When dogs jump up on visitors, it is usually due to a lack of training or simply inconsistent behavior. Fortunately, starting itself is not an instinct, but rather learned. It can therefore be corrected relatively easily.
It only becomes dangerous if the guests are small children or elderly people. Because they could lose their balance and hit their heads.
You are responsible in this case. According to the German Civil Code (BGB), you are liable for any damage caused by your four-legged friend. This also includes property damage and personal injury. [1]
Personally, I think €2 per month for good dog liability insurance is more than fair. Because this itself covers damages amounting to millions.
In addition to specific training tips, it is also essential to know the causes and triggers for high jumping. The following 9 tips will also address this.
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#1 Practice the seated greeting
Stopping a behavior is much more difficult than replacing a behavior. Any ex-smoker who suddenly has nothing to do for several minutes every day can confirm this.
For this reason, I recommend replacing jumping with a command. Both “seat” and “place” are suitable for this. Personally, I prefer “Sit”.
Important here: Give your dog the command before he starts visiting. Otherwise he will learn that he should first jump and then sit down. [2]
It's best to practice the seated greeting with friends and acquaintances first. However, a reward should not be missing for good behavior.
If your dog belongs to the category that jumps up when the doorbell rings, then I recommend opening the door while sitting.
Specifically, this means: only open the door when your dog is sitting. And only keep it open when he remains seated. Treats and a training partner also help with this. [3]
Here's an insider tip that I picked up at a dog school. Practice the whole thing in front of a glass door. Because if he obeys there, he will follow at all other doors too.
If dogs always jump at guests and visitors, then it helps to practice the seated greeting with friends beforehand. Over time, the dog learns that just sitting gets him a reward. And rewarded behavior is always repeated by dogs.
#2 Switch to zombie mode
This method is particularly helpful for very young dogs and those four-legged friends who need a lot of attention. For example, with family and lap dogs.
You can usually recognize this by the fact that they are constantly looking for physical contact, often whine or even become hyperactive. Fortunately, this behavior is learned.
Even at a young age, puppies learn from their mother that they will be rewarded with mother's milk by constantly jumping up. So it's a natural protective behavior.
And this is exactly where you can use your movie knowledge about zombies. Because this behavior shows your dog that jumping up has negative consequences for visitors:
- Don't show any emotions
- React disinterestedly
- Don't make eye contact
- Pretend you're busy [4]
Specifically: Practice with friends and tell them that when you enter, they should switch to zombie mode and completely ignore your dog.
After a few “zombie rounds” you will notice that your dog becomes noticeably calmer when greeting you. As a reward, you can then give him a treat and attention.
There is one limitation, however. Make sure your dog gets enough attention throughout the day. Because this is one of the basic needs of a dog.
If dogs need a lot of attention and for this reason all visitors jump at them, then zombie mode can help with training. Here the visitor should initially behave very disinterestedly and ignore the dog.
#3 Use tools
Children are said to pose the greatest challenge to their parents during their teenage years between the ages of 13 and 16.
Dogs also go through such a phase in which they test their limits no matter what. However, it usually takes place between the ages of 6-18 months. [5]
To overcome this unusual persistence, the following tools can help:
Physical or verbal violence usually has a whole range of negative consequences. A gentler yet effective alternative is a water spray.
The effectiveness is due to the fact that most dogs hate water. Here, too, you can practice specifically with guests who use their water spray when jumping up.
If your dog is particularly stubborn or is simply not sufficiently trained, then a playpen like this is a bombproof method.
You can essentially think of this as a kind of baby gate, except that it is specifically designed for dogs. So it is also scratch and bite proof. [6]
For difficult dogs, aids such as a water spray or a playpen can help with training. This teaches the dog, on the one hand, that jumping on visitors has negative consequences and, on the other hand, that it is not an option in the first place.
#4 Pay attention to the attention scale
The more loving and trusting a dog is, the more prone it is to jealousy. This can become a problem if guests suddenly receive more attention.
