Does your dog jump on you or on your guests when people stop by to visit? Are you embarrassed that your dog is out of control when the doorbell rings? Let’s walk through the steps to help keep your dog under control and manageable instead of jumping on people.

1. The best solution is to turn your back to the dog. Even if you push them off of you or you place your hand in the collar to pull them back, they are getting the attention that they are looking for. If you turn your back then they are not being acknowledged for their jumping. For children, it’s like “Stand like a Tree”.

2. If your dog continues to jump up even if you turn your back, then if possible, walk into another room and shut the door. Count to 30 and return with a smile. If your dog jumps again then disappear again. The dog will soon learn that jumping is not rewarding and makes you go away. Try this 3 or so times. However, the key is if your dog is not jumping then reward by throwing a tasty treat on the floor away from you. Once they return to see if you have anymore and they don’t jump then throw another tasty treat. Then upon their return you can tell them to sit and reward the sit.

3. Another option for jumping is to walk into your dog’s space by walking towards them and claiming their space.

4. If your dog is crazy upon your entry then firstly completely ignore your dog so that when you are entering your home, the arrival is less exciting (which also helps with separation anxiety).

5. When you know that guests are coming over then I would place a 6’ leash on your dog and let the leash drag (supervised only in case they get caught on something).  Be ready to step on the leash to prevent them from jumping, this way they will correct themselves.

In saying all this, if your dog welcomes people including you without jumping up or greets you with a ”Sit”, please tell them they are absolutely wonderful!

Happy Training!

Crates if used correctly can be a very useful tool to help solve several behaviour challenges including housetraining, separation anxiety and chewing. Below are the steps that I would suggest to help the transition to a crate in a positive manner.

1. Set the crate in the corner of your room with the least amount of visibility to other areas of the house. Also, a blanket can be placed over the crate to help lessen the amount of visibility. What this will help is the puppy/dog has the least amount of area to guard while they are in their “cave”.

2. Then place a stuffed bone (canned dog food with kibble inside mixed in). You could also place raw carrots, apple slices, cheese or meats stuffed into interactive toys and hollow bones.

I would like to suggest the following tips to help people and their dogs with separation anxiety. Some key tips for separation anxiety are as follows.

Goal: To build confidence in your dog and your dog to enjoy their own company while you are out.

Tips:

1. Ignore your dog 5 – 10 minutes before you leave in the morning.
2. Place a special dog stuffed toy such as their breakfast mixed with water and cheese whiz in their dog toy to keep them busy for a minimum of 15 minutes after you leave.
3. When you arrive home a night, ignore your dog when you arrive home so that he/she starts to learn that they are completely ok whether you are home or not.
4. Place their special dog toy which you left in the morning away until the next time that you leave the house.

Notes:

• Dogs will usually become the most anxious and destructive between the time you leave and 15 – 20 minutes after you have left.
• If he/she jumps on you when you return home, try to ignore them by not looking at them, do not talk to them or touch them.

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I found this video through a dog photographer’s blog, Rouxby. It is a talk by dog trainer, Ian Dunbar. It is a wonderful talk and worth the watch!