You may overlook the jumping behavior issues when your pit bull is just a puppy. Inexperienced pet owners might think that the dog is trying to reach up so it can be closer to its humans and communicate. Others may find it a cute, playful activity that the dog does when it is excited or meets new people.
The challenge will arise when the dog is not so small anymore. Considering how pit bulls often get a bad name, this jumping-up behavior can easily scare guests and strangers on the street and be a problem for you as a dog owner.
There are countless situations in life when it simply isn’t appropriate for the dog to jump up. The sooner you address this behavioral problem, the easier it will be to modify the dog’s behavior.
Why Is Your Pit Bull Jumping Up?
All dogs tend to jump up on people and other animals around them. However, they all do it for different reasons. This can include the following:
Showing Dominance
Dogs, like wolves, live in packs. When dogs are part of a family unit, they see the family as their pack, and the dog has a specific place in that social structure and hierarchy. Generally, the higher an animal is in a dog’s pack, the more physically dominant it is.
One way of showing this dominance is through aggression and physical behavior, such as jumping up on the other, not caring for personal space, and just doing what it wants.
The dog jumping up on you is a way to test where it stands in that social hierarchy. If it feels that you aren’t responding to this behavior, it will assume you are below it in the social hierarchy. Given how pit bulls are naturally, they will think they have the right and the space to create their own rules and behave however they see fit.
Playing
Dogs love to play. They might start playing a bit rough when they are with other dogs. To humans, it can seem like they are fighting or even hurting each other, but keep in mind that dogs are very strong animals that can withstand much physical stress. Rough play allows them to express themselves, exercise, and learn key behavioral and social skills.
Greeting
When dogs greet each other, they jump on top of one another. It is a way for them to show affection and is usually associated with licking, howling, whining, and general cuddling.
How to Change This Behavior
Pitbulls love to please and are an intelligent breed of dog, making them very easy to train. However, you need to start with this training early on and be consistent with its practice and implementation to ensure this lesson sticks in your Pitbull’s mind.
There are three main training approaches you can take to change this behavior.
Sit Training
- Your dog needs to know the sit and stay commands for this strategy. Before starting, it would be good to practice these commands a couple of times and offer a treat for compliance to refresh its memory.
- When the dog jumps up at you, you must quickly move out of the way so that its paws never touch you. Next, you will step back or step to the side and face away from the dog. The idea is to let the dog know that you have not received the act of jumping up positively.
- While in this position, you will command your dog to sit or lie down. When giving this command, you will not turn around to look at your dog, you will not make eye contact, and you will in no way show the dog that it has your attention. Do not make contact until the dog has completed the order to sit down or lay down.
- During this time, you want to be in a position where you can still see the dog from the corner of your eye.
- Once your dog does what is asked, give it your full attention and offer a treat as positive reinforcement. Give them a pat on the back or other signs of affection that you typically do to reward your dog.
- Repeat this process several times in different situations and environments to drive this idea home to the dog. Rather than jumping up, they should listen to your command and reap the benefits of good behavior.
Hand Training
- When your Pitbull jumps up or shows that it wants to interact, it will always look for your hands, expecting affection. In this approach, the objective is to keep your hands close to you so your dog can see that their behavior is not appropriate and will not grant rewards such as physical interaction.
- Start by walking into the room with your dog after a decent amount of time has passed since your dog last saw you. The objective is to get the Pitbull to jump up as it typically would when it sees you after several hours.
- As soon as the dog jumps up, get out of the way, hold your hands by your chest, and move your body so you are not giving the dog any attention. Wait until the dog stops jumping up, and as soon as it stops, reward your pooch with a verbal cue like ‘YES’ and a treat. You are showing your puppy the desired behavior and reinforcing it with attention and a snack.
- Go out of the room, wait a while, and enter again to repeat the process. Through repetition and positive reinforcement, your dog will learn that you do not want it to jump up. Instead, keeping all paws on the floor when you walk in will earn it a treat and praise.
- Repeat this process frequently and in different environments so your dog learns that jumping up at you or humans is never a good idea. Train consistently for short periods so your dog does not become frustrated by overstimulation and corrections.
Greeting Training
- For this approach, have a spot where you want your dog to stay when you enter the house and where you want the dog to greet you.
- Start by placing your dog in that spot. Exit the home and re-enter the house to see how your dog reacts.
- If the dog jumps up at you, quietly ignore the dog and walk right past to show that this behavior is not appreciated. Walk your dog back to the greeting spot and verbalize your command to tell the dog to stay there. Then exit the home and re-enter to check their reaction.
- This will take a few tries for the dog to understand that you want them to stay at that spot. You can place treats and toys in the spot so they consider it a positive area of the house. You can use a dog bed to mark the area – a nice, cozy space.
- Once the dog stays at that spot, you want to give the dog your full attention, a word of praise, and a treat to show the dog that it has done the right thing.
- Repeat this process multiple times to ensure your dog understands that you want it to stay there when you enter the home.
Final Thoughts
Repetition is key when teaching your dog anything – just like children. Even behaviors ingrained in the dog, like jumping up, can be changed, but it takes time and patience.
Practice this behavior in as many situations as possible so the dog learns it should not jump up in any situation.
