Jumping Jehosephat!

I have an adolescent Belgian Tervuren, and I have now joined the ranks of my thousands of clients with dogs that obnoxiously jump on them.

So I thought, what better time to examine the causes of jumping and discuss possible solutions than right now?

I’m sure most of you have heard the often proclaimed jumping treatment from the positive reinforcement community of simply ignoring the jumping.  Supposedly, this will make the behavior disappear on its own because you are not continuing to reinforce it with your attention.

Undeniably, this works some of the time for some dogs, but it doesn’t work for most, and the reason is because the cause of jumping is often complicated, and this short recipe doesn’t address much or sometimes any of it.

There are many different reasons that dogs jump on us, and to end this behavior, we need to understand those reasons and figure out which apply to our dog so that we can address each of them appropriately.

Here are just some of the reasons your dog might jump:

Arousal

• Excitement

• Frustration

• Redirection

• Lack of exercise/enrichment, boredom

Insecurity

• Panic that you might leave

• Fear of something in the environment

• Appeasement

Entertainment

• Attention seeking, boredom

• Jumping is fun!

• Desire for snuggles/closeness

Each of these different reasons for jumping will need to be addressed just a little differently; and to complicate things even further, often the same dog jumps for more than one reason.  ACK!!!

So let’s take a quick moment to look at each of these, discuss an example of when they might occur, and talk about a possible solution.

With anything related to arousal, I recommend working on teaching an off switch, that is, relaxation on a mat and/or a solid relaxed down-stay.  This will not solve the jumping problem, but it will give the dog the emotional tools necessary to be successful.

Excitement

The excited jumper is the dog who loses their mind with joy when they see you after a short absence.  You let them out of their crate in the morning, and they jump.  You come home from the grocery store, and they jump. Tail is up and wagging a million miles an hour.  Ears are mostly forward, though they may switch back and forth from pinned against their head to as far forward as they can go.  Jumping is a combination of straight up and lightly onto you.  Some dogs may cannonball into their person.  You won’t feel a lot of dog nails, and the dog’s body will be loose and wiggly.

For this dog, I recommend entering the space calmly with a hand preloaded with goodies.  As soon as your dog approaches, you stick that handful of goodies up to their nose so they catch a good whiff, and then scatter them on the floor.  Apart from that, avoid interacting with your dog.  Stay calm and quiet.  If this is a brand new game, they may need your help to focus on finding the treats, at which time, it would be appropriate to point them out so your dog can focus on them.  It may even take a second handful to get them fully engaged in the game.  When they are done finding all the treats, ask for a sit, and pay your dog with a treat directly to their mouth… multiple times.  When your dog demonstrates that they can hold the sit, you can reach down and pet their neck, shoulder, or chest; but if they pop back up, just calmly walk away.  When your dog inevitably follows you and steps in front of you again, ask for that sit again.  Repeat until your dog starts offering sits instead of jumping.  Over time, you’ll be able to reduce the amount of treats tossed to the floor until they go away entirely (This must be done gradually!). For most dogs, you’ll even be able to gradually switch to using affection as reinforcement instead of treats.

This method works for a few reasons.  Obviously, if a dog is sniffing for treats, they physically cannot jump on you.  But it also does a few cool things.  It changes the association and the habits involved in your reappearance.  Instead of your reappearance being a cue to jump, it becomes a cue to look for treats on the ground.  Using the nose happens to be a self-soothing behavior for dogs, so the act of sniffing the ground for treats actually calms them down.  Then, you teach the preferred behavior of sitting for greetings.

Frustration

The frustrated jumper is the dog who isn’t getting their way and doesn’t understand why. Perhaps it’s an extinction burst.  Jumping has worked to get your attention in the past, so maybe if they just jump higher, harder, and more incessantly, it will work this time.  Maybe you are doing a training session, and your dog hasn’t figured out how to acquire their reinforcement (i.e., you need to break down skills farther), so they are getting a bit miffed. Maybe you had the dumb idea of pretending to throw a ball without actually throwing it.  Some dogs get more easily frustrated than others, and dogs with high arousal tend to frustrate most easily and vent that frustration by jumping (and sometimes biting).

