Stop Your Dog Jumping Up At You

I was going to start by saying that for many people there is nothing more adorable than their dog jumping up at them enthusiastically when they return home. I was going to say that. Then I changed my mind.

For the owner of a Yorkshire Terrier, having a dog that jumps up may indeed be cute, but for the poor owner of a St Bernard, it can be a completely different matter!

So Is A Dog Jumping Up On People Bad Dog Behaviour?

Enthusiastic as the greeting may be, we have to ask ourselves if a dog jumping up is acceptable behaviour to be encouraged or bad dog behavior? Remember, both dogs we mention are doing the same thing.

Taking this a little further, what if your dog jumps on other people – like your visitors? Is that okay? And, if we don’t mind them jumping up at us, can we really expect our dogs to understand that jumping up at visitors is not okay?

Many dog owners work around this problem, trying to avoiding the situation arising. I’ve seen every tactic from distracting the dog and trying to sneak past without being spotted, to dashing into the house before their pooch can cover them in multiple paw prints after being in the garden.

In the short-term, these might be valuable tactics, but long term they won’t solve the problem and stop your from trying to jump up at you.

The Real Reason Your Dogs Jumping At You

Some dogs actually use these jumping up opportunities to really put some force behind it, even knocking their owners over in some cases. That’s when you start to get the sense that there may be more to this action than meets the eye.

The real reason your dog is jumping up may surprise you. In a dog’s natural world, height is might – therefore the bigger you are, the higher up the pecking order you are.

So if your dog jumps up at you, and perhaps you get down to their level to greet them, you are giving them the clear sign that they are above you in the pack structure. Clever, aren’t they? In the wild, they do this every time the pack gets back together.

So What Has A Dog Jumping Up Got To Do With Separation Anxiety In Dogs?

The way we respond to jumping up is important to a dog because they are trying to establish their place in the pack.The problem is that because we don’t understand what a dog jumping up means, we don’t give them the right response.

This can lead many dogs to believe that they are pack leader and therefore responsible for their other pack members (and that means you and the rest of the family), which can in turn lead to dog anxiety, and that is no laughing matter.

In fact, separation anxiety in dogs is now a very common problems that dog owners deal with on a day-to-day basis. Fortunately the solution is simple, which is to make sure the dog sees you as leader of the pack.

How To Stop A Dog From Jumping Up

Ignoring your dog until they calm down is the best way to deal with a dog jumping up, so don’t speak to your dog, stroke them or even look at them when you first come home. If they throw themselves at you, fend them off gently, still without looking at or speaking to your dog. If they can see that throwing themselves at you is not going to get them the attention they want, they will gradually calm down.

Don’t call you dog to you to say hello and give them a fuss until they leave you alone. That might take 20 minutes to start with, but will quickly decrease as they learn that being calm is what gets them lots of your attention.

If you want to check that your dog really is suffering from separation anxiety,  claim your free report on dog anxiety symptoms by putting your email address into the box on the top right of this page.

When Is Dog Anxiety Not Dog Anxiety?

Tags: bad dog behavior, dog jumping on people, dog jumps up, dog separation anxiety, stop dog jumping up