Oney's jumping days are behind him.
Knocking down Nana or tumbling over your toddler is not acceptable behavior. Dogs usually jump up for one of two reasons. One, they’re excited and want your attention or two, they’re unsure of the situation and they’re jumping to physically dispel their anxiety. In addition, dog communication is done face to face. Unless you’re a toddler, your face is much higher than dogs, so they also jump to better communicate, eye-to-eye so to speak.
I’m just going to talk about the common attention-seeker. While not every solution fits every dog, I most often recommend the “extinction principle” for dogs who jump up for this reason. In dog training, extinction means that the behavior will die out because it is never reinforced. When the dog jumps on you, turn your back on him, fold your arms, do not look at him or speak to him. In essence, you are withholding all your attention from him.
People often don’t realize that scolding, shoving, raising a knee, all provide the dog with desirable attention. It might not be the kind of attention you’d enjoy, but if your dog is the rough housing kind, shoving him off is exactly the kind of play he wants. To him, it’s a reward. “Hey, when I jump on this person, he talks to me and wrestles with me. Awesome! I’m going to jump on him every time I see him.”
Our goal is to stop the unwanted behavior. The jumping may get worse right before it gets better. That’s called an “extinction burst.” Your dog realizes that what he did before, jumping, isn’t working any more. He may make one last ditch effort by trying harder. Ignore this too, and it will stop. Persevere, be consistent in your message, and the dog will eventually give up.
It should be noted here that if you find it totally unacceptable for your dog to jump on your grandmother, you can not let your dog jump on you. Dogs can’t really distinguish the difference between you and someone who might not enjoy being greeted with such unbridled enthusiasm, just like they can’t really understand the difference between a cheap flip-flop and your best pair of dress shoes. It’s easier for your dog to understand if it’s an all-or-nothing rule. No jumping on any human, period. Also, no chewing on any shoe, ever.
If you really enjoy roughhousing with your dog, or have someone in your circle that does, you are going to have to put it on a physical signal so that your dog understands that it is invited whenever he sees that signal and unwelcome if the signal was not given. My signal for rough-and-tumble play is to tap my shoulders twice. Please warn grandma never to make that signal.
So you’ve mastered and applied the first part of the positive dog trainer’s mantra, “ignore the crazy, reward the calm” to your jumping bean of a dog. Let’s now start rewarding the dog for more polite behavior. First of all, teach your dog to sit. Sit reliably, sit quickly, sit on command. Reward your dog for sitting when asked.
Practice constantly. Have your dog sit before anything wonderful happens in his life. Have him sit before his food bowl is put down, sit for any treat, sit before his leash is attached, sit before you throw the toy, and sit before he gets up on the couch or into the car. Reward him every time he sits with a small treat or praise. Once he understands that he has to earn everything he wants by sitting, it’s easier to get him to sit when he’s more excitable, like when he’s greeting people.
If you are expecting visitors, leash your dog so you can control the introductions. Ask the guests to ignore the dog until it’s calm. If your dog just doesn’t have this ability when guests first arrive, leave him in another room until he has worked through his excitement. Sometimes a knock on the door or the doorbell sounding sends dogs into overload and they benefit from a peaceful interlude before attempting to meet new people. Ask people to approach your dog only if all four paws are on the floor. If the dog starts to get excited and jump, have the person take three step back away from the dog. Once the dog calms down, they can approach again. It doesn’t take many times before the dog figures out that he must remain calm to interact with people.
Ask your company to pet the dog only if he is calm. You the owner should be the one giving your dog treats for polite behavior. Some dogs will jump to knock a biscuit out of a person’s hands if they think they might get away with it. Also, your holding the treats brings your dog’s attention back to you so they don’t become overly focused on the new people.
Be patient and be consistent in the boundaries you set with your dog, and the behaviors you praise. Remember, always ignore the crazy, and reward the calm.
About the Writer: Molly Dugger Brennan (mollythedogtrainer.com) adores dogs to the extent that her Harrisonburg, Virginia-based training "is so much fun, it doesn't feel like work.” Her classes include Puppy, Beginner (five months to any age), Intermediate, Advanced, Trick, Private lessons, and Therapy Dog. She also certifies therapy dog teams for the Alliance of Therapy Dog.