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Jumping Up For Attention
Show your dog how polite sitting, not jumping, gets them attention.
Introduction - Read This First!
You probably already know the answer to this one. Your dog jumps up because they’re happy! And dogs jumping up on people is almost never about dominance, aggression, or anything like that. Your dog is probably jumping up on you because they love you and want attention! Now, this is definitely not polite behavior, but it’s still friendly. In this lesson we’ll discuss how to teach your dog the polite way to say hello to people.
What Can I Do To Stop My Dog Jumping Up?
Whenever you want to change a bad behavior, you should have 2 goals: teach your dog a GOOD behavior to do instead, and ignore the BAD behavior from now on. The next 3 steps will explain how to do that for dogs jumping up.
Pro Trainer Principles:
To Change ANY Bad Behavior, Find A Good Behavior To Reward, Then Punish/Ignore The Bad Behavior
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Lots Of Positive Reinforcement And A Little Punishment Is A Powerful Combination
This is a very important concept that comes up a lot in dog training, especially when working on problem behaviors.
If you want to change a certain behavior, you have to use both positive reinforcement to encourage a good behavior, and a little bit of punishment to discourage the bad behavior. Neither reinforcement or punishment is usually effective on their own. When we say punishment, we mean light punishments, like ignoring your dog, using a stern voice, or using a slight tug on the leash.
Exercise: Practice Sitting and NOT Jumping
This is very simple exercise. All you have to do is:
Step 1: Ask For Sit 5x
The first thing we want to do is get our dog into the mindset of “do a sit and get treats”. So ask them for a sit five times. Each time give them a treat then walk away to “reset”.
Step 2: Jump = Turn Around
What’s also very important is that if your dog is SO EXCITED that they try to jump up on you even before you ask them to sit, just turn and walk away. This is the “punishment” we were talking about before.
Step 3: Walk Away And Repeat
So your dog will either jump or you ask them to sit or jump up at you and you turn and walk away instead.
Step 4: Repeat, But Now Don't Say "Sit"
Now is where it starts getting fun! Now that your dog knows what you want him to do, try walking up to them again and not saying anything – see what they do!
Higher Difficulty: Automatic Polite Sitting
For this next part we’re going to teach your dog that they should sit all the time to be polite, not just when we ask them to. If you have really smart (or hungry) dog, they may have already figured this one out!
Pro Trainer Principles:
An Automatic Version Of A Command Is The Same Thing, Just Without Giving A Command
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Teach Automatic Commands To Get Good Behaviors Without Being Told
To teach an “automatic” version of a command, warm up by practicing the command a bunch of times. After a while you may find that your dog does the command on their own “by accident”. If you reward them for doing the command without being told to, they will do it like that more often!
“Automatic” commands can be very good, like sitting to get attention. They can also be really annoying, like when we “accidentally” teach our dogs to bark for attention by rewarding them with attention when they do it.
Step 1: Warm Up
Really quickly do the same “sit” exercise from earlier, or skip it if you just did it right now.
Step 2: Stand and WAIT
Now, after your dog has done several sits with you ASKING them to, try walking up to them and say nothing. They might sit because they’re expecting it!
Step 3: Automatic Sit
So now your dog will have 3 options – sit automatically, sit after being asked, or jump. Only sitting automatically gets them treats!
Step 4: Reset and Repeat!
Same as before – walk away after each time you “test” your dog, then come back and try again!
What About Jumping On OTHER People??
Pro Trainer Principles:
It Takes A Village To Train A Dog… Ask For Help!
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Training Behaviors That Involve Other People Requires Their Help!
Teaching your dog not to jump on YOU can actually go pretty fast, but many dog owners have a lot more trouble teaching their dog not to jump up on other people.
Having a dog is all about socializing and having fun with them. Interacting with other people is an important part of that. Don’t be shy – ask for help when greeting people. Most dog lover will be very happy to help with the training! It helps to develop a “script” when you go out with your dog to tell people what to do, like:
“Yes you can totally pet him! But here’s a treat, you have to ask him to sit first.”
Exercise: Walk, No Jump, Repeat.
No Sitting Required!
No Sitting Required!
No Sitting Required, Just Don't Jump!
Now that you know how to teach your dog to sit for attention and not jump up, there’s something very important to know:
It’s OK if they’re not sitting, as long as they’re not jumping!
Pro Trainer Principles:
The Absence Of A BAD Behavior Is A GOOD Behavior
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Never Forget That Your Dog Is Always Training!
When you start training behaviors like jumping up, not barking, or lying down quietly while you relax, it’s very easy to forget about them once the bad behavior is mostly gone. But you must remember that your dog is trying VERY hard to be polite! Always look at your dog when they’re doing NOTHING and think “before we started training, would they have wanted to do something bad right now?”. You have to remember to reward them, even if they look like they’re not doing anything. Doing “nothing” is being polite! Reward it!
Step 1: Warm Up With Sit
Now try this exercise: start with the previous exercise of waiting for your dog to sit. Then you can start walking around a bit. If your dog does anything OTHER than jumping, give them treats! Walking with you, sitting, lying down – these are all more polite than jumping!
Just like before, run through the same steps of “warming up” by asking your dog for a few sits first.
Step 2: Walk a Bit And Reward!
Now slowly walk away and calmly ask your dog to follow you as you walk. If they come over and sit, walk by your side, or ANYTHING ELSE that’s not jumping, give them a treat!
Step 3: Repeat!
You can slowly start to move faster, get more playful, and “test” your dog more to make sure they don’t jump and instead sit or do anything else to be “polite”.
Still Have Questions?