How to stop a dog jumping on guests

A dog cannot learn a new greeting while it is still rehearsing the old one, so management comes first. Hang a leash on a hook inside the front door, fit a gate across the hall if the layout allows it, and keep a jar of small treats on a shelf at adult height by the entrance. The AKC's advice on jumping lists the same tools: a leash when guests arrive, a mat or crate when the doorbell rings, and a gate so the dog cannot reach visitors.

Then write the guest script, because visitors undo more training than anyone else in the house. Guests say hello only when all four paws are on the floor, keep their hands low, and stand up straight and turn away if the dog jumps. That is the whole script. The AKC's trainer makes the point that yelling, pushing or grabbing paws is still attention, so a guest who shoves the dog off while laughing has paid for the jump. Text the script to regular visitors before they come over.

A dog meets a real guest maybe twice a week, which is not enough repetition to change a habit. So stage the arrivals. Ask a friend or neighbor your dog likes to come over, ring the bell, run the routine, chat for a minute and then step back outside. Wait two minutes and do it again. By the fourth or fifth entrance many dogs have stopped treating the door as a party, and the calm hello becomes easy to pay.

Rotate the visitors as the routine improves: a calm adult first, then someone tall in a winter coat, then a teenager, then a person carrying grocery bags. Children come last and always with an adult holding the leash. Keep a short log after each session, noting who came, how many jumps and how many calm hellos, so you can see the trend instead of guessing. When three different visitors in a row get a polite greeting, start real visits on a loose leash.

Some jumping is not friendly at all. A dog that jumps and grabs sleeves, leaps and then backs away barking, or jumps only at strangers may be over-aroused or anxious, and more greeting practice can make that worse. Calm & Connected, our program for adolescents, new rescues and adult dogs, works on impulse control and stranger concerns. Gabriella Pope, our Director of Training & Canine Behaviorist, leads the training team, and each plan follows a short assessment of the dog.

For a friendly jumper, private sessions from $94 focus on your timing with the floor treats and the sit. If the summer crowd is coming, St. Peter's Fiesta in late June and the July 3 fireworks fill a lot of Gloucester houses with visitors, so start practicing in May. Our board-and-train page on jumping explains how a one-week Foundation stay works on greetings, and every training enquiry gets a reply within the hour on business days.