Puppies are easy to excite, and it’s part of why it’s great to have a puppy. However, there are many behaviors that puppies will engage in that owners might want to discourage at the very start. That’s including obsessive barking, or jumping up against things and people. Today we’re going to talk about how to stop 7 month old puppy from jumping, on you or anything else.
Jumping is a common canine behavior that’s exhibited by most dogs at some point. Unfortunately, jumping up against things or people can cause discomfort, destruction, or injury for owners and others.
If your puppy jumps up against things and people, discouraging the behavior is an owner’s first important step. Accidentally encouraging the behavior will only teach your puppy to continue doing it. Leading to a “training loop” that could be harder to break.
Do you have a puppy who jumps?
Learn more about puppies and jumping behavior, and what dog owners can do to stop their several-month-old puppy from jumping.
How Do I Stop My 7 Month Old Puppy from Jumping
Puppies are especially playful in their earliest stages. You might notice that puppies are generally jumping and biting and yelping at each other. However, the same behavior starts to become less appropriate as they go outside of the smaller pack. It’s one of the first training aspects that owners might want to focus on.
Dog trainers recommend that owners start by ignoring their pets when they jump. Instead of reacting in an animated or loud manner. Simply turn your back on them: set the standard that jumping rather gets ignored.
Dogs want nothing more than to please their owners, which means that any behaviors best ignored will eventually be discouraged. Reinforce good behavior on the other side, such as sitting down or staying put.
Repetition is key, as well as consistency.
Repeat good behavioral reinforcement (“That’s a good dog!”), and make sure that you continue doing it every single time.
If there are several people in the dog’s immediate environment, it’s very important to make sure they can do the same.
Why Do Puppies and Dogs Jump?
Puppies and dogs jump because it’s one of the many normal behaviors for them to engage in. When puppies play with other dogs, jumping and running are completely normal. However, this behavior should be restricted to tricks an owner can teach their pets are appropriate.
If your pets jump against things when you aren’t home, it could be a potential sign that they’re feeling anxious or bored when you aren’t there. Something you can do is to capture your pet’s attention with a favorite toy, puzzle, or other distraction.
If dogs are jumping up against you, start by turning your back and discouraging the behavior. Dogs will quickly stop doing things they notice get them ignored.
Jumping puppies will quickly stop doing it if they’re being discouraged or ignored.
However, if your reaction is too animated or focused, your dogs might just realize that jumping gets more attention than not.
How to Stop Your Puppy from Jumping
The American Kennel Club recommends small adaptations to your dog’s training. Like positive reinforcement for good behavior and ignoring any behavior you’d like them to stop engaging in (like barking, biting, or jumping).
Puppies use jumping as a playful or attention-seeking behavior. Make sure that these actions aren’t the results of their jumping (via your reaction!), and it can be enough to discourage jumping for your young dog.
Jumping might be cute when they’re small, but quickly turns into a more inappropriate behavior when they start doing damage – or eat something right off the kitchen counter.
Here are other techniques that you can use to stop your dog from jumping up against yourself and other things.
Introduce a new greeting
Dogs, especially puppies, will often jump up as a form of sheer excitement or as a means of greeting someone that they’re happy to see. If you notice that your dog jumps as a greeting, start to introduce a new, more appropriate greeting into their training routine.
Encourage sitting, while ignoring their behavior when they jump. Eventually, your dogs will notice that one behavior gets a more pleasing reaction!
PetMD recommends what they call the “four on the floor” technique, which praises your pet for keeping their paws on the floor at once. No jumping, and a more positive reaction.
Avoid the drama
It’s normal for owners to have a dramatic, unpleasant reaction when dogs jump up against them. However, owners training their dogs to avoid jumping want to avoid this knee-jerk reaction to their pet’s negative behavior.
When a puppy or dog notices that something gets a particular reaction from their owner, they often continue to seek this reaction – yes, even when it’s largely negative.
Avoid the drama, and don’t react to your dog’s jumping behavior. Simply turn around, and encourage other people to do the same.
Praise good behavior, like sitting down or accepting a snack.
A dramatic reaction often encourages the thing you’re trying to get them to stop doing. If dogs are getting attention through a certain reaction, it doesn’t exactly encourage them to stop!
Teach an alternative trick
Owners wanting to discourage their puppies from jumping should put effort into teaching them an alternative trick, recommends the American Kennel Club.
Dogs jump out of excitement and greeting, and it’s easy enough to find other things (or tricks!) that replace this with something positive.
Show dogs what happens when they don’t jump against you, and praise them with positive reinforcement and a clear command, like “Sit!”
Be clear and concise, and firm yet friendly.
Dogs take most cues from their owners, and they’re appropriately reactive depending on what you do. If your dog doesn’t respond to you in the way you’re looking to see, change your own reaction and let their behavior follow suit.
Use a collar for training
One of the best things dog owners can do to discourage jumping in their puppies is to introduce a collar for early training attempts. Dog collars can be a comfortable fit, and enough to teach your dog a fair distance between human and owner.
Encourage your dog to sit down, and during walks, make sure they stay on the same side consistently. Use the collar to guide where you’d like them to be, and encourage them when they’re listening or doing what you’d like them to.
Collars can also be used to, gently, stop a dog from jumping and return them back to a comfortable position.
Don’t encourage jumping behavior
Owners should never accidentally encourage jumping behavior from their pets, including showing an immediate reaction to the jump itself. Instead of reacting to it, turn around and ignore your pet when they jump – yes, sometimes this causes them to do it a few more times, but the point of this training regimen is to remain firm.
When dogs find any encouragement or reaction out of jumping, they’ll simply continue doing it as a means to get your attention!
Accidentally encouraging jumping behavior is one of the most common mistakes dog owners can make.
Jumping when home alone
Sometimes dogs might also jump where and when you can’t see them – for example, jumping objects off shelves or going over couches in the most crazed way. Monitor your dog’s behavior when you aren’t at home.
Jumping behavior alone should be handled in much the same way, and without showing a reaction to your dog’s destruction when you return. Instead occupy their attention with new tricks, engaging toys, and puzzles while you aren’t there.
If you have small dogs or puppies, you might also want to make sure that there’s nothing obviously out in the open for them to mess with. The more things can draw a dog’s attention away from their distractions or toys, the more things they will think to go after in your absence.
If you aren’t sure what your dog is doing when you aren’t there, install a camera or simply leave your dog alone from a place where you can still see what they’re doing.