Being welcomed home by my dog is one of the best parts of my day.
As I turn the doorknob, I can hear the soft sound of paws dancing in excitement through the closed door. The moment I step inside, I’m greeted by a wiggly body, a steady stream of licks, and eyes sparking with love.
It’s the best way to come home.
Our dogs are so excited to see us! It doesn’t matter if we’ve been gone for 2 minutes or 2 hours. Their excitement is inspiring. But the art of keeping all four paws on the floor can be a bit challenging.
In these heartwarming homecomings, I am grateful for the training that went into polite greetings. My dog sits nicely, welcomes me lovingly, and most importantly, doesn’t knock me over by jumping on me.
Today, let’s explore a question many dog guardians ask me: How do I train my dog not to jump on me?
Understanding Why Dogs Jump
I’ve worked with countless jumping dogs. And I’ve learned some great tips over the decades. I’m so excited to share them with you!
But before we dive into those, let’s understand why our dogs take the airborne approach to greetings.
We know that dogs greet other dogs by sniffing butts. But why do they like to greet people face to face?
It’s simple: Most dogs just want to be as close to us humans as possible.
Jumping up is how dogs get their faces close to ours. It’s also how they figure out what we’ve been up to.
Your dog can learn all about your day by smelling your face. We release a lot of interesting scents from our mouths and upper bodies.
Your dog is getting information on where you’ve been, what you’ve eaten, and what emotions you’re feeling.
Even though I trained my dog not to jump, I still let her get her face close to mine. I just bend down to give my dog a sniff! I know she’s just curious about my day.
The Power of Positive Reinforcement
Just because our dogs have good reasons for jumping up, doesn’t mean they should. You don’t want your dog knocking over grandma when she visits.
To prevent jumping, I use the magic of positive reinforcement. This means rewarding the behavior I want and redirecting when needed.
Here is what I focus on:
Go Back To The Basics: Sit, Stay, and Come
I believe that all dog training is built on the foundation of sit, stay, and come. If your dog can practice these 3 skills with ease, then he can do anything!
When I teach sit, stay, and come, I make sure to finish with a sit. Here is what I do:
- I ask my dog to sit.
- I ask my dog to stay.
- I take 10 steps away and take a deep breath.
- Then, I call my dog to come.
- When she runs up to me, I ask her to sit again.
- Then, we celebrate! I will give her a treat if she is still learning, or I will reward her with TTouches if we are practicing.
So, why do I include teaching the final sit in our routine? It’s because it teaches my dog to sit when she runs up to me.
So, when I come home, she races up to me (wiggles and all) and knows to greet me with a sit.
Keep practicing sit, stay, and come with your dog. This will get him in the habit of sitting each time he comes to you.
If you notice that your dog still jumps for joy when you come home for the day, you can redirect the jumping behavior in the moment.
Let’s take a look at how I do this.
Teach Different Greeting
I like to train a behavior, like sitting, that is incompatible with jumping.
When my dog is learning, I ask her to sit each time I walk through the door. I give her lots of love and attention while she is sitting. This is how I reward her for staying grounded.
Consistency
I make sure my dog sits every time I come home. I am careful to only give her praise when she is sitting. This speeds up the learning process.
I make sure everyone in my family is on the same page. I even ask guests to do the same. I request that they wait until my dog is sitting to say hello.
Time Your Hello
I am very mindful of what behavior I am rewarding. I give my dog attention when she is doing what I want: staying on the ground.
When she jumps up, I ask her to sit down. I am careful not to pet her when she is jumping on me. This will encourage jumping, which can make her confused.
I wait until she sits, then I thank her for greeting me so nicely and not jumping up. I tell her what a good girl she is and how much I’ve missed her.
Use TTouches
I like to use TTouches on my dog after our reunions. This helps her calm down. It also rewards her for greeting me from the ground.
Final Thoughts
“The world would be a nicer place if everyone had the ability to love as unconditionally as a dog.”
– M.K. Clinton
I promise it’s worth taking time to train your dog. I love knowing that my dog can greet people politely.
I feel confident introducing my dog to children and elderly people. I have peace of mind knowing she won’t injure anyone by saying hello.
You can still have the wholesome, warm welcome of your dreams. Only now, you can experience it without scratches on your legs and muddy paws on your clothes!
Please check out my free videos, where you can see how I use kindness to train dogs to sit when greeting people.
I wish you and your dog countless joyful greetings. Happy training!
