Guests Are Coming! How Do I Teach 'No Jumping'?
Greetings are often a challenge for so many dogs. I am frequently asked by people "How do I teach 'no jumping'?" Some of the challenges are jumping at the front door or on family members or guests - especially guests arriving for holiday celebrations this time of year and jumping on people on walks.
The TRIP Toolbox
TRIP stands or Train, Reinforce, Interrupt, Prevent. These are like tools in your training toolbox. Here's a bit more about the method:
Train Alternative Behaviors
One of the best ways to teach no jumping is to teach your dog what to do. It is easier to teach what TO DO than it is to teach what NOT to do. In class when I ask what do you want your dog to do instead of jumping the answers are "be calm" and "have all four feet on the floor" but it usually takes a little probing to get people to think about the action of sitting as an alternative behavior. Most dogs have had a lot of practice sitting when asked!
Train "Sit to Greet"In our Polite Greetings class we teach a variety of greetings but the first is always "Sit to Greet" and "Sit for Passers-by". We've been teaching this for years. It still takes practice for a dog to be able to sit calmly when exciting things are happening. That is a part of growing up and learning self control.
How to Train "Sit to Greet"
Practice leads to confidence!
Practice sit when it is easy at first, when no one is at the front door. It may take a few minutes at first but once this is well practiced and well rewarded, it should become easier for both you and the dog.
Practice sit often - every time you go to the door you are in training mode. Taking the time to ask your dog to sit will make it a habit and that will get you closer to your goal of being able to sit when aroused.
Practice Reinforcing Sit Often - if sit pays executive wages, then sit becomes a valuable behavior to your dog. Over time, if your timing is good, then you can use praise, patting and fewer food 'paychecks' if your dog begins to think sit is it's own reward.
Practice being consistent - It isn't really fair to allow your dog to jump on Uncle Dave or Cousin Bob and expect them not to jump on little children, elderly people with fragile bones or people with holiday finery or white silk suits.
Practice sit until released. Release your dog after a few seconds at first then increase the time slowly rewarding often.
Practice sit with everyone in the family. If one of the family members is impatient or doesn't ask for a sit at the door, they are training the dog what to expect.
Practice with set up situations. Ask a friend over for dinner or appetizers and use it as an opportunity to train the dog.
Practice in the Real World. On your walks you can stop when someone passes you or someone wants to greet you or your dog.
Practice sit with duration, (aka "stay") rewarding your dog for holding the sit frequently as they are sitting.
Practice with progressively more difficult distractions. Your dog will not be ready for prime time right away. If you are trying to do this two days before your New Year's Eve party or Thanksgiving at your house you may want to use management instead.
Reinforcement: Timing Is Key
Ask your dog to sit, then use a marker like the word "Yes!" to tell your dog when they are doing the right thing and after you mark it, then you can praise, pat and then get you food reward it AFTER you mark, praise and pat. This seems like a very small thing, but if your reward is in sight before you ask for a sit, then your dog is going to think the food in your hand is a part of the signal to sit. If they are used to seeing food, then what happens if you don't have food bribe in your hand? The dog won't know what you mean and thus will not sit. Cue first, praise, pat, then the paycheck always comes last.
Interrupt Poor Behavior
If your dog is jumping on someone, you will need to interrupt the poor behavior by gently taking your dog's collar and pulling them down and away from the person or dog that they are jumping on.
Prevent & Manage
When you don't have time to train, management is your friend. Management works well for puppies and adolescent dogs, as well as untrained dog but if you want a stellar companion dog, you will need to set aside some time to train.
If you don't have time to train, you can manage the situation. It really helps the dog learn impulse control if their choices are limited while they are learning. You can limit their choices by putting them on leash, even in the front hall. We often tell people to keep a leash and rewards near the front door. You could also give the dog something to do - like chew on a bone or go fetch a ball.
If you haven't yet trained your dog, your other options are to put your dog in a safe place - on a leash, in a crate, in the back room, outdoors, in the car (well ventilated and safe) or take them to a friend's house or a boarding kennel.
Distractions, Distractions!
Can your dog sit around distractions? Can they do it in a house? Can they do it with a mouse? Can they do it in a box? Can they do it when they see a running fox? We call distraction training our Dr. Suess lessons. As your dog gets better and better at sit, you can add a little bit of distractions at a time. Here is a list of some common distractions:
- Your movement: slow & fast
- Your distance from your dog
- Noises, like plastic bags crinkling, dogs barking, squeaky toys
- Toys or food on the ground
- Doorbells or knocking on doors
- Mailman or package delivery person
- Other people moving or talking
- Other dogs walking by
- A favorite person approaching
- Cars, bikes, runners, skateboards going by
- Animals moving, running or making noises
- Toys being thrown near them
- Wildlife running
- Be creative and add some every day distractions to this list
There is a never ending list of distractions, so practice really helps your dog work through different situations.
When Do I Correct My Dog?
Our philosophy is for the handler to take responsibility: train first and set your dog up for success! We advocate using few, if any, corrections. Think about it, if your untrained dog failed whose fault is that anyway? Take responsibility and train your dog or manage them to keep them out of trouble. A correction puts the responsibility on the dog. If you have not taken the time to really train your dog under all circumstances, then it is not really fair to expect them to know what you want them to do with distractions, or when they are excited or aroused.
This not only takes practice, it takes patience, it takes being consistent and it takes a little bit of self control and maturity on the dog's part - which comes with time.
Fortunately, practice can be a fun game and a few minutes a day at the door, or on a walk will pay off handsomely!
What Other Behaviors Can I Train for Greetings?
Here are a few behaviors (or if you like tricks) that you can train instead of jumping.
- Go to your crate or mat
- Hold a ball in your mouth, instead of mouthing the guests
- Go Say Hi
- Relaxation Protocol
- Doggie Zen
- Crate Games
- Tricks: Bow, Sit Up, Shake
We teach topic classes in many of these specific behaviors, so you can look up our Living with Dogs website and join us in a class or contact us if you'd like to learn more. Also, join us for more interesting articles, photos and events on our Facebook page.
Training gives you more freedom from embarrassment and freedom to relax in all kinds of social situations. Hopefully, this will give you some ideas about how to train your dog to be a well-behaved dog that you can be very proud of. We hope all your holidays are fun and relaxing!
Seasons Greetings!
From all of us at Living with Dogs,
Sandi, Ed, Irene & Kait
Tempe, KK, Piper & Pilot
