a human because they’re extremely happy to see them, and want the human to be happy about it too. It’s an attention-seeking behaviour based on pure emotion and excitement.
Jumping is extremely common in puppies. Unless taught otherwise, most dogs will jump up on their hind legs to get attention. As puppies are so tiny and cute, jumping up as a greeting doesn’t cause much hassle, and most humans even encourage it. However it’s when they grow to a potentially large size that it becomes a problem.
If you encourage jumping, it’s not just you and your family that your puppy will jump on - it’s most visitors to the house, people you visit, even people they encounter in public spaces like the park. Not everyone welcomes dogs, and some humans such as small children or the elderly may be frightened or harmed by a dog putting their front paws up on them.
It’s when the puppy grows that problems occur. Shifting from rewarding a small puppy for jumping up to say hello, to suddenly punishing them for it when they’re older is very confusing for the pooch, and can cause behavioural issues. This is why, no matter how cute it is, it’s important to train a puppy out of jumping up from a young age.
If you want to train your puppy to sit down when greeting someone, there are a few tips and tricks you can adopt to ingrain a self-calming habit.
The most effective way to have a puppy think twice is to completely ignore the behaviour. If they don’t receive attention from reaching up to you, neither positive nor negative, then they won’t associate jumping up with reward. This can be tricky to do without feeling guilty,, so try redirecting the jump to a new behaviour.
Teach your pooch that you won’t show attention until they have all paws on the floor. Do this by practising it a few times - withholding attention when they jump up, stepping back a short distance and not rewarding them or greeting them until they’ve sat on the floor patiently.
Remember to give your pup a reward for learning this new behaviour, or they won’t remember it! As well as praise, have some tasty puppy treats on hand to encourage them with positive reinforcement each time they sit and stay instead of jumping up to you.
It’s no use only doing this once or twice, or changing your behaviour when you’re wearing different clothing, for instance. Every single time your pooch jumps, don’t give them attention and redirect them to the sitting position. This way, your pup knows where they stand and feels calm in what’s expected of them.
Your pup should know that the calm greeting behaviour applies to all people, not just their owners. Whenever a new person arrives at the house or you meet someone out on a walk, take the opportunity to practise the ‘ignore and redirect’ approach if they jump up, and reward them with a treat each time they sit on all paws. Tell your friends, family and visitors that your dog is being trained not to jump, even if they say they don’t mind it.
There are some things to definitely not do when your puppy jumps up at you, to avoid incorrect behaviours developing.
As said above, being consistent is the key factor in training your pooch to be calm when greeting someone. If you are happy for your puppy to jump on you one day, perhaps because you’re wearing casual clothing, but don’t allow them to do it when you’re going to work, this will only confuse your pup and reduce the effectiveness of training them.
If you playfully grapple with your puppy when they jump on you, push them down or even just grab their paws, they can misinterpret this as rough play and get more boisterous next time they greet you. Don’t give your pooch attention when they jump up, even if it’s negative attention, to nip this in the bud.
Similarly, putting your knee out to block your pup will not only frustrate them, but damage their trust in you. Don’t confuse them or damage your bond by rejecting your dog so blatantly - a simple redirect strategy is the better way.
There are some other tweaks you can make around the house to support a calmer, highly trainable puppy, if you haven’t already.
How calm and quiet you keep your pup’s environment is an underrated strategy to good behaviour. Get rid of clutter, try to keep loud noises to a minimum, and be sure they have their own safe space to ground themselves - such as a bed with lots of blankets, or a crate.
If your pooch tries to jump up to people in the house, gain more control by keeping them on a short lead. This action can be transferred to walks, as you can pull the lead and stop walking each time your dog jumps and disobeys your commands.
What goes into your pup’s belly can impact how calm they are around others. Be sure to keep your pup nourished with a well-rounded puppy diet full of lean proteins, fruits and veggies, and healthy dog treats. This way, they won’t feel as hyped up as they would on sugars and unhealthy treats.
If you’ve tried all of the above strategies and your puppy is still a whirlwind of chaos that you simply can’t control, it could be worth chatting to your vet or a dog behavioural specialist. They can give you tips to manage your dog and get them to respond to direct commands.
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