Hespeler Animal Hospital

How to stop your dog from jumping on guests

From Dr. Langlais’ column in The Record, published March 11 2008

Q: Acknowledging that our problem may not be a veterinary visit requirement, I was compelled to write. How we can keep our dog Charlie from jumping up when friends arrive?

A: First of all, I would like to clarify that behavioural problems in pets are a good reason to visit your vet.

You may not know this, but veterinarians receive considerable schooling in animal behaviour. Some even specialize in this; a dog or cat psychiatrist so to speak. Dog trainers are another great resource.

There are some training techniques you can use to make Charlie better behaved. What we are going to do is teach Charlie that he will no longer get attention for jumping up. He needs to “sit” and “look” instead, in order to get what he wants.

For the next couple of weeks, feed him his kibble from your hands, piece-by-piece, rather than from a bowl. Hold a piece of kibble above his nose and slowly move it backwards over his head. He will have to sit in order to be able to see it. Say “Charlie, sit” while you are holding the kibble near his nose. As soon as he sits, say “good sit” and release the kibble into his mouth. Repeat the exercise until you have fed him his entire meal by hand.

Once he has the hang of the sit command, teach Charlie to “look” at you. First have him sit. Then, say “Charlie, look” or “Charlie, look at me” while you bring the kibble to your face. Once the kibble is close to the top of your nose (between your eyes) and Charlie is looking there, give it to him and say “good look.” Repeat the “sit” and “look” exercise over and over for each piece of kibble.

Ignore Charlie whenever he jumps or barks. Once he has stopped on his own, ask him to “sit” and “look.” This will teach him that the only way he will get attention is to sit and look at your face attentively and quietly.

The third step is to teach Charlie to “sit” and “look” whenever someone comes to the door. Both of you need to have some kibble. One can ring the doorbell from outside. The other asks Charlie to “sit” and “look.” Once Charlie is quietly doing that, reward him. Whoever is outside can then come inside and ask Charlie to “sit” and “look.” Repeat the exercise until he has received all of his breakfast as a reward for “sitting” and “looking” instead of barking and jumping.

Next, ask a friend or neighbour to help. They are to ask Charlie to “sit” and “look” once they get in the door, and give him food rewards for doing so. For the next while, try to supply visitors with some kibble before they come over. You can leave some in a Ziploc bag by the front door, to use once they get inside the house. After a while, you can substitute petting and praise for food.

Please, always ignore (don’t punish) bad behaviour and only give Charlie attention for getting it right. Ask your friends and family to do the same. I predict that in a short time, you will have the best behaved dog on the block.