This one is actually easiest to treat even if it’s not always the easiest to recognize.  Simply lower your criteria, and reinforce your dog.  Occasionally, frustration can become so intense that the dog can’t even remember how to do the simplest task.  No problem.  They can have some non-contingent, low-arousal reinforcers. Just toss a treat to the ground.  Then, toss another. Can your dog look at you and wait for a cue relatively calmly for a couple seconds yet?  If not, toss another treat before that jump occurs.  If they can, ask for an easy behavior–a sit, a nose target, a spin if your dog enjoys those.  Then, either end your session there by giving your dog a project to work on (a snuffle mat, a stuffed and frozen Kong, a bully stick, etc.), or go back to what you were trying to train before, starting where you know your dog can be successful and splicing that next step even smaller.  Consult with a trainer if you need help breaking things down more for your dog.

Redirection

The redirection jumper is usually a dog who is reactive on leash.  They may not necessarily be aggressive.  It could be that the dog is wanting to play with another person or dog, but they don’t have access to them.  This is actually a form of frustration.  If the dog is one who feels that the best defense is a good offense, they may jump because the leash restricts them from escaping and from rushing the other dog or person.  This could result in frustration as well.  It could also result in panic.  Sometimes, the panic can actually cause the dog to bite whatever is near them, especially if the leash handling is less than ideal.  The redirection jumper is really a combination of lots of things happening at once.  We may have excitement and/or frustration, and we may have fear and/or frustration.  

This situation requires careful systematic desensitization and counterconditioning, and I could write an entire book on this one alone, so I recommend that you work with a trainer to learn how to keep your dog under threshold, keep your leash hand down at your side regardless of how your dog reacts, build escape skills for you and your dog, and gradually help your dog learn to tolerate greater exposure to triggers while feeling safe and remaining calm.

Lack of Exercise/Enrichment, Boredom

The bored or underexercised dog could be a working breed in a pet home (I’m looking at you herding breed owners!), a dog who sleeps all day with little interaction with their people (people who work full-time outside the home), the intelligent and/or athletic dog who is expected to live as a couch potato with their human, or even just the young dog whose natural activity level surpasses that of their owner.  These dogs see their people and think, “OMG!  I FINALLY GET TO DO SOMETHING! YAY!!!!!” And then, they lose their minds.

The solution to this is actively doing things with your dog.  A food puzzle is not going to be sufficient here.  But any type of nosework could be a great solution.  You could do this formally with classes, or you could simply teach your dog to find treats or toys in progressively more challenging places.  A walk on or off lead where the dog gets to explore the environment while also interacting with you (Bring a tug toy and treats.  Stop and play with your dog.  Have an impromptu training session.  Snuggle!  Then, go back to exploring.) will be much more effective than a militant stay-at-a-perfect-heel-type walk.  That said, a good training session at home (maybe even with formal heel work) is a great way to burn mental energy.

Different dogs need different levels of both physical and mental exercise.  All dogs should get some exercise, and many athletic breeds need more than those bred to sit on our laps.  However, don’t make the mistake of only using physical exercise to tire out your dogs, or you’ll end up with inexhaustible gym junkies with high adrenaline spikes.  Instead, balance that physical exercise with lots of mental enrichment, and work to tire out those beautiful minds.

Panic that You Might Leave

There are dogs who jump because they are terrified you might leave them.  They may have separation anxiety when you are gone, though that isn’t always a given.  These dogs will often vocalize when you return from an absence.  Their tails will be down low and wagging in tiny, fast wags. Ears will be pinned to their head.  The commissure of their mouths will be far back.  Their rate of respiration will be high.  Pupils will be dilated.  And very often, these kiddos will dig their nails into you as you try to evade their jumps.  These dogs leave bruised streaks across your back, belly, and thighs.  These are often (but not always) German Shepherds.

This is one of the hardest types of jumping to deal with because it’s painful, and the dog will be too stressed to take food or to play with toys, so training in this moment is not really an option.  Scolding, punishing, or turning your back and leaving the dog will likely make the problem worse.  The goal is to help this dog feel safe and secure.  Don’t even worry about what behaviors are or are not being reinforced.  Once we get the dog thinking again, we can address that. If this is a chronic problem, I recommend talking to a veterinary behaviorist about starting an anti-anxiety medication.  This can help you get your foot in the door.  

