OBEDIENCE TRAINING 101 GUIDE

Key Note: Dogs jump up to engage with us. When dogs engage with each other they sniff heads and bums, but with us they have to get up higher to do that, so they jump.
 

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How To Stop Jumping

 

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• Make it a rule that if they don’t have all four paws on the floor, they don’t get any attention. Make sure everyone in the household sticks to it.
   

• Ignore them completely when they jump. Don’t talk to them, look at them, or push them away. All of these behaviors are attention and whether it’s good or bad attention, if your dog gets it, this will encourage them to continue.
   

• In addition to ignoring the jumping you can turn away and give them your back. If needed you can walk away or leave the room.
   

• KEY POINT: Make sure to catch the moment they switch from jumping to having all four paws on the floor. Immediately praise and reward them for making the right choice.
   

• If after the praise they start jumping again immediately go back to ignoring them, give them your back and wait for them to stop. When they do praise and reward.
   

• Repeat this exercise. This is how we teach them that if they want to engage with us, jumping won’t work, they must keep all their paws on the floor for that to happen.
   

Create a New Routine
 

• Teaching them a new behavior to replace the jumping behavior is an effective way to change their routine. For example, when they come to greet you teach them to sit instead.
   

• Make it your new daily routine. When you come home, before they have the chance to jump, ask for a sit and then praise and reward. Creating a new routine like this will change the pattern of jumping to greet you and they will instead learn to greet you by sitting.

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Troubleshooting Jumping

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• If turning your back makes them jump more then use a loud noise to interrupt the behavior like “UH-UH” or a loud clap, and then walk forward towards them into their space.
   

• This will typically discourage the behavior because they’ll have a hard time keeping their balance to continue jumping if you are walking towards them. As soon as they have all four paws on the floor, praise and reward them.
   

• Use a time out for your dog as a last resort. For this exercise, the second your dog jumps immediately take them to a dog proofed room for 30-60 seconds.
   

• Do NOT use their crate for this exercise. We don’t want to create a bad association with their crate. Instead use a room or a dog proofed area. Again waiting only 30-60 seconds and then give them another chance to make the right choice.
   

• When they are released from the time out, ignore them at first. No touching, talking, or eye contact. When they approach keeping their paws on the floor, praise and reward this correct behavior. If they come right back and jump, repeat the exercise.
   

• Time outs need to be given immediately when the dog jumps so they understand the consequence of their jump. The time out needs to be short because if the dog is isolated for a while, they’ll likely forget why they were given the time out in the first place.
   

• Never release your dog from the time out when they are whining or barking. Wait for a few seconds of quiet and then let them out. We don’t want them to learn that barking and whining will get them what they want.
   

• Repeat this exercise as much as needed. Some dogs will learn in a few repetitions, some dogs need a few weeks.
   

• For those who occasionally like the behavior of their dog jumping up to say hi, you can train a “hug” command. Teaching a command for this means this behavior is only acceptable if you ask for it and they are never allowed to jump up unless you ask.