Dog Jumping Up? 5 Top Tips to Change This Behaviour

Does your dog jump up on people in your home or out on walks? A dog jumping up can be a frustrating behaviour for its guardian and can even scare adults and children out on walks. So what can we do to stop our dogs from jumping up? Read on...

Why do dogs jump up?

Dogs jumping up on people is a common behaviour that can evoke mixed reactions. While some people find it endearing and a display of affection, others may find it annoying or even intimidating. Jumping up is often an expression of excitement and eagerness to greet or engage with their human companions, however there can be more to this behaviour than meets the eye. So, just why do dogs like to jump up on people?

Scent

Most of our scent comes from the top part of our body. For dogs who are trying to learn more about the potential threat level of a human entering their home, they may jump up to get more of that scent information.

Displacement Behaviour

'Displacement behaviours' in dogs are often displayed when the dog is feeling a series of conflicting emotions. They may feel stressed, frustrated, and/or excited about greeting a new person. A dog in conflict emotionally may not know what to do with this energy, so it can manifests in 'silly' or repetitive behaviour. In this situation, you might see the dog jumping up, then running away - or jumping up, then having a scratch. These dogs often go mis-read by their guardians who think their dog is excited to see the person when actually they aren't feeling that comfortable at all.

It Works!

Jumping up can get a person's attention. If your dog loves social interactions with humans, even if that person starts telling them to get down or tries to push them off, they are effectively still giving that attention and connection. We humans think we're being punishing, but super-social dogs can be loving this time of focus! 

Not Understanding Boundaries

While you may love your dog jumping all over you - if they've got muddy paws on a walk and start jumping over strangers, you might not be the most popular dog walker on the block! Visitors to your home may also not appreciate this approach from your dog upon arrival to your home. They might be threatened by your dog jumping on them or find it rude and annoying. But if your dog doesn't know a different way to greet people, it's just going to go for what it understands about interacting socially from day one of being a puppy.

Why do you think your dog jumps up?

How can I stop my dog from jumping up?

By providing consistent guidance and positive reinforcement, you can help your dog to learn that calm and controlled greetings are more appropriate and enjoyable for everyone involved. By supporting an anxious dog, by managing the humans interacting with them and giving them plenty of space and choice with those greetings, you can help reduce the chance that they'll act inappropriately. 

If you want to help your dog to get it right, then follow these 5 simple tips.

1. Management first. You can't expect your dog to get it right straight away. While your dog is learning new responses in controlled situations, put management into place at other times so they aren't practising the behaviour you don't want. Child gates allow your dog to be separated from guests when they first arrive, so they can be introduced once people are inside, human:human greetings are complete, and things are a bit calmer. Leads or training lines allow you to ensure your dog won't pounce on unsuspecting people out on walks.
2. Keep things calm. If you know you have guests arriving, set your dog up with a long-lasting natural chew in advance or give them a free work setup to calm their body through sniffing and movement.
3. Film greetings! This might sound odd, but when we're busy in the moment - greeting our guests - we can miss key body language signals that let us know if our dogs feel comfortable or not with guests arriving. Setting up a camera in advance, allows you to film your dog's reaction for you to watch back later and understand how they're feeling. If you see them dip their tail, pin their ears back, yawning, scratching, or looking at all stressed - then it's a good idea to reach out for a chat about how we can support your dog to feel more comfortable around people in the future.
4. Control the people! We don't like to be rude, especially to guests - so set up the greetings with your dog for success in advance. Send a message to any visitors before they come over letting them know the best way to greet your dog. For the average, relaxed dog asking visitors to take some treats from a pot outside your front door and scatter them on the floor as they first come in can be a good way to get your dog's focus on the floor rather than up on the human. For more anxious dogs, it can be better to ask the human to ignore them and avoid eye contact - asking them to throw treats behind the dog so they're not only providing a positive association to their arrival but also giving the dog more space. Go back to your management options of using a child gate if your dog would feel more comfortable in their own calm, space.
5. Teach your dog an alternative behaviour. Teaching your dog to go to a settle mat on cue when the doorbell goes or there's a knock at the door is a great way to create distance from the arriving visitors and help your dog to feel calmer. When they have a 'job' to do, it can help them to move from 'feeling' mode into 'thinking' mode. This exercise needs a lot of proofing in advance to make sure your dog can cope with all levels of distraction while finding it rewarding to be on their mat, before you add in new visitors to the picture. Get in touch if you need some more support in teaching this one. You can also teach your dog to go and collect a toy, to sit to greet, or that whenever a guest arrives they'll be getting a long-lasting stuffed food toy behind their child gate.