Jumping For Joy

Does your dog appear to be made of springs? Mine does. It can be hard for little dogs not to jump because they are so far below our eyeline. Poodles and their crosses also have a tendency to be very bouncy.

Dogs also jump because they want to lick our faces. This is especially true of puppies who lick the corner of their mother’s mouth during weaning to provoke her into regurgitating food.

Puppies will jump and grab at anything they can get as they explore through their mouth and they soon learn that it gets our attention.

It is important to be consistent in the way that you treat jumping up. What seems cute in a puppy or small dog is not so much fun when dogs get bigger. Obviously, not everyone is understanding or worse, when you are trying to train your dog not to jump you get the inevitable “It’s OK, I don’t mind”.

The law is not on our side. The Dangerous Dogs Act 1991 is, I believe the only statute on the books that does not presume innocence and your dog can be seized without making contact with another person as long as the complainant believes that the dog could be out of control or dangerous. This was intended to prevent dogs being used to threaten people but that is not the consequence. I had a client with a terrier puppy who was seized and he spent a few days in the police station office because the police thought that he “was too cute” to be kennelled before he was released without charge.

Meanwhile I have to be vigilant for those days when Travis cannot help himself and jumps for joy whilst he works on learning that it is not acceptable .

Next week: Not To Be Sniffed At

If you need help training your dog not to jump or with any other adolescent dog behaviour, contact R+ Dog Training to book your course.