How To Stop Your Jack Russell Terrier From Jumping Up On People
Thursday, June 30th, 2011They’re hyper, they’re happy to see new people…and they’ve got a huge vertical leap. Sometimes it can seem as if Jack Russell Terriers were born solely for the purpose of jumping and when they want to do it, it can seem to be almost impossible to stop them from their non-stop jumping spree.
Here’s the bright side: as far as unwanted dog behaviors go, jumping up on people is one of the easier to resolve. Here are some helpful hints you can use to help take control of your Jack Russell’s natural tendency to jump up.
Understanding Why Your Dog is Jumping
First, you should allow for the possibility that your Jack Russell is jumping up for a reason other than simply because they are excited. Often what is really happening is that your dog free cialis is trying to assert dominance over new people that he is encountering. Your Jack Russell is trying to communicate that he knows he’s the alpha leader of the pack and that he has the control needed to do as he pleases.
Of course, this is not the motivation behind every dog that jumps that buy Viagra Soft Tabs online is jumping up on people is doing so to show them who’s in charge. Some dogs just do it to be closer to your or your guests, and to greet them. Dogs will smell each other’s faces as a greeting, so it’s understandable that they would try to climb the “ladder” in order to reach our faces.
Third – and most commonly – they will continue jumping on people because in their past experience, the behavior has been met with rewards. If your Jack Russell jumps up on you and then you pet him, you’re showing that you consider the jumping behavior to be a good thing and that you’ll pet him whenever he does it. This is not a good way to keep your dog from jumping.
Ways to Stop the Jumping
Let’s now move on to what can be done to stop the jumping behavior. In almost every case where your dog has a problem with jumping, the most effective change you can make is to stop making a big deal out of returning home. If your Jack Russell thinks it is acceptable that they get excited and jump around any time that someone comes in the house, he will continue doing so for strangers, even children or the elderly.
It is best to wait at least 10-15 minutes after you return home before greeting your dog. The desired effect of this is to disassociate your return home from the excitement behavior that your dog displays.
In addition, you should get down on your dog’s level when you greet them. If your dog is jumping is because they are trying to reach your face to greet you, then if you get down to their face-level and let them sniff you on their own terms, there’s no longer a need for the dog to jump. When you remove the need for your dog to jump up, you can teach your Jack Russell that greeting only occurs on this level.
Training your Jack Russell to respond to a specific command can also be very useful when trying to control your dog’s jumping. If your Jack Russell hasn’t started any obedience training yet, then you’ll want to teach them to sit and stay first. Once they respond to those commands, you can begin teaching them the “Off” command, which will teach them to get off of you immediately.
How to Teach Your Jack Russell the Off Command
To teach your Jack Russell the off command, start by saying “Off!” immediately whenever the dog gets on you. It likely will take time for them to fully comprehend what you’re instructing them to do, and this can be very frustrating. But, if you always remember to immediately reward them when they do get off you with praise and a treat, they will catch on.
As with any aspect of Jack Russell training, consistency is going to be what makes the difference. Make sure to instruct everyone in your home that the dog must obey these new commands and that failing to do so is not acceptable. If you maintain consistency, the dog will learn much more quickly what “off” means.
The last thing any dog owner wants when they have family or friends over is their Jack Russell jumping all over people and possibly hurting them. This can be considerably more dangerous for small children and elderly people who can injure themselves if they fall. To avoid these situations, teach your Jack Russell early and often that jumping is not allowed.
They will learn much faster than you might expect.
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