When this dog jumps, hold them.  Seriously.  Let them hug you.  Embrace them.  Talk calmly to them.  Pet them slowly but firmly.  Most importantly, keep yourself calm.  You may need to wear thick clothing to minimize the bruising so you can avoid reacting when the dog inevitably claws you.  And just wait for the panic to subside.  Once they have calmed to the point of being able to take food, you can begin reinforcing preferred behavior.  This type of jumping goes away only as the dog develops confidence that you will never really leave them and that they are safe when you return from a short absence.  Unfortunately, people with skin that tears easily or who have stability challenges may need to consider rehoming this dog for their safety.  Shelters and rescues should find better matches for people with these challenges.

Fear of Something in the Environment

Sometimes dogs, especially younger dogs, will fear something in the environment, and they turn to their owner for help by jumping on them.  This is like the redirection jumper except that this dog isn’t frustrated, isn’t likely to bite, and is literally looking to their person for safety.  If safety isn’t found in their person, this type of jumping can easily turn into redirection or reactivity.

If your dog is small enough, you can simply scoop them up and carry them away from the scary thing. Yes, ultimately, we want to help them feel confident enough to not need to be carried, but while they are jumping in fear is not the time for this training, and the fact that they trust you to save them is a wonderful thing.  We need to honor that trust and maintain it.  I’ve actually gotten some pretty funny looks as I scooped up my 40-pound puppy more than once who had become frightened by a person, a dog, a car, a tractor, or even a garbage can.  She isn’t naturally the bravest of dogs, but she’s getting braver because I do everything possible to help her not only be safe but to also feel safe.  Usually, this means staying far enough away from scary things that she doesn’t need that level of support and actively working to desensitize and countercondition her emotional response.  However, occasionally, that just isn’t an option.  So I scoop up the puppy, and away we go.  For dogs that are too big to physically carry, teach an emergency U-turn.  Practice it often in non-stressful situations so that it becomes a super fun game.  Then, also use it when you see something coming toward you that will frighten your dog or when you discover your dog is unexpectedly frightened.

Appeasement

The appeasement jumper is often mistaken for attention seeking, but this is the dog who is jumping up in your face, often licking or nipping at your chin.  The more you walk away, push them off, or scold them, the more they persist.  Ears are back.  Tail is low to tucked and moving in short and fast bursts.  Commissure is usually forward, but it could also be really far back with mouth mostly closed.  Eyes might be squinty.  You will constantly be dodging this dog’s muzzle as it torpedos toward your face.

This dog lacks confidence, probably in general, but definitely in their relationship with you, and the solution is to build that confidence.  If you would permit some gross anthropomorphism for a moment, the attempted communication here is something like, “Oh, please love me!  I’m just a nice dog.  Do you see how nice I am?  Don’t hurt me.  Just love me.  I’m desperate to be your friend!”  This lack of confidence may have nothing to do with anything you have or have not done with the dog.  It could be entirely genetic.  It is also often partially age-related.  Puppies and adolescents are more likely to do this than adult dogs.  However, punishment or avoidance of dogs displaying this type of appeasement behavior will likely exacerbate the problem as they strive to prove that they are worthy of your kindness.  For these dogs, I do not acknowledge the jumping.  I may turn my face away for safety (face nips, muzzle punches, and slimed glasses aren’t fun), but that’s the only "punishment" this dog will ever see from me.  And the moment this dog has four feet on the floor, I’m going to give them the physical reassurance they need (in addition to a few tasty treats–treats are nearly always a good thing!).  When you pet this dog, avoid reaching over their head or learning over them. Turn your body to the side so that you are less overwhelming to them.  If they press into you for a hug, give them a hug, but let them lead that interaction.  You’ll be walking a balance between demonstrating the love and affection your dog needs while avoiding any interaction that can be perceived as threatening or overwhelming.  Sudden movements, loud noises, reaching over their head, restricting their movement, raising your voice, making direct eye contact, and leaning your body over the top of them can all be perceived as threatening. Be patient, kind, and calm. Watch your dog’s body language, and reinforce generously with calm physical affection and food when you see things you like.

Attention Seeking

The attention seeker is the dog we talk most about.  This dog jumps because when they were puppies, it was cute, and you would inevitably pet them or play with them when they jumped.  As adults, the jumping was annoying, but sometimes, interacting was the only way to get them to stop, so you unintentionally put this behavior on an intermittent reinforcement schedule, and you built a phenomenally strong jumping behavior!  If you have a happy-go-lucky dog with lots of drive and positive thinking (Labrador and bully owners, this is often you.), they may find ANY interaction with you reinforcing (glares, shoving them away, yelling at them, etc.).  And when you do ignore the behavior in the hope that it will eventually go away, the dog experiences an extinction burst (See frustration jumping.) and turns into a maniacal jumping machine, maybe even now yelling at you at the same time.  So simply ignoring the dog isn’t usually going to work here.

