Behaviour and training | PETS
http://www.petsmagazine.com.au 59
to start. “The golden rule is simple: ignore the
bad, reward the good. You may feel the need
to tell your dog ‘no’ when they jump to greet
you but even that is a reward. To your dog, any
sort of attention is great so even though you
are politely explaining that you don’t like it
when he jumps up, all your pooch understands
is, ‘I jump up, she talks to me! This is great! I’ll
jump up all the time!’.”
So what can you do to solve this pesky
problem? “Although it may sound mean, the
best way to train your pooch to stop jumping
while greeting is to completely ignore him
while he’s jumping up,” Melanie says. “Say
nothing, cross your arms and turn your back
until he calms down. Wait for all four paws to
be on the floor and then go crazy with praise
and pats. Consistency is critical; if some family
members are following the rules and others
are turning a blind eye to the jumping and
rewarding it with attention, it can be very
confusing and unsettling for your dog.”Some dogs can spend all day just waiting for their humans to come home.