Puppy Training Principles Podcast
Episode 25: My Dog Incessantly Jumps on People-HELP!
One of the number one questions we get is “How do I stop my dog from jumping on people”. Let’s get down to the root cause of why dogs incessantly jump on people and what to do to fix it.
Why Do Dogs Jump on People?
Dogs are inherently pack animals. When a new person comes into the room, it’s a change in the entire dynamic of the space in a dog’s mind. There is now a change in the pack. The change is very exciting for a dog (or intimidating/threatening, depending on your dog’s personality and mental health state).
A dog immediately has a lot of questions flood their mind: Who is this new person? What information can I gather from smell? What authority does this new person have? Where do they fit in this social group? Are they strong or are they weak? Are they staying forever or only for a couple minutes? Is someone else in charge here, or does that responsibility land on me?
Your dog also wants to know where they fit in this new dynamic with this new person.
And this flood of questions and heightened mental state ultimately leads to one big adrehaline rush. And that’s really at the root of the problem. Your dog’s mind suddenly runs wild with a flurry of unknowns and they react with heightened adrehaline with crazy behavior following closely on its heels.
Realize that there is a chemical reaction in your dog when they jump on people. But more importantly, it is a TRAINED chemical reaction and, therefore, can be UNTRAINED.
Long-Term Solutions Come from Understanding and Working with the Root of Problems
If this reaction can be untrained, how do you do that? Go back to the root!
0:51- Why do dogs jump on people?
3:50- Adrenaline has a big role in how well a puppy can calm down.
5:30- Puppies don’t have calming coping mechanisms naturally.
6:44- How to diffuse adrenaline and promote impulse control.
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