One of the behaviours most loathed by humans of dogs is that of jumping up on people, its embarrassing when guests come and get mauled lovingly as the door opens or a new outfit ruined by a mud covered fido. The dog is doing what feels natural to it, it is not being dominant it is greeting and responding to what it has been taught. 

A dog is constantly learning from the moment it is born it is responding to its environment and as an opportunist a dog will repeat behaviours which result in getting what it wants. It is important to understand that dogs are unique amongst animals and one thing that dogs really want is human attention especially that of their owners or newcomers to their group. Often humans do not realise that when their dog was a puppy they taught it to jump up by rewarding that behaviour with attention. Any attention can be stimulating for a dog, pushing the dog down and yelling at the dog can actually be giving the dog the attention it craves.

Any dog owner who has a dog that jumps on people and is seemingly over friendly knows that you really really have become tough and often have no luck with a dog when visitors come or you return home with arms full of groceries...however there is another way of ensuring your dog does not jump up.

Whilst it is best to teach a dog when it is a puppy not to jump up, many dogs come to us as adults or we have missed the boat and they are jumpers regardless of the techniques we have used. Positive Reinforcement Training works on the basis of Rewarding Behaviours you like and Ignoring Behaviours you do not like and removing punishment from the equation. So you teach your dog an alternative behaviour to perform when you enter its area, rather than a reprimand which the dog may be interpreting quite differently, this will result in the dog getting what it wants...your attention, by doing what you want...the new behaviour.

There are two steps involved in reducing a dogs need to jump up on people, firstly teaching the dog a new behaviour that you want it to perform when it greets people and secondly removing its rewards when it does jump up on people.

Step 1: Teaching the Dog an Alternative Behaviour- Sit

There are many ways to reward your dog and as all dogs eat, I recommend using food as a great reward to learn a new behaviour. Choose a food your dog really likes then cut it into pieces (tidbits)  about the size of a pea. Dogs often enjoy food most by its smell so warming it a little helps release the smell and increase its value to the dog.

Alone with your dog in a room or the backyard allow your dog to smell the tidbits without getting any, if he jumps up turn away with your hands held  together at around your belly button level, say nothing, just continue to remove your attention. Soon enough you dog will start performing behaviours in order to get the tidbits. As soon as he performs the behaviour you most want then quick as possible throw him a tidbit. Ideas for behaviour could be 'sit', 'drop' 'stand still', I personally recommend a 'sit' as the dog is forced to be immobile but is still (usually) high enough for humans to greet without too much bending down, if your dog is a real wriggler then perhaps a full 'drop' is needed to keep him immobile until he gets the hang of it.

Do not speak the word 'sit', just allow the dog to perfom the 'sit' and reward it, this way you are teaching the dog a default behaviour, that is this is what you do if you want something.

Trouble shooting:

If your dog seems disinterested start off by throwing a tidbit to get his attention.

If your dog is very large and rough get the most robust human in the household to do the initial training.

If your dog continues to jump up, get another person in the room or yard and make sure each of you has tidbits on hand and ensures the other is NOT giving the dog any attention when he jumps up, that is no eye contact, no hand contact, no voice contact.

Moving from tidbits to verbal Praise and Petting

Soon enough you dog will learn that if he perfoms this new behaviour he will be rewarded with a tidbit. Start mixing it up now and when he performs the correct behaviour reward him with voice 'good dog' or touch 'petting to the head' this will ensure the dog will perfom regardless of wether you have some food.

Generalising the Alternative Behaviour

Change locations and go over the same training. Ignoring the behviour you do not want and rewarding the behaviour you do want with verbal praise, petting and tidbits. This will generalise the behaviour so your dog understand what is wanted 'when ever and where ever' he greets people.

Step 2: Teaching how well mannered dogs greet People.

When reinforcing the new behaviour you have ensured the likelihood of it being repeated, now we need to excite the dog and simulate the arrival of people. So have your dog in a room or the back yard, be ready with tidbits and enter the room or yard. Again ignore the dog if he jumps and reward if he sits.

Trouble shooting

If your dog still jumps, go back out the door, then re-enter and reward the dog for calm behaviour then leave and return and reward the dog for a sit, keep this up until the dog learns that when he jumps he losing not just your attention but you altogether.

Generalising the well mannered Greeting

Now start getting different family members to greet the dog from through a door and again leave if the dog jumps up, then re-enter and reward if the dog sits with verbal praise, a pat or a tidbit. Once the dog has worked out that if he wants your attention or a pat or a delicious tidbit he has to sit calmly then you can start getting strangers to come to the house and get them clued up by posting on the door a not like this' Hello, we are training our dog to sit calmly when visitors enter, please only acknowledge our dog when he does so, if he doesn't please turn your back to him without saying anything'.

The key is consistency...and yes being persistent. After all Good Habits are hard to break. 

Soon enough your dog will get the concept.'...if I sit patiently I get exactly what I want...ATTENTION FROM HUMANS'.