Cattle Dogs

A dog that jumps up at you all the time can make your life a misery.
It really is no fun to know that whenever you walk into a room, or get up from your chair, you will have to fend off your dog every time.

Also, having a jumping dog means that visitors to your house become non existent, unless they are prepared to run the same gauntlet as you. You just wish your dog would be a good dog, and stay settled instead of the endless jumping.

It must be a dominance thing, right?
Wrong.

It’s less likely to be a dominance thing, and much more likely to be an attention thing.
When the dog jumps up, it is guaranteed to get the attention of people’s words and hands.
The dog then associates the two, so any entrance or exit is cue for fun and attention in the dog’s mind.

To stop this behavior, the solution is to retrain the dog, to teach it that jumping up will get it no attention whatsoever, and that not jumping up will get a reward.

To start this training, whenever the dog jumps up, cross your arms over your chest, and turn your back on the dog.
You will get a bit of a buffeting as the dog tries to get your attention, but you must remain firm in your position, and keep turning to keep your back to the dog.

Allow your dog time to get the message. You need to be prepared to keep this up as long as you have to, and to stick firm to it whenever you get up, or enter a room.

Once the dog realises it isn’t getting the attention, it will wonder why, and pause in the jumping.
At this point you can turn and lavish praise, often giving treats to start with.
This will tell your dog that *not* jumping will end up with treats and attention.

Combining the 2 steps of showing a firm blank to the jumping, and rewarding when there is no jumping, will make a difference in an astonishingly small time, and will leave the memory of all those jumping sessions in the past.

Article by William Beasley of Oh My Dog Supplies, your top spot to purchase high quality dog steps online.

 

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