Jumping up is a common behavior we see in puppies. It is a natural behavior but undesirable for many of us and can lead to injuries as well as unhappy members of the public if your muddy dog jumps up at them whilst out on a walk.

In this tutorial you are going to learn how to teach your puppy to keep their paws on the ground so you can be proud to take them anywhere with you.

Puppies often jump up at people because they want to say hello. Unfortunately, this is reinforced by people interacting with them and the pattern continues.

To prevent jumping becoming a habit you want to teach your puppy a simple alternative behavior instead that can be rewarded with human interaction. Teaching a sit or to have 4 paws on the groundwork well. By rewarding what you would like your puppy to do instead and removing attention if your puppy does jump, they will learn to keep their paws on the floor. To begin with you can reward with treats too.

When your puppy approaches, ask them to sit before crouching and fussing them on the chest area. After a few seconds stand up and quickly move away so your puppy follows. As they get close, ask them to sit again, crouch and fuss them. You can repeat this game over and over with every member of your family and your puppy will become an expert at sitting for attention in no time. If your puppy gets excited by petting, make sure you move your hands slowly and to start with, feed your puppy some treats at the same time until they get the idea. For puppies who haven’t learned a sit cue, yet you can play this game and reward them for having 4 paws on the floor instead.

If your puppy does jump up simply stand up and remove your attention from them. Try not to say anything as this interaction can cause them to continue jumping. You may need to move away from your puppy, beyond a baby gate or barrier for a short period before going back to your puppy and trying again.

If your puppy continues to jump up, is getting more excited or frustrated, perhaps even grabbing at your clothes, consider that they might need to get some sleep. Often impulsive behavior increases when puppies get tired. Settle them down with a calming enrichment activity that encourages licking, sniffing or chewing to help them relax, before they take a nap.

Remember, to be consistent and enjoy the journey.