You return home from a long day at work, and your devoted St Bernard jumps up to give you a big ole kiss. Your significant other may have preferred to greet you in this manner, but your dog did it first. When all you want is for your dog to sit quietly and allow you to move out of the doorway so you can put your bag down and take off your coat, he loves to greet you with jumping, tail wagging, and lots of kisses. Although you don’t want to make him feel rejected, the amount of jumping he does is too much for him to handle.
Dogs jump to greet you for a variety of reasons, most of which are good ones. It is a natural instinctive behavior, a way to check on your whereabouts, and a sign of joy that you are at home. You can only imagine his tail wagging feverishly in sheer anticipation as soon as he hears the key in the lock and sees the knob turn. Your dog may have thought the last two, four, or eight hours seemed like an eternity, but you’re finally home.
While it’s common to see dogs sniff each other’s butts when they first meet, dogs in the same pack who are accustomed to one another will greet each other by giving each other a face lick. In order to get their mother to drop food, puppies were taught to lick their mother’s face. This sign of submission still carries throughout their lives. When you get home, your dog wants to lick your face because she sees you as one of the pack, which causes the jumping. Otherwise, he couldn’t reach you.
He is greeting you in this way partly out of love, but he does have another reason for doing it. Your dog is eager to know where you’ve been after you’ve spent the entire day outside exploring the city, eating delectable food, and interacting with other people. He must jump on you immediately to find out. He gets close enough to your face to smell you and where you’ve been. He can smell how your day was from you, so he doesn’t even need to ask.
A dog jumping to greet you could be due to his excitement. This is his chance if he has been waiting patiently at home all day. He serves as your welcomer and is aware that you will be welcomed back with affection, treats, walks, playtime, and, if your dog plays his cards right, a belly rub. What dog wouldn’t be excited about that possibility given that those are essentially the high points of a dog’s life?
While being welcomed and greeted at home is pleasant, if you have a medium- to large-sized dog, this could be distressing and problematic. If you are not prepared, your dog may knock things out of your hands like hot coffee or water, knock you to the ground, or he may learn that this behavior is acceptable for everyone who enters the house, which could scare or even harm your friends.
However, you should not be harsh in your dismissal of it because dogs perceive this behavior as loving. There are a few methods you can use to deal with your dog’s jumping if you don’t want it to. The first is to disregard the conduct and only pay attention when all of his paws are on the ground. You can either turn your back or avoid looking directly at your dog. You don’t want to highlight an undesirable behavior. You can greet your dog with the same enthusiasm he uses to greet you once he has all four paws on the ground. Repeat the procedure in case he starts jumping up and down once more. You and your dog may need some time to get used to this, but consistency is key with all training. If you don’t, you’ll confuse your dog and possibly aggravate the situation.
It is best to take him to a trainer if you have tried some simple training methods but still seem to have an uncontrollable jumping jelly bean on your hands. The trainer can provide you with more practical tips for teaching your dog to love you when you come home but not to jump on you. If your dog jumps, the trainer might demonstrate how to refocus him so he can still shower you with affection in the right manner. You might believe that your small dog doesn’t require behavior modification because he won’t trip over guests. Although he won’t hurt anyone, people who aren’t used to having their legs scratched by tiny paw claws or having a 10-pound dog step on them may find your little friend to be unsettling.
Even though your dog doesn’t have to greet you with the same formality as a guard at Barkingham Palace, you still want to feel at ease carrying five books, a purse, groceries, and coffee through your front door. Train your dog to come to you on all fours, and if he still has trouble with an overly enthusiastic greeting, take him to a trainer.
The use of positive reinforcement training can help prevent your dog from jumping. Give your dog praise or a treat to encourage the behavior if they don’t jump or respond to your commands to get down. Making sure your family abides by the rules, doesn’t jump on visitors, and lets them know you’re training your dog will be very helpful.
The first essential step is to stop encouraging the behavior. If your dog jumps up on you to greet you and you do the same, you may not even be aware that you are unintentionally encouraging and reinforcing the behavior. Push your dog away from you and refrain from providing them with any attention until they have calmed down if you want to stop this behavior.
