J is for Jumping #AtoZChallenge

There are two different kinds of jumping for dogs.

There's the funny, or fun, kind. And there's the "stop jumping!" kind.

My new dog, Petey, does both. He is hilarious when he jumps WAY up off the ground, at least 5 feet. Like a circus act, or something. One of my previous dogs, Hobie, used to do that, too. Only he was a big dog! People used to say he did "little dog tricks".

This is where jumping is allowed! Play time!

When I was recuperating from a recent medical condition, a friend came to visit. I put the dogs outside so they wouldn't bug her, and so that I didn't have to deal with them in my condition. I wasn't allowed to lift anything bigger than a carton of milk, so to hold back three dogs was simply a no-no.

Anyway, Petey was outside on the back porch, and wanted to come in to be with us. He started jumping at the back door, repeatedly. He was jumping so high -- like I said, about 5 feet in the air! We were laughing so hard, and I had to be careful because I had had abdominal surgery so "busting a gut" might have been a real possibility!

But sometimes, Petey and Cooper (not Charlie, thank goodness -- he's such a GOOD BOY!), will jump on people who come to visit. They also jump on me when I come home after being out somewhere. It's not a good habit for a dog to be in, especially one like Cooper who has "the claw" (he only has one front leg, as you probably know).

There are a number of ways to use body blocking to avoid the jumper dog. The easiest one is to turn your back or turn to the side each time the dog jumps. Sometimes this doesn't really work, though. The dog just waits for you to face him again and jumps again.

But I LOVE to jump on YOU!

Another good way is to grab the dog's front paws, gently, and place them down on the ground while saying "No jumping". (People say not to use the command "down" because this is also used when you want the dog to lie down.)

And still another good way is to simply barge past the dogs so they don't have as much of a welcoming opportunity to jump on you.  Teach this to your guests. It really works. I tell people, "Come in! Come in! Just walk in. Barge right past them."  The dogs will naturally congregate at the front door and, rather than walking in, the humans plant themselves on the doormat and refuse to move. Wrong! Walk right on in.

I'm not a dog trainer (thought I am working on getting my certification one of these days), so if you really want help training your dog to stop jumping, please seek the help of a professional. I just write here about my own experiences. Disclaimer!

Until tomorrow!