My puppy keeps jumping, how do I get her to stop?

United States
August 8, 2009 12:38pm CST
My chihuahua puppy keeps jumping on people and I do not know how to get her to stop. What should I do to get her to calm down?
1 response
• United States
8 Aug 09
Whenever my puppy misbehaved, I would turn her over onto her back and hold her neck to the ground until she stopped struggling. This is what dogs/wolves do in the pack to establish dominance. Then I taught her about "no" You have to use a firm low tone to get her attention. High voices do not command respect and sound playful to them. Begin by saying no while giving your puppy a little swat. Not enough to hurt her, just enough to get her attention and distract her from her current behavior. Eventually you will be able to say no without any physical correction because the anchoring will have been done. (Anchoring: connecting unrelated items by repetitive use of them in conjunction with each other) Whenever you say no, it will be as if she is expecting a swat. Be sure that you use an equal (or more) amount of positive reinforcement when your puppy is behaving the way you want her to. Praise her when she greets a visitor without jumping. Dogs that misbehave are not bad dogs, they just really don't know what is expected of them by humans. They are just acting the way they naturally act and it is up to us to find the most effective way to communicate our expectations to them. Good luck!
• United States
8 Aug 09
I guess I should add that you shouldn't correct her if she's doing nothing wrong - it will confuse her. I know you probably know that, but when I submitted my response then re-read it, it sounded like I was saying you should just swat her and say no repeatedly until she links them. (When I said "Begin by saying no while giving your puppy a little swat") What I meant was, each time she misbehaves, correct her vocally and physically. Then eventually a vocal correction will be enough. I just felt that my phrasing was poor and wanted to clarify that.