This is often exacerbated if you already have several pets or a baby has joined the family circle. Typical behavior when jealous is:
- Dog shows tricks to get attention
- Sudden aggressiveness towards other animals
- Jumping on visitors and strangers
- Constant whining and whining
- Dog goes into the apartment out of spite [7]
Low self-confidence can also increase jealousy. The following tips can help here:
- Pet your dog while greeting the visitor
- Make sure you get enough mental and physical activity every day
- Give all pets roughly equal amounts of attention
- Build self-confidence by letting him overcome his fears
The less jealousy becomes, the less the urge to jump up. Since this will only change slowly, this method is intended more for prevention.
Jealous dogs often overreact when visitors get more attention than they do. Jumping here is just an expression of her feelings. Here it is important to always keep an eye on the amount of attention.
#5 Avoid typical training mistakes
Almost all dog books say that dogs are only as good as their owners. Because in many cases jumping is just the result of training errors.
Basically, all of these errors can be traced back to 2 basic principles:
- The dog gets no feedback
- The dog gets the wrong feedback [8]
Dogs basically only repeat rewarded behavior and avoid behavior that is punished. The most common training mistakes are:
- The visitor finds the jumping up to be sweet and rewards the dog with extra attention and cuddles.
- Your command only comes when the dog has already jumped up. If a reward follows, he will continue to jump on people first in the future.
- At a young age, jumping is ignored. Only as the dog grows does it receive the appropriate feedback. [9]
Starting training at a young age is usually most effective. Because as you get older, more time and consistency are required to achieve the same training success.
Missing or incorrect feedback can lead to dogs constantly jumping on all visitors. It is important to introduce consistent feedback rules here. Bad behavior should be punished and good behavior should be rewarded. With a little time, every dog follows suit.
#6 Strengthen self-confidence
As paradoxical as it may sound, jumping up on people is often just a protective mechanism for anxious dogs.
This is especially true if your dog was not socialized to people and dogs at an early age. Here the four-legged friends always interpret guests as a threat.
By jumping, dogs only try to make themselves bigger than they actually are. This behavior can often be prevented by having the visitor get on their knees.
Small and sensitive dogs are more likely to exhibit this behavior. You can usually tell if the dog's body is shaking and its ears are flattened. [10]
It also helps to strengthen the dog's self-confidence. This is especially true if your dog growls at visitors. The following measures can help here:
- Avoid the trigger of fear
- Gradually accustom your dog to perceived threats
- Work primarily with positive feedback methods
- Avoid physical or verbal violence [11]
In individual cases, anxiety-relieving supplements can also help with severe anxiety. Personally, I think medication is the last option.
Dogs with low self-confidence often tend to jump on visitors out of fear. To compensate for the difference in height of the eyes, kneeling greetings are ideal. It is also advisable to build up the dog’s self-confidence.
#7 Fix the dog hierarchy
As is well known, dogs are descended from wolves. It is also anchored in their genes that they instinctively form hierarchies and classify themselves.
At the top is the Alpha and at the bottom are the Omegas. For many domestic dogs, the natural hierarchy looks like this:
- Alpha = master
- Betas = rest of the family
- Deltas = friends and acquaintances
- Omegas = strange people
The problem? The moment the dog intuitively places itself above the visitor in its hierarchy, it will always behave dominantly towards them.
And the most common example of dominance is making yourself big. How? By jumping up on him. That doesn't automatically mean that he isn't happy about the guest. [12]
So don't let a wagging tail confuse you. This behavior is most common in guard dogs and other territorial breeds.
Here it is important to correct the instinctive hierarchy by proactively teaching your dog who is above and who is below him.
But how? Well, this topic could easily fill an entire book. At this point I can warmly recommend Johanna Esser’s online dog school to you.
There you will not only learn how to become an alpha yourself, but also how to teach your dog respect and manners towards strangers.
When dogs perceive themselves to be more dominant than visitors, they often show this by jumping up. In this case, the dog has to learn that even guests are above him in the hierarchy. The prerequisite here is that the owner is already…