The better plan is to train a default behavior.  For my moderate jumpers, I train a default sit.  For my crazybad, give-you-a-bloody-noise jumpers, I teach a default down.  First, when we aren’t working on jumping, I teach the desired behavior.  Then, I make sure to generalize that behavior well (They can do it in lots of different locations, and they can respond to the cue no matter my position or body orientation toward them.).  Then, I ask for it at times they’d be inclined to jump but, hopefully, before that jump occurs, and I pay for it well.  Additionally, any time I see that behavior, even when I haven’t asked for it, I pay for it, with food, play, or pets.  I ALWAYS acknowledge this behavior when I see it.  If jumping does occur, yes, I ignore it.  But I’ve now taught my dog a preferred behavior.  If my dog is having a jumping episode and can’t think to try their new behavior, I’ll remind them with the cue.  However, eventually, I won’t need to give that cue anymore.  The dog will simply approach and offer that new default behavior.  For this to be successful, it is necessary to be religious about reinforcing the preferred behavior any time you see it.

Jumping is Fun!

For some dogs, none of these treatments for jumping will work because jumping itself is fun! It is a self-reinforcing behavior.  You don’t need to acknowledge their jumping.  They are happy to jump on you whether you notice or not.  I don’t need anyone to reinforce my eating of pastries.  I eat pastries because I enjoy eating pastries.  Eating pastries is even more fun with friends.  Jumping with friends is fun for some dogs like eating pastries with friends is fun for me.  Unlike pastries, though, jumping can be perfectly healthy for our dogs, and we can modify that jumping so that it isn’t so unhealthy for their unwilling human jumping partner.

For this delighted jumper, I teach them to jump next to me.  You can use a nose target to get this going.  Put it on a silly cue (I like “boing” or “Tigger.”).  Give your dog lots of jumping opportunities.  Reinforce all those jumps where no part of the dog makes contact with your body.  This method works in three ways.  First, it provides an appropriate outlet for the jumping.  Second, it makes jumping next to you more fun than jumping on you because it is followed by an additional reinforcer, and you are genuinely participating in this game.  And third, after using both their brain and their body to jump next to you several times, they tend to be tired out, and the desire to jump on you is simply less appealing.

Desire for Snuggles/Closeness

Finally, we have the snuggle jumper. This dog just wants to be closer to you.  They wish they could live inside your skin.  You are their favorite thing in the world, and closeness is their happy place.  The dog doesn’t lack confidence (at least, not in this context).  They are just asking for what they need.  Their jumping is relatively calm.  Ears are forward.  Tail is relaxed and swishing calmly.  Commissure is neutral.  While this type of jumping isn’t really demonstrative of an insecurity, it does show us a basic need for this dog, and that is deep closeness with their person.  These are often herding breeds.

For my snuggle jumpers, I teach them to snuggle on cue.  I call it “uppies.”  Once my dogs learn that they can meet their snuggle needs with “uppies,” they may even learn to ask for “uppies” by doing that default sit we talked about as this is similar to attention seeking.  It’s just a bit more intimate.  I think of this need to snuggle as a biological need for these dogs. It’s a primary reinforcer.  These dogs will not have a good quality of life if they cannot have their snuggle time with their person.  However, they don’t have to be jumping in your face all the time to get this need met.  They just need some guidance to help them meet this need more appropriately.

As I was writing this, my puppy heard a chainsaw and jumped into my lap (fear of something in the environment). When she meets a new person, she is simultaneously fearful and friendly, so she’s inclined to jump in their face (appeasement).  She happens to think using her body in athletic ways is super great, so jumping is fun.  And she’d prefer to live in my skin, so we do a lot of “uppies” to prevent her from climbing up my body when I’m busy with other things.

So you can see that jumping can be complicated and multifactorial.  It can even have multiple causes occurring at once!  The under-exercised, excited dog with appeasement jumping is fun to untangle.  Unfortunately, there isn’t a one-size-fits-all solution, but rather, we need to look at the individual dog and consider what is motivating the behavior itself and address that motivation.  If we meet our dog’s perceived needs, then teach a preferred behavior, we can successfully solve the jumping dilemma.