My dog, Agatha, likes to tell people hello by jumping on them. I know this is bad and my friends don’t like it, but I have a hard time keeping her from just jumping on me. But I know she can learn things. She knows how to sit and can walk on a leash, but I’m not having much luck getting her to quit jumping. What can I do?
The jumping issue frustrates many dog owners, but you are one step toward your goal of having a nonjumping dog simply because Agatha can sit on command. That means she already knows that four paws on the floor is behavior that gets her positive attention and carries the possibility of a treat.
The key to resolving a jumping problem is twofold, according to clickertraining.comclickertraining.com: Don’t reward the undesirable behavior, but do reward a different behavior that’s incompatible with the one you’re trying to eliminate. Naturally, putting your dog in a position where her paws are on the floor is a place to start. Sitting is ideal, so your job is to train Agatha to sit consistently on command and do so automatically when greeting someone.
Before starting the training process, it helps to remember that jumping is a way of getting your attention. If you respond by yelling or pushing your dog away when she jumps, she’s got your attention and will try to keep it by continuing to jump.
In a coming edition of Dogster magazine, celebrity dog trainer Victoria Stilwell offers steps for redirecting a dog’s attention from jumping to sitting. To begin, you’ll need to round up a few volunteers — friends, family or neighbors.
Line up the volunteers and put the dog on her leash, then approach each volunteer. If your dog jumps, do an aboutface and take the dog in another direction. Then turn around and approach again. If Agatha doesn’t jump, tell her to sit. When she sits, praise her and give her a treat.
When your dog is consistently sitting after approaching a person, you can make the exercise more challenging by taking it to the front door where most of the jumping occurs. Keeping your dog on a leash, have a volunteer walk through the door and ask your dog to sit. When she’s sitting every time a person enters the door, up the ante again by adding more stimulation — the doorbell.
The sound of the doorbell, as you know, winds up most dogs. So just because Agatha has been sitting calmly when someone comes through the door doesn’t mean she’ll be able to control herself when she hears the bell. But hang tough. That will come.
You’ll need your volunteers again for this part of the training; it’s most effective if you don’t use the same people all the time. Vary the volunteers and add a couple of unfamiliar people to the
mix. Have them wear hats or carry bags. You want Agatha to get used to calmly greeting a wide range of people, not merely the few she’s used to seeing.
For doorbell training, have a volunteer ring the bell. Before answering the door, wait for your dog to calm down. When she’s calm, open the door and let the person enter. If Agatha jumps instead of sitting, the guest should turn away and leave. You’ll need to coach your volunteers for their roles before beginning the exercise. The point is to take away what Stilwell calls the “secondary reward” for jumping, which is attention from the guest. If the dog jumps, the guest (or the secondary reward) goes away. But if Agatha sits, the guest stays and the dog receives praise plus a treat.
When the dog is sitting upon greeting as a matter of course, you can begin practicing the behavior off-leash. Expect some setbacks at first. They’re a normal part of training, so don’t be discouraged. If Agatha seems to forget training and jumps on you or a guest, don’t say a word. Ignore the dog and turn your back to her. Keep turning around until she stops jumping, only giving her attention when all four paws are on the floor. When she sits, be sure to praise her. Go ahead, gush if you feel like it. Just make sure Agatha knows that paws on the floor will bring her all the attention she craves.
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