How To Stop A Dog From Jumping On People? 4 Simple Steps

by Ditte Young

Many dog owners think that when dogs jump, it is a behavioral issue. But how to stop a dog from jumping on people? First of all, it is important to know what causes the jumping behavior.

The dog’s jumping behavior is typically a normal reaction dogs have for numerous reasons, such as:

The real problem is that the dog owner often doesn’t think about every reaction they may have when the dog is a puppy, which is part of dog training techniques.

When family members meet the puppy, and the dog jumps, the family often sees it as cute. The dog understands that it gets attention when it does that. We must remember that this behavior can become a nuisance when the dog grows up. And now, we have learned the dog to practice jumping behavior.

Jumping dogs can become a bad habit and dangerous if the dog jumping isn’t stopped through training sessions. Remember that small children can become terrified or traumatized if dogs jump on them, or it can become dangerous if the dog greets people who are disabled or not steady on their feet for some reason due to age or other health issues.

How To Stop A Dog From Jumping On People?

Stopping a dog from jumping starts with training your dog to sit or lay down in various situations. The dog jump often begins when the dogs hear loud noises, register movement or greet other people and are ecstatic to meet them.

You start with training to train your dog from jumping on other people. It needs to listen to you. Basic training such as “sit” or “lay down” is a technique you must have before being able to train good behavior in meeting other people. This you have to practice alone first.

When you implement that basic training technique, you can train the dog’s behavior when it jumps on you when you enter the home.

You might also be interested in: Our animal communication classes.

Ignore Your Dog Until It’s Calm

I recommend that when you open the door, and if your dog jumps on you because it is happy to see you, you close it again. Wait for 10 seconds and then open the door again. Repeat this until your dog is calm and can remain peaceful while seeking attention.

Remember that most dogs are motivated by your attention and love. Acknowledge your dog, give it a treat, or tell your dog how proud and happy you are. Very quickly, your dog will understand this training method which is positive reinforcement.

Additional reading: Why is my dog shaking and how to stop a dog from humping?

Apply The Four On the Floor Rule

You can quickly help your dog stop jumping by applying the four-on-the-floor rule. That means your dog gets your attention when all four paws are on the floor. If not, you can ignore your dog and try calmly telling your dog what to do.

That can sit first. Then ask your dog to get up, and when it soon experiences that it gets acknowledged or gets the treat, it will understand what you want it to do. Remember, your dog is motivated by your love and affection.

Train A Mutually Exclusive Behavior

Training a mutually exclusive behavior starts with helping your dog to understand what you WANT it to do instead of what NOT to do. Your dog does not understand the word: NO.
Your dog understands your positive attention as motivational to it.

Before moving on to other training methods, I recommend you have your basics in place, such as sitting or lying down. Your dog understands repetitions and needs help understanding what you would want it to do in all situations.

Many dog owners think that if they train their dogs to stop jumping on other people in the house, they believe that the dog naturally understands not to jump on other people on different occasions or surroundings, and that is not the case.

Dog behavior is logical if you understand that your dog can only exist in the now, and from there, you need to teach your dog how to behave in situations such as:

Why Do Dogs Jump On People?

Most dogs jump because they are excited and because people taught them when they were puppies that they get attention when they jump at people.

When dog parents yell at their dogs when they jump, it often encourages jumping because the dog thinks you are playing with it. However, it is not fun to be jumped at by adult dogs. Many dogs haven’t understood what to do instead, which points my attention to a lack of training.

If you want your dog not to jump, I recommend you start practicing positive reinforcement, which means you will only reward good behavior and ignore the behavior you don’t want.

Will My Dog Grow Out Of Jumping Up?

Your dog will not grow out of jumping up because you need to show your dog alternative behavior, which will result in a reward.

A reward can be:

Management Techniques

I will never be tired enough to tell you that positive reinforcement works! Your dog is a pack animal, and the better you get your dog’s attention, the more attractive you are to your dog.

Some people will tell you to drop treats, but that is if the dog owner doesn’t know when to give them to the dog or stop doing it. To help your dog from incompatible behaviors starts with the dog owner being very clear on what it wants and does not accept.

When you have figured out which behavior you want from your dog, you are much more transparent and will not send mixed signals to your dog anymore, which is very helpful for a behavior problem.

Before you buy a puppy, I recommend you consider:

Is your dog allowed on the sofa or couch?
Is your dog allowed in your bed?
Can your dog sit next to you when you are eating at the dining table?
May your dog jump at you or other people?
What would you like your dog to do when meeting one or two dogs?
Do you want your dog to be able to stay home alone?
What would you like your dog to do when someone is at your front door?

When you have thought about your dream scenarios, I also hope you know that this will require training methods in every single situation to create positive behavior.

You can stop your dog from an incompatible behavior any time you want because you know what you want it to do instead of yelling NO.

Training Methods

I recommend that you train your dog as soon as possible to get the basics in place.

If you want to train your dog, I recommend you get help or have “an assistant” in training. You can create a fictive situation where you ask an assistant to ring the doorbell.

You have to decide before you get started what you want your dog to do. That could be: To sit on the dog bed and be calm. When the guest enters, you want your dog to sit.

Not until the moment when your guest has taken the jacket off and comes to your dog will you find it acceptable that your dog has a happy reaction but never jumps on the guest.

Here are my 4 steps to practice this:

When the doorbell rings, you ask your dog to sit on its bed.
You open the door, and if your dog walks out from the bed, you close the door and ask your dog to sit on the bed again. When your dog sits and is calm, you tell your dog how good it is or maybe give your dog a treat. Then, you repeat this step.
When your assistant enters the house, your dog needs to be sitting and calm. If your dog can’t sit calmly and wait, you ask your assistant to leave and repeat step 2.
When your assistant can enter the house and take off the jacket and meet your dog near the bed, you have succeeded.

Please remember never to yell at your dog, push it or become angry. These steps need patience and love to lead the way to your dog.

I always recommend positive reinforcement to have a happy and motivated dog as soon as possible.

Additional reading: Why is my dog whining and how to stop a dog from peeing in the house.

Get Professional Help

Some dog parents try their best in the first couple of years by preventing annoying behavior from their dog.

They, too, are alternative and creative, trying to solve the problems by letting the dog into another room when visitors come by. Or they use a baby gate to prevent the dog from jumping on other people.

Some people put a leash on their dogs and will only take it off once the guests leave the house again. But there are different ways to get professional help.

I recommend one of several of these experts:

An animal communicator who knows exactly what your dog wants and is motivated by
A behavioral therapist who uses positive reinforcement
A dog whisperer who can read the body language of your dog
Professional dog trainers who uses positive reinforcement and helps you on your way

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Ditte Young

Ditte Young has worked as a spiritual coach, therapist and clairvoyant for 23 years. She is an author of 3 books about animal communication and is known as Denmark's most recognized animal communicator.

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