Puppy jumping is one of the most common problem behaviors we are asked to solve. A small puppy hopping on your leg may initially be a small annoyance. However, as your puppy grows up, jumping becomes a bigger problem and even unsafe for larger breed dogs such as German Shepherds and Great Danes. Below, we will guide you on how to stop your puppy from jumping.
The first step is teaching your dog to autosit
Autositting is when your dog asks for attention by putting their bottom down in front of you. When teaching your dog to autosit instead of jump, you should perform the following steps:
- Hold treats in your hand and encourage your puppy come towards you.
- As they approach, hold the treat at their eye level, close to their nose. Guide the treat up toward the ceiling.
- When your puppy’s bottom hits the ground, say “good” and give them the treat.
- Do this exercise 8-12 times in a row. After each repetition, encourage your puppy to stand by taking a step backward in between trials.
Now that your puppy has been encouraged to autosit, you can help them hold the position for a longer duration by following these steps:
- While carrying treats, walk around and talk to your puppy.
- Wait again until your puppy sits, but this time keep feeding them for as long as your puppy is sitting.
- When your puppy has sat for over 3 seconds, pet them with your other hand to encourage them to stay seated.
- When your puppy stands, stop feeding and petting them. Wait until they sit down again, and then repeat steps 2 and 3.
- As your puppy reliably stays seated while you pet. Begin to take your treat hand away for a second or two, while continuing to pet them. If they stay seated, offer another treat.
Over time, you will offer them treats less often until your puppy sits on its own while being petted and without needing food as a reward.
Encourage your puppy to autosit with other people
Now that your puppy has learned to autosit, it’s time for the final step to teach your puppy to stop jumping. When your puppy is at home or out in public, ask the person to pet your puppy only when they are sitting. Your puppy may find this difficult to do, but over time they will learn that sitting is the most effective way to get attention.
Ignore their jumping
Jumping is an attention-seeking behavior. Any reaction, whether positive or negative, reinforces this behavior. This means that even pushing them off or yelling at them to stop can reward their jumping.
Don’t talk to your puppy, look at them, attempt to remove them or pet them when they jump on you. By ignoring your puppy’s jumping, you are making this behavior less interesting for them, and discourage them from repeating it in the future.
To teach your puppy to stop jumping, you should teach your dog to ask for attention in a more positive way by auto-sitting.
Corrective tips
If your puppy is struggling to autosit for other people, we recommend shortening the leash and using food to encourage the auto-sit. In the home, the puppy can be tethered at first to prevent them from jumping and allow the guest to approach with the treat..
As your puppy learns to greet other people by autositing, you can gradually phase out using treats and petting until your puppy naturally sits when greeting someone.
We’re here to help
Is your puppy’s jumping out of control or do you have a dog that knocks people over when saying hello? Schedule a free consultation with our pet behavior experts. We offer private sessions conducted in your home to address the jumping where it actually happens.
If you live outside our service areas or prefer to meet virtually, our Certified Applied Animal Behaviorist, Dr. Echterling-Savage, provides virtual consultations to discuss your training goals and develop a training program to achieve them.
