Jumping up

Jumping is something many guardians struggle with. Old age tales tell you to turn your back.
Turning your back is dangerous. From someone who worked in a kennel with all sorts of breeds, excited and exuberant and so happy to see you, turning your back is going to cause an injury.
Long hair? Hair pulled. Baggy clothes? Such a great toy! Wafty skirts? So much fun to chase.
It's really important to be mindful that to your dog or a dog of a home you are visiting, you are exciting. You are a trigger to entering into hyper/ hypoarousal. Which you can read more about in depth here - https://www.facebook.com/100057373879884/posts/858281969427591/

When you enter the home, garden, driveway of a resident dog, they are excited and happy to see you in most cases, not all especially if you are a stranger but generally if you are a regular visitor and have a good relationship with the dog(s).
Jumping up can and often does result in arousal and you maybe experience nipping, attempts to grab at hair, your face, clothes, hold your arm, continue jumping up and getting worked up.

It is up to us to set dogs up to succeed. It isn't just the responsibility of the guardian but also you if you feel jumping up is problematic, for example you may have a grandparent or parent with a bouncy and excitable pup.
Utilising a Doggy Enrichment Land - which you can read more about here - https://www.facebook.com/share/1ELEpNJMNc1zParj/?mibextid=WC7FNe

Waiting for the person to enter the home and be seated wherever you want them to be seated and giving your dog time to enjoy a chew in their enrichment area or wait.

If your dog is showing signs of distress and becoming over threshold, having someone treat the dog, reassure them and communicate with them, can aid in preventing the rehearsal of the behaviour by teaching an alternative behaviour and changing the emotional state of the dog.

You can then bring the dog in calmly when they are less excitable and ask the visitor to use treat bombs - tutorial here - which you can adapt for yourself when you come home and also your visitor already seated - https://youtu.be/moORgVWv40k?si=ndsEKXbE_Yt0Ne34


Attempting to punish a dog for a naturally occurring behaviour or trying to manage them in the moment is only going to leave you worked up and frustrated. Managing the situation first sets you both up for success!

Image description: A Wheelchair user about to be pounced on by a Wolfdog and a small Spaniel. The background is grey and there is one window. The title reads: Jumping up - muttsnmischief.com
The background within the window is black, green, pink and purple neon with yellow stars to demonstrate a dizzying image. The little white text box on the left hand corner reads - jumping up, doesn't have to make you see stars.
A spiky speech box reads: understand the behaviour, for example they are excited to see you.
The dogs speech bubble reads: Your home!!! I missed you so much. The wheelchair user speech bubble says: Oh oh!
The second image has a grey is grey and there is one window. The title reads: Jumping up - muttsnmischief.com
The image within the window is much calmer: neon pink, purple and green. The wheelchair user is relaxed with a treat pouch on their lap with cubes of cheese. The Wolfdog is to the left and the Spaniel is to the right of the wheelchair. There is a treat bomb filled with treats. The white text box on the left reads: Utilise treat bombs, make a plan to set your dog up for success.
A spiky text box at the bottom reads: treat bombs can be placed all over the home and even by the front door. The wheelchair user has a speech bubble which says: communication is key!

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