Most of the time, dogs will jump up on you just to say “hello.” This is particularly true if you’ve been gone all day (or just five minutes!) and your dog is ecstatic to see you. Puppies will also jump up to their mothers in greeting and for safety, as you may have noticed that dogs greet one another by sniffing their faces, so they need to get a good whiff. They might just be copying your actions now that you are the pack leader.
Regardless of whether you own a Chihuahua or a Great Dane, this article aims to provide answers to the questions of why dogs jump up on people and how to stop it.
There are various ways in which dogs display dominance, and jumping up is certainly one of them. This is especially true when a dog meets new faces, and they feel stressed, anxious, and out of control. Jumping up is their way of attempting to gain control of the situation and show their dominance over the new person in their territory. This is usually harmless but can definitely be unsettling for the person being jumped on! Sometimes, the jumping may be accompanied by growling or even humping, a behavior that in spayed and neutered dogs is actually a form of dominance over other dogs and even humans, contrary to popular belief.
How to Stop Dogs From Jumping to Say Hello
You need to be consistent in your training methods to stop this kind of jumping, and you should try to inspire all members of your family and guests to do the same. Your dog will interpret your body language and how you initiate the conversation for clues. Making sure that every greeting adheres to the same guidelines will help your dog learn what is expected of it because consistency is important.
The most popular method for teaching your dog not to jump up and down when greeting you combines positive reinforcement for the desired behavior and disregard for the undesirable behavior, which is the jumping up and down. Try to greet your dog calmly when you walk through the door to avoid frightening it. Turn your back on your dog and ignore it if it jumps on you until it sits or waits calmly. Some trainers even recommend exiting the room. You praise, treat, and pay attention to your dog once it has calmed down and stopped jumping.
Keep your dog’s leash on while they’re getting used to this new routine so you can quickly take control if they get overexcited. Additionally, some trainers advise using a head harness style leash, which allows for gentle head control without harming the dog. This is particularly helpful if you want to stop your dog from jumping up on specific people.
You might need to practice this initially in a calm environment. Instead of after you have been gone for a long time or when there are many people present, this might occur when you have just briefly left the room. By using these techniques after longer separations and when more people are present, you can start to up the distractions and level of excitement as your dog becomes accustomed to what is expected. Additionally, to prevent your dog from becoming confused, it will be beneficial if all of your guests and family members adhere to the same routine.
To help your dog comprehend what you want it to do and not do, you can teach it additional specific cues. The commands “sit,” “snuggle,” and even “go to your bed” can be helpful cues. The more cues your dog is aware of, the better you can communicate with it, teach it what is expected of it, and instruct it on how to respond in various situations.
A command like “snuggle” or “hug” (or whatever term you choose) can be useful if you want to teach your dog another way to express affection without jumping. You can train your dog to lean into your hands for cuddles and pets when you give it that command and hold your hands at eye level. Your dog will have another method to get attention without having to jump this way. The praise and affection may frequently be sufficient positive reinforcement for your dog to pick up this cue and begin performing it upon command. For some dogs, adding a treat to the reward for this behavior can increase its desire to comply with the cue.
Dogs Jump out of Fear
A dog’s demeanor and regular behaviors will change if they are anxious or stressed. It is important to pay attention if your dog suddenly starts jumping up on you or certain people. Often anxious dogs will display more than one behavior that is a sign of their anxieties, but it can take time and patience to figure out what is setting your dog off. Can you identify certain triggers that happen right before your dog jumps? Does your dog show other signs of fear or anxiety such as separation anxiety when you leave, or fear of thunderstorms?
FAQ
How do I stop my dog from jumping all the time?
Jumping should not be encouraged; instead, only praise your dog when it sits or stays down. Ignore jumping and only reward good behavior. Turn your back and cross your arms over your chest as soon as your dog begins to jump so they know you’re not going to pet them.
Are dogs happy when they jump?
Dogs that jump on their owners when they get home or on strangers when they’re out and about are probably overexcited. The best course of action is to teach your dog impulse control exercises, such as the proper way to greet people, as excitement is the primary motivator of this behavior.
Why does my dog jump around like crazy?
Even if they are getting enough exercise and activity, the majority of dogs will occasionally experience these energy bursts. The zoomies, however, may be a sign of your dog’s boredom, stress, or lack of exercise and/or mental stimulation if they occur frequently.