Stopping Your Dog From Jumping

Many dog owners are faced with the problem of their dogs jumping up on them. While your dog is a cute thing, jumping up can be a real problem especially if you or a loved one is getting on. Teaching your dog not to jump on people is an important step to being a responsible dog owner. Teaching your dog is not an overnight process, it needs to be reinforced everyday or you might regret it.

This training is easiest when your dog is still a puppy, being that young they are most likely to jump up. If you've just adopted a puppy, be sure to know his or her personality before starting the lessons. Just like people, dogs have different personalities and needs.

All dogs want attention. This especially applies to puppies, who have an innate need to seek affection from their owners. The best way to show your dog that they are subordinate is by treating them as a dog and not as a human. Only pet your dog and give them attention when they are not jumping all over you.

Another reason dogs jump is because they get excited and like to greeting people this is their way of saying "hello." There are several methods that can be used to teach your dog not to jump. One is to Hopefully they get the idea that they are not permitted to jump and they will begin to learn that the better way to greet you is to sit or lay down instead of jumping.

If you must allow your dog to jump on you keep in mind that dogs jump up on people as a way of saying hello. This might be cute at first but can become annoying very quickly. The best way to control this behavior is to not allow your dog to jump on people. This might seem harder than it is, but it is really not that hard. For a dog owner it is about remembering to be consistent for your dog and having a routine to go by. Once you have determined that your dog is not permitted to jump on you, the rest is a breeze.

Your dog will not be jumping on you, in fact he will have learned that he is able to get a reaction from you by jumping and then licking. He will have conditioned himself to jump and then after a while he will have become conditioned to lick. This process is called learning and is how your dog becomes accustomed to everything he/she eats/smells etc.

The key to eliminating this behavior is by showing your dog that no one is a friend. By not reacting, the same way you would if it was a child jumping you would give the "stop" command. At the time this is said your dog will jump back thinking he just might get away with licking you. Now instead of him jumping in delight on your arrival, he is greeted by the "stop" command and the licking stops.

For your dog the jumping action is not an itch that needs to be scratched, but a way to get attention from you. By reacting in this manner you are negatively reinforcing the behavior. You do not encourage it in the same manner you would a behavior that you want to encourage. It starts with the fact that you, as leader of the pack, are going to eat first and then the dog, once the alpha has their dinner, will have to wait and see what the pack does at dinner.

When the alpha eats first the beta (dog next to you) eats second. The omega (dog on the other end of the chain) eats third. This same principle applies to each individual within the groups. You are going to eat first and then your dog, once you have finished that consuming the larger sized meals, will have to wait till the group has finished.

Once a while being the leader of the pack can cause a little frustration within a dog as a result of internalizing the reactions that your body gives to the jumping behavior. The advice of an experienced dog trainer would be to simply eat a tiny little snack before your dog ever gets the chance to jump on you. You dog must never ever have a chance to jump on you or anyone else first.

Showing your dog that they cannot get your attention by jumping at you, licking you, or getting on anybody else first, will help to curtail the licking and jumping habits of your dog.

You may find that a time out procedure is helpful with a dog that continuously jumps and licks. During a time out procedure, make sure to keep a leash on your dog so that you can permanently keep them away from the people that you don't want licking your face.

Now that you have determined why your dog is licking your face, the next step is to determine how to deal with it. The first thing you should do is one that will show your dog that what they are doing causes your distress.

During dog behavior training, you will come to learn that making any physical contact with a dog will get them excited.