Does your dog jump on people? Don't know how to stop this behavior? There are many dogs that, out of excitement, tend to climb on top of people. However, although this behavior may make us laugh, it is important to avoid it, since it could be very harmful if the person does not like dogs or if they do it on top of a child or elderly person.
In this article on our site we will explain how to prevent the dog from jumping on people. Of course, you must be constant and strict with the rules if you really want him to stop doing it. Take note!
Why do dogs jump on us?
We could compare the dog's brain to that of a very young child who needs to be educated Must learn to relieve himself on the street, to socialize with all kinds of people and animals and must learn about behavior within the family. If we do not educate our dog from puppyhood, problems like the ones we deal with in this article occur: prevent the dog from jumping on people. But… why does it happen?
Generally, this type of behavior is carried out by dogs that have developed this behavior since they were puppies. By allowing them to climb on top of us we make them understand that this behavior is correct, for that reason when they get older they continue to do it, as a regular and appropriate routine.
Dogs that have experienced a change in their life that generates them stress can also begin to develop this behavior and for this reason they begin to behaving in an overexcited way by jumping on people, sofas and objects. We could also talk about a third group of dogs, for example those that have been adopted and whose previous life we do not know.
How to prevent the dog from climbing on people?
The best way to prevent your dog from climbing on top of people is to train him when he is still a puppy. However, if we have not known or been able to carry out this part of the education, we are going to need some patience and the correct guidelines It is possible to achieve it!
Before starting to work on this behavior problem, it will be essential to ensure that our most faithful companion complies with the 5 freedoms of animal welfare. Why? Otherwise, we will be working with a dog that is stressed, nervous or in obvious discomfort. That will cause not to learn correctly or make the education process longer.
If our dog has a serious behavioral problem, he suffers from stress or another ailment, even if it is mental, we must wait to resolve the situation. We must practice with a physically and mentally he althy dog.
All behavior performed by the dog has a specific objective, in this case, when climbing on top of people, the dog seeks attention, caresses or reinforcement, for example. For that reason, to prevent him from climbing on top of people, you must completely prevent him from getting a "reward" of any kind.
Therefore, the first guideline is to completely ignore the dogwhen he tries to climb on top of people. How? The best thing will be to turn around and turn around so that he disengages from our leg or torso. Also, we must not pet or talk to him
Ignoring the dog we will be looking for the extinction of the behavior, but be very careful, it may happen that the dog, being ignored, tries more eager to climb on top of people. It will be essential to stand firm and ignore it completely.
In addition, we are going to try to reinforce a calm, positive and serene attitude. For this it is essential that the whole family gets involved and collaborate in this new learning process:
- We should reinforce him when he is calm with a "very good", for example.
- We will also reinforce him when, when we get home, he doesn't climb on top of us.
- We will ask people to turn around in the street if the dog climbs on them.
- We will avoid excessively exciting him, both in the street and at home, as this leads to lack of control and, therefore, to the dog jumping on people.
What if we scold him for jumping on people?
If we scold our dog for jumping on people instead of ignoring him, we will be giving him some attention, albeit negative, so he will half achieve his goal: that you pay attention to him.
Therefore, it is very important that the whole family understands that they should not scold the animal, but educate him through positive reinforcement, giving pay attention to those behaviors that you do well.
Practice obedience so he doesn't jump on people
To completely prevent the dog from climbing on top of people, you must work the basic obedience, always using thepositive reinforcement Obedience not only offers us the possibility of better "controlling" the dog in certain situations, it also helps us to improve our bond with him, to make him understand us better and to stimulate your mind.
To prevent the dog from jumping on people we can teach the dog to sit and, when it is fully worked, teach the dog to stay still. With these two basic commands we can ensure that our dog not only does not climb on top of people, but also sits and waits patiently for his caress or treat.
Of course, remember that obedience must be worked on constantly. For this reason, we recommend that you discover more about dog training sessions and dedicate between 5 and 10 minutes daily to working with your dog. In this way we will achieve a much more perfect response and a happy and stimulated dog.
Don't forget to reward him whenever he sits down before you pounce, whether it's with a treat, a "very good" or a caress. It is essential so that he feels reinforced and does not climb on top of people again.
If your case is especially serious, you don't know how to follow the guidelines or your dog also shows problems such as aggressiveness, don't hesitate and call a specialist. You can go to a trainer, a dog trainer or aethologist , any of these professional figures should be able to help you solve the problems you have.
Of course, don't forget to review their work methodology, customer opinions and their areas of work first. Remember that some professionals work on obedience while others prefer behavior modification.
