How to Calm a Dog Down and Stop Jumping Up on People

In this Omaha dog training session we helped 3 year-old Shih Tzu Wally. Wally’s family wanted to learn how to calm a dog down and stop him from getting over excited and jumping on guests who visit.

After discussing the situation with his guardians, I learned Wally is a very happy boy who has been getting attention for many of the things his humans wanted to stop. While they thought disagrring or correcting him when he did these things would help, the likely did the opposite. Giving attention for unwanted behaviors is probably one of the most common dog behavior mistakes many dog owners make.

Easy Ways to Stop a Dog From Jumping

Wally gets very excited when people visit his home. I decided to call ahead and set up a situation that would allow me to show Wally’s family an easy way to stop a dog from jumping.

If you need to stop any dog from jumping on guests, spend a quick minute watching the free positive dog training video below.

The great thing about this trick to stop a dog from jumping is its also how to calm a dog down. Many people confuse excitement with happiness. But in many situations people confuse the body mechanics (open mouth) of an excited dog as happieness (see a smile instead of just an open mouth).

When a puppy is excited, especially when someone arrives, they often jump up on guests. This is a common behavior for excited dog and puppies. But many people react to it in a way that actualy rewards and encourages the behavior. But instead of micromanaging their actions with commands, the goal should be to teach your pup good manners.

One effective way to do this is by creating a bit of space between you and the dog. Stepping on the leash or gently holding it can help keep the dog from getting too close. This gives the excited dog time to calm down. So many clients ask me how to calm a dog down. Fortunately there are many great ways to accomplish this. Doing so is a great way to teach your pup good manners.

As your canine’s excitement lowers, you can slowly turn toward them and engage when their energy is calm enough. This signals that calm behavior is being rewarded. It’s a gradual process where you slowly get closer to the pup, but only as their energy becomes more controlled. I can use this approach to stop any dog from jumping on guests.

The key is to wait for the right moment—engaging with your furry friend the instanttheir energy lowers. Tip: some dogs may show they want attention by raising a paw or moving closer. This can mean they are calm or asking for attention.

The most important thing is to let the pup learn to calm down on their own. Instead of getting frustrated or always telling your dog what to do, create a space for them to learn on their own. If you want to teach your pup good manners, you need to create situations where they can figure some things out on their own.

This method helps the dog understand that they don’t need to jump or be overly excited to receive attention. Over time, they will start to calm down when guests arrive. This will make the process easier for everyone. But the best part is that this technique will stop any dog from jumping on guests.

Easy Tips for How to Calm a Dog Down

The great thing about this secret to stop a dog from jumping up on people is it allows your furry friend to learn on their own that jumping is not desired. As a dog behaviorist, I have seen many people micromanage their dogs to their detriment. They tell them what to do for everything.

While this can work, it takes a lot of effort. You need to watch the dog closely. You must correct or disagree with it immediately each time. But the flip side is you arent letting your dog learn on its own. This is a great approach if you want to learn how to calm a dog down.

Some coordiantion can make things go much smoother. People can call or text each other when heading home. This way, they can act like a guest when they get home. It helps them practice this exercise to stop a dog from jumping without inconveniencing guests.

If they do this for a week or two on thier own, then invite friends and neighbors to join once the dog gets better, Wally should stop jumping on people. He will eventually learn to calm himself down.

The rest of the session focused on changing the leader-follower dynamic. This helps the pup see and respect humans as authority figures. This isnt done by dominating the dog (alpha rolls, walking out first, eating first, etc – all nonsence), its by being a good, caring leader. Once they establish a healthy leader follower dynamic, Wally will listen to them faster and stop engaging in some of his other unwanted behaviors.

One of the things I showed the guardians was a variation of the leave-it exercise. This is a wonderful impulse control exercise that can also help teach your pup good manners. No one likes a dog who steals things and developing impulse control is always helpful.

I also stressed how important it is to pet and reward Wally for good behaviors. Many people often forget to do this. It’s great to reach out and pet your pup for no reason. I like to call this Celebrating and its possibly the easiest way to train any dog. Its also an easy way to communicate the behavior you want from your canine companion.

Basically this is petting your dog when they show any good behavior. This includes sitting, going to the dog bed, dropping a toy, coming, or laying down – all done on its own. The more we recognize and reward desired behaviors by Celebrating, the more the dog will offer them as a way of getting our attention.

I wrapped things up by sharing a few tips about introducing dogs to baby for the first time and recapping many of the dog behavior tips I shared with Wally’s family during this in-home Omaha dog training session. To make it easier, I pulled out my phone to record all the other tips I covered in addition to how to calm a dog down.

You can check out Wally’s roadmap to success video below.