Getting Your Puppy To Stop Jumping Up
By Jeffrey Kinseth

It's adorable seeing a puppy jump around and play, but the truth is, as your dog grows up, this behavior is going to become rude, agitating, and inappropriate for you and your guests. While they may be cute, small, and harmless right now, your dog will soon grow into a full-sized animal who could easily tear or ruin an outfit along with jumping up on a small child or elderly person and knocking them over or hurting them.

So, it's essential that you put in the effort to teaching your puppy sooner rather than later so they quickly learn that jumping up on a person is not the appropriate response when they see someone.

Before you begin disciplining your dog, remember that jumping is very natural to them, and as puppies especially, they often are "rewarded" for it because they get attention when they jump up. In the wild, they will jump into their mother's face to get attention or encourage food to be given to them. So, one of the quickest ways to train your puppy that jumping won't get them anything positive is to simply ignore the behavior. Turn away from them when they jump and walk away a few steps. Wait a few moments before interacting so they do not associate the interaction with their jumping or begging.

Do not make eye contact, speak to, or touch your dog when they jump on you. All of this can be perceived as affection. Wait until your puppy has calmed down before making any sort of interaction with them. If your puppy is unable to calm down after five minutes, isolate them by leaving the room or leading them to their dog pen and walking away. Wait until they are quiet and calm before letting them out again.

It may be difficult for you to train your puppy due to how cute they are, but you are doing them a huge dis-service by not working with them now while they are young. If you wait until they are larger, this behavior will only get worse. Right now, it's a cute way to get your attention. Soon, they will grow more demanding and dominant.

Now, training is based on consistency. While you might be doing great following the above steps to keep your puppy from jumping on you and your family, you should also take a couple moments to ask your guests to act accordingly when they see your puppy. Let them know you're fine with them petting your puppy, but that you're in the middle of training them. Oftentimes, you will have to add the last sentence to reinforce that it's an active effort that requires their participation. Usually, just mentioning the puppy potentially jumping up on them will lead to an "Aww, I don't mind!" that can ruin all your training efforts.

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