Dog Jumping

Figuring out methods of controlling dog jumping can be frustrating if you wait until the behavior is out of control. There are three different types of jumping. Jumping up on humans when they are excited, jumping onto objects such as family furniture, or jumping the fence in the family yard. These are three very different types of dog jumping and not every dog that jumps on you will necessarily be inclined to leaping the fence in your backyard or to jump on the furniture.

Jumping Up on Humans
The reasons why dogs jump up to greet humans are varied, but the most obvious reason for dog jumping is that they are used to greeting one another by getting close to each other face to face, nose to nose. They often smell and lick one another and it may be an inherent trait that they want to do the same with their human companions. Unfortunately, this can be a frustrating habit if they are jumping up on company or if they are especially large dogs that could easily harm someone by jumping on them.

Remember that jumping up may seem cute when puppies are small and they excitedly run to you when you come home through the door, but if this behavior is not controlled right away, you will eventually end up with a full grown dog jumping up in your face when you come home. It is essential that everyone in the family know not to allow even the cutest of puppies to jump up in the face of human family members.

If your puppy or dog greets you by jumping up, do not punish the dog by getting angry, but instead simply turn away from the dog. Ignoring this behavior will let him know it is not acceptable. If this is not possible because of the size of the dog or because of their extremely energetic nature, gently put up your knee to protect yourself while saying “no” in a firm manner. Do not make a big issue out of it, but just enough to let the dog know that this type of dog jumping is not acceptable behavior. After he is on the ground, praise him and pet him to let him know he has done well by staying on the ground.

Within a short period of time, the dog will begin to understand that he should not be jumping. Remember that in order for this to work effectively, all family members need to follow these rules. If the dog is allowed to jump on one family member he may continue to display this behavior to visitors or even to the entire family, as he is receiving mixed signals.

Dog Jumping Fence
While dogs jumping the fence may seem like an impossible situation to fix, this is actually easily solvable. There are a few basic reasons why your dog may jump the fence. Simply because he is bored and left out in the backyard by himself often, because he has a high prey drive and has seen a cat, rabbit or bird he wants to get to, or because he is a friendly dog who has noticed another dog or human on the other side of the fence.

Whatever the case, you can easily solve this problem by trying to figure out when the dog most often jumps the fence and resolving this with adequate dog training. If it is while you are away at work, then he is most likely bored or scared of being left alone in the yard all day. You may simply want to bring the dog in the house or try coming home on your lunch break and taking him for a short walk to ease his boredom. If he is interested in seeking out prey or other companionship, you may need to erect a taller fence or place something in the way to block the area where the dog has figured out how to jump over.

You may very likely be able to control his jumping by simply catching him in the act and commanding him “no” or “stop.” This may require taking time to pay attention to his schedule of when he is most likely to jump the fence, but a stern warning from the owner will almost always let the dog know his behavior is unacceptable. Of course this may need to be repeated several times in order to take effect, but should begin to work. If you are too late and the dog manages to escape before you notice, remember that his lack of a long-term memory will make punishing him a useless effort. He needs to stop in the act to know what he is doing is wrong.

Jumping on Furniture
Just as jumping up to greet an owner is instinctual in a dog, jumping up on the furniture to be near humans is also instinctual in many ways. They like being part of the “pack” and if they see their human owners on the furniture, they will naturally assume they belong there. If you do not want your dogs to jump on the furniture, then you need to make it a continual practice of quickly removing them when they attempt to jump up and at the same time firmly tell them “no.”

Dogs may also desire to be warm at night or while they are napping and the best place to seek warmth is on furniture. Another good way to deter pets from jumping up on furniture is to buy them a warm dog bed so they will have their own warm place to sleep at night. Combining telling a dog “no” and never letting them up on the furniture, even as cute puppies, along with giving them a place of their own is a great preventative method for dog jumping on furniture.

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