Stopping a puppy from jumping up

When a puppy jumps up, it’s usually excitement and play, particularly when greeting their owner. Dogs are highly social animals, so they’re very open about displays of affection. When puppies jump up, a lot of people find it adorable and sweet. However, one day this puppy is going to grow up and it might not be as sweet when you find you or another person finds themselves flat on their back! Even a small dog may knock somebody over and could inadvertently do some damage to an elderly person or a child.

When training a puppy not to jump up, it’s important to realise that this isn’t the sort of training where you can designate specific times for the training to take place; it has to be a constant, consistent form of training. If you allow your puppy to jump up at you, and then scold him for doing it again in a couple of hours, this is just going to confuse him. If you decide to train your puppy not to jump up, it is equally important not to make a fuss and bend over your pup when he does jump up at you, as he will see this as a reward. This goes for other people as well – when you’re out on a walk, make sure you stop your puppy from jumping up at people, even if they say they don’t mind.

Many people decide to use scolding to deter a puppy from jumping up. Please be aware that this very often does not work; the puppy may just become more excited and continue the behaviour or, if he is already very excited, may just ignore you completely. At this point, very often people will deliver a harsher reprimand, which may frighten the puppy – there is no point in scolding a dog for doing something wrong if the dog hasn’t already been taught that the behaviour is undesirable.

One method which has been found to work is to teach your dog another way of greeting people; for instance, introducing the ‘sit’ and ‘stay’ commands. In order for a dog to perform these actions, he cannot jump up.

A lot of people prefer to ignore the undesirable behaviour and praise the desirable behaviour. When the puppy jumps up, turn away with your arms folded or tucked up and ignore him. He may try to jump up again or bounce around to the front – continue to turn away until he stops jumping up. Once he stops, give him plenty of praise.

Remember, the time taken to train a puppy not to jump up can range from a few days to a few weeks or months! It all depends on the amount of practice you can fit in – if your puppy only jumps up at visitors a few times a week, you’ll only be able to get in a few practice sessions per week, so it will probably take longer. Be persistent and patient!

To let your puppy know when exuberant affection is or is not okay, it can help to get down to his level. When you’re down on the puppy’s level, affection can be presented as a desirable behaviour. When the puppy jumps up to get to your level when you’re standing, it can be presented as an undesirable behaviour.


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