Why do dogs jump up?
In most situations, they want to greet you, but are too rough about it. As innocent as it is, it can be annoying, scary and downright dangerous in some situations.
Solution? Snubby princess
Bob and his Obedience instructor Samantha demonstrate the *Snubby princess exercise to teach dogs not to jump up.
1. The dog jumps up? You turn into a snubby princess.
You:
- Turn your nose up at the dog (with your head facing over your shoulder to make it obvious). This way:
- The dog can’t easily knock against a kid’s chin when jumping up.
- The dog is in no doubt he is being ignored. There is no ambiguity in your body language.
- Cross your arms across your chest. This way:
- The excited dog doesn’t have your chewy human limbs to stick their teeth into.
2. The dog calms down? You open up your body language again.
3. All paws are on the ground? Give him tons of gentle attention.
(4. He starts again? Go back to 1. rinse, repeat, rinse repeat.)
Why it’s effective
How many dogs do you see greeting walls and trees and statues? Not many right? That’s because they are boring and don’t push, shove, coo, or shout.
As soon as the dog finds out primates turn into a statue when jumped on, they’ll soon tire of it and try something else. Something like… sitting politely?
*With thanks to vet behaviourist Valerie Jonckheer-Sheehy for inspiring the name of this classic exercise.
