First step is understanding....Before you begin to stop any behavior you should try to understand why it is happening. Jumping on humans to a dog is a friendly gesture. It says I am no threat, I want to be friendly with you. This lesson will give you the tools to change the behavior yet allowing your dog to achive the same goal.
The second step to stop dog jumping understands that you will also need to train yourself, and your family members and most common house guests. You (and they) need to be aware of how to react and how not to react to this behavior. The last thing you want to do is pull your dog down or yell at him
Lesson: How to stop the jumping
Fortunately the process of training a dog not to jump on people is relatively simple, although it can be time consuming. Naturally, you will start with yourself. You will have to teach them to “sit” before you can begin. Once your dog can “sit”, on command you are ready to begin. THIS BEGINS THE SECOND YOU WALK INTO THE HOUSE, EVERYDAY, AND EVERYTIME.
1. First remember when using the “SIT” command speaks firmly but without yelling.
2. SAY SIT (no more than 2 times) Show the dog treat in your hand if you need to. As your dog approaches you or a guest say “SIT” (guests should say SIT, the person the dog is greeting MUST be the one to say sit. NOT THE OWNER. )
TROBLESHOOTING: If you dog does not sit, repeat the command up to 2 times no more then if you still do not have a sit, show the treat and use the SIT lure hand motion to achieve the desired behavior.
3. Reward for the SIT, give a treat. REMEMBER to be careful not to give the treat until he is at a full sit for at least 5 seconds (count in your head).
If you give the treat too soon, he'll think it is being given for jumping so he'll simply repeat the behavior. Just the opposite of what we want! Remember your dog thinks he's being friendly not aggressive. He really thinks you will like this. So it is essential that he understands he is being rewarded for sitting and not jumping.
As we mentioned, this may take a little more time than most training procedures simply because to him, jumping is both friendly and natural. His instinct is to be friendly and to want to play. And he loves being rewarded for it. Give your dog plenty of play time, but not when he jumps up on you. It's hard not to cuddle, hug or laugh with him as he jumps when you come home. But you have to hold back. You may even like it, but if you give approval and affection for this behavior, he'll have a hard time understanding that strangers and guests will not feel the same.
Now you'll need the help of family members and frequent guests. They need to know that they should not play with him when he jumps, and they also should not push him off. Your dog will likely see this pushing off behavior as playing. Instead, they should stand still or move sideways. Your dog will learn not to jump. They probably already know Fido will jump of them when they arrive, so they need to know not to react to him. It won't be long before Fido understands not to jump.
We do realize that this will be difficult for one of two reasons. First the person being jumped on may be nervous. Or second, they may want to play with the dog. And this is where the training can bog down. It may be best to keep these people away until the training is complete. Doing otherwise will only serve to confuse your pet, which in turn, will slow the training down.
Don't confuse him and it will be relatively easy to stop dog jumping. Give him the sit command and reward him when he doesn't jump. The less confusion there is, the faster the training will go. If you are consistent, and everyone is doing the same thing, it will be pretty quick training. And once you stop a dog from jumping, you and your guests will be happier. Fido will be too.
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