Puppies are easily excited and highly energetic pets who are curious to learn everything about the world around them! This makes for many fun adventures and a strong bond between you, but that energy isn’t always a good thing. The downside to having such a cute critter around is that they will sometimes get too rambunctious and jump on you or the people you invite over. No one really likes that because even a puppy has nails that can cause pain.
So how do you stop it from happening?
The solutions are pretty simple, but you have to be willing to consistently train your pup to be cool and collected when he sees new people. Have patience, and you will prevail!
When to Start Training
If you want the jumping behavior to stop, you should start training your puppy to keep all paws on the floor as soon as you bring him home. It isn’t such a big deal to you now – tiny puppy paws don’t hurt. However, this just encourages him to keep doing it when he gets bigger and a lot heavier.
If you start teaching later than you should, it will take a lot longer to train your pup to stop jumping.
How to Curb the Jumping Behavior
Use the positive reinforcement method
“Positive reinforcement” is the method used to train dogs that focuses on rewarding good behavior. Train your puppy to keep “four on the floor” by using the “sit” and “stay” commands. When he obeys, reward him with treats, words of encouragement, petting, and/or toys.
If the pup does jump, all you have to do is back away and try again in a moment. Never hit him or push him; this is counterproductive to what positive reinforcement is about. You do not punish, but you gently correct and reward instead.
Don’t respond
When your puppy does jump on you, try not to respond to it. He wants attention, and if you give it to him, you encourage him to do it again in the future. Do not pet him or speak to him. Just back away and try using your positive reinforcement training techniques. In the future, you will be able to see the behavior coming. Back up before he jumps to teach him not to make contact.
Keep your puppy relaxed
It is really difficult to curb a puppy’s enthusiasm but do try to keep the mood Zen. Some ways that you can induce a calm atmosphere are:
- Responding to your puppy in calm, even tones. When you get excited and raise the pitch of your voice, it works your pup into a frenzy. Speak softly and gently to him instead, and you will help him to feel chill.
- Using the positive reinforcement method for calm behaviors. Whenever your puppy is sitting or lying down calmly around others, give him affection or a treat to reinforce the idea that this behavior is desirable.
- Lower the noise. Some noises you can’t control, like sirens and general traffic sounds. You can, however, lower the volume of the TV and ask people to be quieter. Noises can be overwhelming and even pleasant noises can be detrimental to stopping this behavior in your puppy.
Explain what you’re doing
Some of your guests will be ecstatic when your dog jumps on them, petting him and cooing at him. This effectively undoes most of what your training has taught. In order to keep what your pup has learned in effect, explain to your guests why they should respond differently to the action exhibited.
Maybe your guests can join in and help with the training, too!
Distract your puppy
When your guests are arriving, do not let your pup wait at the door to pounce. Instead, hold his attention with a treat or by petting him instead. If you do this every time, he should come to you for attention instead of them.
Remove your pup from the situation
Socialization is extremely important to a puppy’s wellbeing, but sometimes, it can be a little too much socialization at the wrong time. While your guests file in, take your puppy to another room and let him chill out. He does not have to stay separate if you think he can handle the crowd, but it is better to test it slowly rather than immersing him in the situation all at once.
If the pup gets overexcited, maybe even put him in his crate for a while if he’s crate trained. This will let him see everyone and be with you without being able to perform this behavior. It acclimates the puppy to his surroundings while being safely tucked away.
Use a leash
The easiest way to stop a puppy from jumping is to make sure that he can’t. What you need to do is this:
- Attach the leash to the puppy’s collar
- Give it some wiggle room, but not enough for him to jump
- Step on the rest of the leash to keep it firmly in place
Make sure that this is not causing your pup to get choked, though. Straining against the leash for a long period of time is unhealthy. It’s normal for him to do it a few times, but if you notice him coughing, it may be better to remove him from the situation and try again later.
This also works in public because you should already have a leash on your puppy. On a walk, this works in an instant.
Remember, you are not going to see the results you want over time. Training a puppy to do (or not do) anything happens slowly and requires tons of patience. The jumping should stop after weeks or a couple of months of practice.
If you feel that you can’t handle the training process properly, try bringing your puppy to obedience classes. Professional dog trainers will teach him the basics and likely give you pointers and homework while they are at it. There’s no shame in needing a little help!
Bringing a new family addition into the home is extremely exciting! Becoming a new puppy parent comes with a ton of new joys, challenges and responsibilities. PupBox was created to help new puppy parents like yourself, by providing all of the toys, treats, accessories and training information you need, when you need it. CLICK HERE to learn more about PupBox.
And remember, puppyhood is fast and is gone before you know it. Make sure to savor the time when your pup is young, and take lots of pictures along the way!
