Puppy Jumping Up at People? Here’s What Actually Works
When I had my first dogs, over 40 years ago, it was quite common practice to do things like rattle bottles filled with stones when they barked or spray them with water when they jumped up.
I had rather hoped these practices had died out by now 🤦♀️
But a few weeks ago, I met a puppy who was a little bit springy, shall we say. A bit like Tigger! 😂
I actually spotted the spray bottle sitting on the side before the owners mentioned it.
They explained that they had been spraying her every time she jumped up at them. They were rather chuffed that they now only had to pick up the bottle and show it to her for her to stop jumping.
Does Spraying a Puppy Actually Stop Them Jumping Up?
Now, if you look at this very simplistically, you could argue that the puppy had learned not to jump up.
However, she very quickly demonstrated that she hadn’t actually learned not to jump up at all.
She spent a good few minutes trying to get my attention by jumping up at me!
So, while these methods might appear to work, there are a couple of problems.
Firstly, there’s the potential impact on our relationship with our puppies. If every time they do something perfectly normal, such as jumping up to get attention, something unpleasant happens, we risk damaging the trust they have in us.
Secondly, the puppy hasn’t actually learned not to jump up. She’s learned that when these particular people have a spray bottle, something unpleasant might happen if she jumps up.
In other words, she hasn’t generalised the learning. She hasn’t learned that jumping up isn’t going to get her what she wants, regardless of who she’s interacting with.
How to Teach Your Puppy Not to Jump Up
So what do we want to do instead?
We want to teach our puppies what we’d like them to do, rather than simply punishing them for what we don’t want.
When it comes to jumping up, that means teaching them that attention and fuss are only available when all four paws are on the floor.
And yes, I know that’s easier said than done when you’re dealing with a bouncy puppy!
Managing Excitement While Your Puppy Learns
Management is really important while we’re teaching this.
If your puppy gets incredibly excited when somebody comes through the door, perhaps initially have them behind a baby gate. This gives them a chance to let some of that excitement settle.
If they’re still likely to jump when they come out, have them on a lead so they can’t practise the behaviour.
And make sure that anybody interacting with them understands the rules.
They get attention when all four paws are on the floor. The moment those paws leave the floor, the attention disappears.
What we’re teaching the puppy is that they have a choice. They can choose to keep their paws on the floor and get the attention they want.
Why Positive Reinforcement Works Better
It will take time, patience and consistency. Puppies are often little Duracell bunnies :0)
But with a little understanding of how our dogs learn, there are much kinder ways of teaching the behaviours we want.
We’re teaching something the puppy can actually understand and apply to different people and situations. Rather than simply teaching them to be worried about a spray bottle.
There really is no need for punishment when we have much better ways of teaching our dogs.
About the author
Kate Robinson is a qualified dog trainer specialising in puppy training and behaviour. She holds an MSc in Applied Animal Behaviour and Welfare and is a Certified Clinical Animal Behaviourist (CCAB), with over 10 years’ experience helping puppies, dogs and their owners.
