Puppies jumping up is a completely natural thing for them to do. It’s been bred into them since they were still out in the wild and needed to get their momma wolf’s attention to make sure they’d get fed.
But encouraging this behavior — as cute as we may find it — in our puppies should not be done. It’s very important that you not give your puppy attention when they are doing this or the behavior will continue into adulthood.
What’s cute and fun when your dog is tiny and under 5 pounds becomes much less so when they’re full grown, 50+ pounds, and capable of jumping 5 feet high in the air. You must stamp this behavior out while they are young.
If your puppy is jumping up, you should just turn and walk away. Ignore them. Do not give them eye contact, touch them, or even speak to them.
Continue to ignore them until your puppy has calmed down, and remained calm for 5 minutes. Then, and only then, should you call them to come to you.
If the behavior continues, you must then isolate the puppy by putting them in another room or simply leaving the room.
Puppy Jumping on Visitors?
If your puppy is jumping up on visitors, you should ask them to use the same response I described above. You may also try either holding the puppy by its collar or putting them on a leash until they calm down.
But if the behavior continues then you should immediately isolate the puppy in another room or put them in a crate.
Puppy Jumping When Getting Ready for a Walk
If pulling out their leash sends your puppy into a jumping frenzy, put the leash away and wait for 10 minutes or until your puppy has calmed down. Once they have relaxed you may give it another shot.
It’s important that you not give in here, no matter how hard it might be. After all, we want to go on the walk too! But it’s best for both you and your puppy in the long run to be steadfast.
+ RELATED: How to Stop Your Dog From Pulling
Here are some important things to remember:
- Remain calm and do not speak when your puppy jumps up at you. They are seeking attention — don’t reward it!
- Their jumping is an invasion of your space and NOT their way of saying “I love you.”
- Space is extremely important to your dog and if you allow them to violate yours, they will lose respect for you.
- When ignoring your puppy, walk away confidently and assertively with your arms folded.
Now that we have the important things out of the way, here’s a few mistakes I see regularly:
- Inconsistency – sometimes you do the right thing and ignore them, other times you give in and give them attention
- Making eye contact – this invites your puppy and their behavior over, avoid it by focusing on something else
One final thing I would recommend is to train your puppy to sit for pretty much everything. If your puppy is frequently practicing sitting with different commands, this will become their default behavior.
From then on you should expect that when your puppy is called, they will obediently come and sit, await your direction, and best of all — not jump!
Stop Your Puppy From Jumping!
It’s frustrating to see your puppy disturbing guests by jumping up on them, or acting like they have spring under their paws when taking a walk in the park. However, it’s easy to put an end to this if you follow our tips!
If you don’t think you’ve quite got it yet, don’t worry! There’s a great video series that explains everything I’ve covered here plus much much more.
It’s called The Online Dog Trainer, go take a look and soon you will be the unquestioned pack leader in your home!
