Teaching a German Shepherd Puppy to Stop Jumping on Guests

For this Omaha puppy training session we helped Stella, a 9 month-old German Shepherd puppy learn to stop jumping up on people who visit her home.

Knowing that Stella liked to jump up on people at the door, I called ahead and had the guardian meet me outside. I wanted to give him some tips on stopping a dog from jumping up and show him an exercise that helps dogs learn to stop jumping on people on their own.

After explaining how this exercise to stop dog jumping worked, I handed his wife my camera so she could film me in action.

The thing I like about this trick to stop dogs from jumping on people is that the dog learns itself instead of the human micromanaging the dog. Each time it settles down or offers the behavior you want, you engage. The instant it starts doing what you don’t want (getting excited), you disengage. This is a form of Operant Conditioning and any dog behavior expert will tell you it is a powerful way to rehabilitate any dog.

We spent the rest of the session going over ways to add structure, how to act in a way the dogs sees and respects as a leader, how to introduce and enforce rules and some creative ways to exercise the dog. Stella picked it all up right away. She is proof that you don’t have to be a German Shepherd trainer to teach a new dog tricks and commands.

To help the guardians remember all the other dog behavior tips I shared in this in home dog training session, we shot a roadmap to success video that you can check out below.