It’s so embarrassing… Your friend stops by for a visit and, before you know it, your dog has jumped up on him to say hello. This type of behavior isn’t just annoying – sometimes it can be scary too. Especially if your dog is large, or your guest is afraid of dogs.

Teaching your dog to not jump on people is really important, and it’s really not hard to do. That’s good – because no one likes being assaulted by your dog, not matter how cute he is! Those sharp nails hurt, not to mention the muddy paw prints on their clothes. And though most dogs are just jumping because they’re excited, others are actually doing it to show you who’s in charge. Here’s what I mean…

It’s true – the main reason dogs jump is because they are just plain happy to see you! Their adrenaline is pumping and they are excited about something. This happens when you come home after being gone for awhile – or when someone comes over to visit.

There is another reason dogs jump, which is less common but more serious.

As you know, dogs are pack animals. They live in groups, or packs, and each dog has a ranking. The highest ranked dog is the leader, or the alpha dog. You will know who this is because he will always eat first – go through doors first – and he will also put on or both of his paws over the shoulders of the other dogs… just to remind them that he’s the boss. Some dogs think they are ranked higher than their owners. If your dog think’s he’s the alpha dog over you, he will often demonstrate this by jumping up on you.

You see, your dog sees you as part of his pack too. So if you notice he’s not just jumping up on you in excitement, but at other times too, it’s more likely he’s expressing dominance over you.

If you find that this is happening, you need to realize that you’re dealing with more than a simple jumping issue. Your dog thinks he’s your pack leader. It’s time to brush up on your alpha-dog techniques. Better yet, get some outside help. Since this is a more complex issue, you are going to need to make some serious adjustments to your overall relationship with your dog.

That said, most jumping problems are simply a case of excitement. Solving this type of jumping is relatively easy. The key is consistency. You can’t expect your dog to understand that it’s okay to jump up on you when you’re in your grubby weekend clothes – but not when you’re dressed up to go to work. If you want this habit to stop, he needs to be taught that it is never acceptable to jump up on you.

Here is a 2-step technique that most trainers use to stop dogs from jumping.

The first step is easy. Whenever he jumps on you, give him the cold shoulder. Withdraw all of your attention – even negative attention! You can’t yell, shove or correct him at all. Just ignore him.

To be effective, you just immediately turn away from him whenever he jumps up. Just fold your arms, turn your back to him and look away. Dogs are keen on understanding body language, so he will know exactly what you’re saying.

You just need to be sure you are ignoring your dog – not just ignoring the behavior. You can’t look at him or talk to him. You shouldn’t acknowledge him in any way at all. Trust me, when you aren’t giving him any attention, he’ll calm down quickly.

Step two is very important. It’s a matter of timing, so even though you’re “ignoring” your dog, you have to pay close attention to what he is doing.

The minute your dog has all four paws on the floor, you are going to start praising the heck out of him. Get excited. Let him know that he’s doing something great. Even though he was just jumping up on you, he’ll understand that the praise is for being on the ground as long as you time it right.

As simple as this is, this technique works. You’ll be amazed at how quickly your dog learns. By making sure he doesn’t get any attention when he’s jumping, he’ll soon be the well-behaved pooch you always wanted.