Jumping Up
If you consider that the average Rottweiler weighs approximately 100lbs when fully grown, all of a sudden the cute and fluffy puppy that has been allowed to jump up has now turned into a heavyweight adult dog.
One of the biggest problems with dogs is that they leap up whenever their owners or visitors walk in the door. With heavier dogs this can be potentially dangerous as a person can be easily knocked off their feet.
It was originally considered that dogs jumped up when they needed to assert their dominance, much the same way as the more dominant members within a pack of dogs put their front paws on the shoulders of the submissive dogs within the pack.
Throughout the years our canine friends have learnt to be extremely ‘face-orientated’ they know that if they wish to be noticed, or petted, or ask for food they require their owner to look at them. They therefore jump up to obtain the attention they desire.
The problem is that dogs have a natural tendency to go airborne and it is not always that simple to show them that jumping up is not the best way to receive your attention. What you can do with your puppy or adult dog is to show them appropriate, alternative methods to jumping up. Praise them when they achieve the right behaviour and correct them when they go wrong.
One of the best approaches is to give your puppy / dog the cold shoulder. They are jumping up for the sole purpose of obtaining your undivided attention so if they receive the complete opposite it will really confuse them momentarily.
If you start waving your arms around and trying to push them down once they have jumped up then you are still rewarding them by showing them the attention that they are craving. Puppies do not care if it is good or bad attention that they obtain, they simply wish to receive something.
Therefore ignoring them is the best option. When you see their paws leaving the floor and preparing to jump up at you simply turn away and fold your arms. They will probably continue to jump up a few times, do nothing just stay where you are and they will soon become bored when they receive nothing at all from you.
It might take a little while, especially in the beginning but your puppy / dog will soon learn that by jumping up they never obtain your attention. Once they leave you alone and are in a sitting position you can praise them.
It can be annoying when our excited puppies or dogs jump up at us when we are smartly dressed but to be honest it is not entirely their fault. We practically invite them to jump up when we make this huge production out of returning home!
Help your canine friend to stay calm by remaining calm yourself, give your dog a nice, warm but sedate welcome when you return. Then when you have settled down and your puppy / dog is calmer give them your full attention.
