Does Your Dog Jump on Guests? Do This!
Jumping: why do dogs do it? Jumping is often an attention-seeking behavior. Yelling, kneeing your dog in the chest, and pushing your dog down is giving your dog attention. If you enjoy wrestling and roughhousing with your dogs, how are they to know the difference between kneeing and pushing to decrease jumping and wrestlemania?
What does your dog do when guests arrive? Does your dog barrel towards your guests and launch himself, nearly pinning them against your front door? It’s hard to manage guests entering your home and wrangle dogs at the same time. Set yourself and your dog up for success through management and training. Using both management and training can help you deactivate your dog’s launch codes.
Tire your dog out before guests arrive. This helps zap some of the energy your dog has been saving up for unsuspecting guests.
Make sure guests don’t announce their arrival by ringing the doorbell or knocking. Place a note on your door for guests to let themselves in or text when they arrive. Doorbell and knocking sounds can really excite your dog and cause them to bark. You and your dog don’t need an adrenaline rush right before guests arrive.
Plan ahead and put your dog away about 15 minutes before guests arrive. Use crates, bedrooms, and fenced-in backyards as a staging area for your dog. This allows you to invite your guests inside and get them settled. Before bringing your dog out to greet your guests, make sure your guests understand how you want them to greet and interact with your dog. If one of your guests says, “I don’t care if he jumps on me!”, you’ll want to pick another person to reinforce your dog’s four paws on the floor.
The leash isn’t just for outside, it’s a great management tool for inside the home too. When it is time for your dog to make a grand entrance, bring your dog to your guests on leash. Ask your dog to sit before inviting guests to greet your dog. Feed your dog for sitting as people move towards your dog and pet your dog.
What if you are the person your dog jumps on as soon as you come through the front door? Try keeping kibble, jerky treats, or toys in your car or just outside the door. Scoop up a handful of food or grab a toy. Open the door and scatter the food/toss the toy onto your floor with your best bowling arm movement. While your dog is distracted by the food, walk inside, put your stuff down, then bend over and give your dog attention for keeping four paws on the floor. With a little pre-entry planning, walking through your front door will become a breeze.
Management and training go together. In addition to using management to prevent your dog from jumping, you’re going to train your dog to sit with distractions. Your dog can’t jump on someone and sit at the same time. Therefore, sit is an excellent incompatible behavior for jumping. If you want an on-demand course to prepare your dog for guests, sign up for Behavior Buddies! Make’s a great gift - just sayin’!
Here’s a video of how to ask your dog to sit with distractions. I also recommend training your dog to lay on his/her bed with the same distractions as in the video.