Carpenter: How do I keep my dog from jumping?

With the new year and lots of new puppies, here's a question I'm asked frequently: "How do you keep a dog from jumping up on you?"

This is personally my pet peeve, and yet it is fairly easy to prevent - but hard to correct once it's a learned behavior.

First, let's look at why dogs have a strong urge to jump - which is because they want to give eye contact. Ever notice how puppies go to an older dog and lick the corners of the dog's mouth? They are telling the leader of the pack they are submissive and understand their place in the pack. Puppies will do this to their mother when she comes back from a hunt to stimulate her to regurgitate to feed the puppies. These are valid and good reasons in the dog world to jump, but no one ever told dogs it is rude, annoying and sometimes dangerous to jump on humans. It is our job to teach them human rules.

Another problem that exacerbates jumping behavior is humans give dogs very strong signals this is acceptable - among these signals are physical touch (even a shove or a knee to the dog's chest counts) and eye contact. Almost everyone, every time will do these two things when dealing with this problem. So what reason do the dogs have to change?

It's our behavior that needs the adjustment.

First, have someone hold the dog's leash, t

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Yorkies and Poodles

Carpenter: How do I keep my dog from jumping? With the new year and lots of new puppies, here's a question I'm asked frequently: "How do you keep a dog from jumping up on you?" This is personally my pet peeve, and yet it is fairly easy to prevent - but hard to correct once it's a learned behavior. First, let's look at why dogs have a strong urge to jump - which is because they want to give eye contact. Ever notice how puppies go to an older dog and lick the corners of the dog's mouth? They are telling the leader of the pack they are submissive and understand their place in the pack. Puppies will do this to their mother when she comes back from a hunt to stimulate her to regurgitate to feed the puppies. These are valid and good reasons in the dog world to jump, but no one ever told dogs it is rude, annoying and sometimes dangerous to jump on humans. It is our job to teach them human rules. Another problem that exacerbates jumping behavior is humans give dogs very strong signals this is acceptable - among these signals are physical touch (even a shove or a knee to the dog's chest counts) and eye contact. Almost everyone, every time will do these two things when dealing with this problem. So what reason do the dogs have to change? It's our behavior that needs the adjustment. First, have someone hold the dog's leash, t Continue reading the rest of "Carpenter: How do I keep my dog from jumping?" by Athens Banner-Herald © 2009 http://onlineathens.com - Athens Banner-Herald - All rights reserved. Rate This Article: Comment on "Carpenter: How do I keep my dog from jumping?" Your Name Your Comments Verification Code: 8WRGHL Enter Code:	Subscribe to our Monthly Email Newsletter