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Dogs jump for several different reasons. The most common is upon greeting to say "hello". This will be the main focus of today's episode.

It's our job as responsible pet owners and leaders of our pack to take control of greetings and set our dog up for success. Your dog needs to earn his freedom at the door by demonstrating he understands the manners required to greet guests.

Why do dogs jump up on people?

• They are excited to see us and interact with us!  
• They want our attention. Most dogs prefer bad attention from us to NO attention at all even if it's pushing them down or yelling at them to stop.​

• We unknowingly have taught our dogs that when they JUMP up on us they will get our attention - for better or worse.​

• Another reason some dogs jump is that they feel they are in charge of the greeting. 
• Sometimes other people in the household encourage the dog to jump up on them. Everyone needs to be on the same page when it comes to training.

How do we stop this jumping?

• Do not give any attention to a dog who is jumping to say hello.  Only pet and say hello when all 4 paws are on the ground.
• At first, the dog may jump up more as if to say, "Hey, can't you see​ me? !'m right here!" But if you persist, soon he will understand that jumping up doesn't work and he will have to try a different way to get attention. 
• One of the best ways you can teach a dog not to jump is to take the greeting role away from the dog. You need to go first to meet the stranger with the dog behind you.
• Once the person at the door is inside and the dog is behind you, ask the dog to do another command like "sit". When he's calm and sitting, it's now ok for the dog to greet the person.

Have Questions for Chris?

Take advantage of "Ask the Canine Master" where you can submit questions, videos and/or photos to Chris. He will do his very best to answer them for you. Become part of the show! Select questions will be answered during one of the upcoming broadcasts.