No jumping up

Your dog greets with four paws on the floor instead of launching at your guests — the habit that makes every hello at the door a calm one.

🐾🐾🐾 · ~21 days · 5 min/session

Learn first: Sit

Step-by-step

1. Set one clear rule

   The rule is single and simple: attention happens only with four paws on the floor. Attention means eye contact, voice, touch and treats — everything your dog wants from you. Decide it once and apply it the same way in the morning, at night and when you’re wearing your good coat.

   💡 Jumping isn’t dominance, it’s a greeting — dogs say hello face to face. You’re not punishing the wish, you’re redirecting it down to the floor.

2. Remove the reward as the paws leave

   The second the front paws leave the ground, stand tall, fold your arms and turn away without a word. No looking, no talking, no pushing — just become as boring as a wall. The instant the paws are back down, turn around and greet warmly.

   💡 Never use a knee in the chest, never stand on the paws and never yank the dog down. It hurts joints, and many dogs read it as play and jump even more.

3. Deliver the reward low

   Hand the treat at paw height, never from waist level up. Bend down or drop it between the dog’s front feet so the nose stays low. Every treat delivered high is an invitation for the next jump.

4. Give a job instead

   A dog can’t simply “not jump” — they need a behaviour that does the same job. Ask for a sit the moment you approach and praise generously while the bottom stays down. Within a week most dogs offer the sit on their own the moment a greeting hand appears.

   💡 If your dog is too excited to sit, reward the four paws alone. Calm comes before the sit.

5. Rehearse the arrival

   Step outside, wait ten seconds and come back in — ten times in a row. The first arrivals are wild, the fifth is calmer, the tenth is boring. Only greet once the paws are down, even if that means a minute of standing there in silence.

6. Coach your visitors

   Keep a treat jar by the front door and tell every guest the rule before they step in. One person saying “oh, I don’t mind, I love dogs” while petting a jumping dog sets you back weeks. With strong or over-the-top dogs, keep a leash or a baby gate in play until the habit holds.

Common mistakes

• Petting the jumping dog sometimes and not others. An unpredictable reward makes the habit more stubborn, not weaker.
• Shouting “off” and shoving with your hands — to the dog that’s attention plus a wrestling game, exactly what it wanted.
• Handing the treat high above the head while the dog sits — the nose goes up and the next jump is loaded.
• Practising only with the family. Guests and strangers on the street are a separate lesson and need separate practice.

Problems & solutions

My dog mobs me the second I get home from work.

Coming home is the peak of the day — don’t start your training there. Come in calmly, no eye contact, no voice, and stay quiet for thirty seconds until the paws drop. Then crouch down and greet properly once all four are on the floor.

They don’t jump on me but they launch at guests and kids.

Guests are more exciting and nobody follows your rule. Keep the dog on a leash when the bell rings, ask visitors to ignore them completely, and reward every second of paws-down yourself, from the side. With children always use a leash or a gate — a knock-down is a genuine risk.

My dog sits, then jumps again two seconds later.

You’re rewarding the sit but not the staying down. Feed several treats in a row down at paw level while the dog is still sitting, and slowly stretch the gap between them. End the greeting and step back at the first jump.

Reward ideas

Small soft treats delivered at paw level, plus a calm chest scratch. The biggest reward, though, is your attention — give it generously the moment the paws are down.