How to Stop Dogs Jumping Up: A Trainer’s Guide

Your dog absolutely loves everyone and everything they meet and life’s kind of great… until they’re no longer a tiny puppy. Despite watching every YouTube tutorial, doom scrolling through dog training Facebook groups, and even trying a few methods from those trainers with huge Insta or TikTok followings (even though they didn’t feel quite right), the jumping up is still happening. Visitors get launched at, you get knocked over when you walk through the door, and anything left on the kitchen table or counter mysteriously disappears.

Jumping up comes up at almost every dog training class I run. It’s even more of a concern if you have children or elderly relatives around who could easily be knocked off their feet by an enthusiastic greeter.

In this blog we’ll look at why your dog may be jumping up and, more importantly, how to train and encourage them to keep all four paws on the floor so life becomes calmer, safer and far less embarrassing.

How to train your dog not to jump up

There are lots of ways to teach a dog to stop jumping up but first we need to understand why they’re doing it. Dogs repeat behaviours that feel rewarding, and jumping up often works for them:

• It gets them attention

• They get closer to faces

• Someone pushes, touches or talks to them

• Sometimes they even get food

Once we know the motivation, we can build a plan that works.

We also need to reduce how often they can rehearse the jumping up. Some quick examples:

• If they jump at the front door, add a baby gate to create space and a physical barrier.

• If they jump at kitchen counters because they’ve previously grabbed food, keep surfaces completely clear.

• If the behaviour is rooted in anxiety, over-excitement or uncertainty, we adapt the approach to meet their emotional needs.

Do puppies grow out of jumping up?

Unlikely. Anything our dogs practice, they get better at. Repetition feels good and becomes self-rewarding. So if your puppy jumps up and it works for them, they’ll keep doing it (and get better at it over time!).

To help them stop, we need to:

• Reduce their motivation to jump

• Stop accidental reinforcement

• Teach an alternative behaviour that’s even more rewarding

How to stop dog from jumping on people

We start with control and management while we train the new behaviour. Training shouldn’t start when visitors are actually at the door. Instead, build the behaviour first in calm moments.

Don’t worry if you don’t love using treats long-term - when teaching new behaviours, reinforcement is essential. Once the behaviour is reliable, you can fade the food out gradually if you wish.

A strong settle is one of the most helpful skills here. Start in a distraction-free space, then layer in small distractions including:

• A knock on the door

• The doorbell

• Door opening and closing

Before you train, set your dog up for success:

• Give them a calm sniffy walk

• Have a mixture of treats ready and easy to reach

• Prep a frozen LickiMat

• Have their lead on for safety and guidance

Try to practice settle for around five minutes a day. The more they’re used to relaxing in different situations, the more likely they are to settle when someone arrives.

👉 Want help teaching a reliable settle?

How to stop dog from jumping on you when excited

If your dog jumps at you when they’re excited, we’ll tackle:

• impulse control

• frustration levels

• teaching an incompatible behaviour (something they can’t do at the same time as jumping), such as:

  • Going to their bed

  • Putting all four paws on the floor

  • Targeting a hand

  • Orienting to a mat

Why does my dog jump and bite me on walks?

Most dogs are simply excited to interact, and that excitement gets their endorphins going. If they become frustrated they may jump, bite clothing, or grab the lead. It’s not “naughty” it’s emotion overflowing. A clear plan and calm handling can solve this relatively quickly.

Dog jumps up at strangers on walks

This can feel embarrassing and worrying, especially if your dog is big or strong. Even if you know your dog is friendly, people can still be nervous.

Use management to keep everyone safe:

• Keep your dog on lead

• Create enough space for people to pass

• Give extra space around children, as they can be unpredictable

• Reward your dog for checking in with you

We’re aiming for polite, calm greetings with paws firmly on the ground.

How to stop dog jumping on visitors

When advice online is conflicting, it’s hard to know where to start. Here’s a simple 10-step plan that works.

Step 1: Settle training

Spend around five minutes a day building a reliable settle.
👉 Learn how to teach your dog to settle in my simple settle course.

Step 2: Teach your dog how to say hello

We’re not stopping greeting altogether. We’re teaching polite greetings - on lead, calm, and with space and keep brief initially to avoid excitement escalating

Step 3: Feed the ground

Noses down = no jumping up. Sniffing also lowers arousal. Practise this without distractions first so it becomes a habit.

Step 4: Set your dog up for success

Skip the ball thrower before visitors arrive — it floods their system with adrenaline. Instead choose:

• Calm sniffy walk

• Slow pace

• Time to explore

Sniffy walks are one of my number one recommendations for all dog owners.

Step 5: Prepare treats and enrichment in advance

Imagine this: you're having work done on the house, the builders arrive early, but you already have frozen LickiMats in the freezer. You cue “go to bed”, hand over the mat, and everyone stays calm.

LickiMats and long-lasting chews help by:

• Redirecting excitement

• Giving dogs an outlet that keeps them grounded

• Providing calming licking behaviours

• Allowing guests to enter without being jumped on

👉 Browse LickiMat & long-lasting chews.

Step 6: Prepare your visitors

Tell visitors what to do when they arrive so they don’t accidentally encourage jumping.
Have:

• Treats ready and close by

• Baby gate closed

• Dog on a lead

Visitors can toss treats towards the floor, greet briefly, then you redirect your dog back to their place with a chew or LickiMat.

Step 7: Use control measures

Baby gates, leads and crates help prevent accidental rehearsal.
If your dog struggles with crate training, then we can tackle this as a separate challenge as we don't want our dog to associate visitors with being punished by confinement in a space you know they are worried about. Book a 1-2-1 session

Step 8: Create space

Space is underrated. Just like reactive dogs need distance, excitable greeters also benefit from space to regulate emotions. The amount needed varies by dog.

Step 9: Practise disengagement games

Disengagement games help with:

• Jumping

• Chasing

• Reacting to dogs

• Reacting to scooters, cars or wildlife

They teach your dog to notice something and calmly return attention to you.

Step 10: Teach your dog some fun tricks

Teaching paws up on a step helps dogs understand their body better and builds awareness of where their paws are. You can progress this into pivots or a cute greeting that impresses visitors rather than flattening them.

Why does my dog jump on me and not my husband?

Usually it’s because one person has unintentionally reinforced the behaviour more than the other. Some people are more consistent with boundaries, some are more animated, and some give more attention. Dogs repeat what works.

How to stop dog from jumping on couch

If you prefer your dog not to get on the furniture:

Use management:

• Baby gates

• x-pens

• Crate

• Lead guidance

Then train a clear “off” cue. Teaching paws up on a step first makes it easy to then teach “off” by luring back to the floor.

Reinforce heavily at the start for choosing their bed or staying beside you.

👉 Struggling with overexcitement or jumping? Book a 1-2-1 session with me.