Ask the Trainer

Over-friendly Jumping

"My dog, Bella, always jumps up on people when they try to pet her. She isn't too bad with my family and me, but seems to get overexcited with strangers or friends of ours. She is really out of control and now people don't want to come to our house. How can I stop this horrible behavior?"

Jumping up on people is a very common behavior problem in dogs. It is fairly easy to fix if owners are consistent and thorough in their training.

Owners want to make sure that their dogs are getting a sufficient amount of exercise, meaning at least two thirty minute sessions each day. This means aerobic exercise, not just a simple leash walk. A tired dog is a well behaved dog so jumping would be less of a thrill.

Items owners will need during the training are high quality treats, a peanut butter cup (or some other type of spreadable food), a squirt bottle, and breath spray. The idea is to train Bella to sit for human greetings and to correct her with the spray if she "forgets" and jumps up on someone.

When a new human comes to the house, ask Bella to sit and feed her from the container of peanut butter. If she turns and jumps on a human, spray her with the breath spray or bottle and then, once she's sitting, reward with treats or the peanut butter. Ask all humans who interact with Bella to ask for sits and feed her treats when she is sitting. You must be 100% consistent when doing this training for if Bella jumps on someone and isn't corrected you lose 80% of all your previous training! Never let anyone pet Bella while she is jumping on them, even if they don't mind.

Good luck and I hope she makes improvements!