Why Does My Dog Jump on Me While Walking? Easy Training Advice!

Okay, so my dog, Buster, he's a golden retriever, super friendly, but he had this annoying habit. Every time we went for a walk, he'd jump up on me. Not aggressively, more like an overly-excited "Hello! I love you!" kind of jump. But, you know, he's a big dog, and it was getting old, fast. So I started looking into why he was doing it, and how to fix it, because it was a real problem for our walking.

Figuring Out the "Why"

First, I tried to notice when he jumped. Was it all the time? Only at the beginning of the walk? When he saw other dogs? Turns out, it was mostly when we first started walking, and then again if we met another dog or a person he really liked.

From my observation, it's kind of down to a few basic things:

• Excitement: Buster just gets REALLY pumped up for walks. Like, tail-wagging, full-body-wiggling excited. I guessed the jumping was just his way of showing it.
• Attention-Seeking: Even if I said "no," he was still getting my attention when he jumped. Maybe he figured any attention was better than no attention.
• Greeting: When he jumped on other people, it seemed like he was just trying to say hi in his own, overly-enthusiastic doggy way.

Stopping the Jumps (The Hard Part)

Knowing why he was jumping didn't magically stop it. Here is what I tried then:

• The "Turn Away" Method:

  When I tried this one, and when he jumped I would turn my back and ignore him. No eye contact, no talking, nothing. The idea is that he'd learn jumping makes the fun (me) go away. I have to wait until he had all four paws on the ground, and then I'd give him a treat and praise. It took a while, like, A LOT of walks, but he started to get it. Slowly.

• The "Sit" Command:

  I also began to practice his "sit" command like crazy, especially right before we left for a walk. I figured if he was already sitting, he couldn't jump. I'd give him a treat for sitting, then put on his leash, and give him another treat if he stayed sitting. This helped with the initial excitement jumping.

• The "Controlled Meeting":

  This one needs time. When we saw another dog or person approaching, I'd shorten his leash and tell him to "sit" before he had a chance to jump. If he sat, he got a treat and praise, and maybe a quick sniff of the other dog (if the other owner was okay with it). If he jumped, I'd use the "turn away" method until he calmed down. It got better and better.

What I got

It's been a few weeks, and it's not perfect, but it's SO much better. Buster still gets excited, but he's jumping way less. He's learning that staying calm gets him more of what he wants – walks, treats, and attention. I also realized that I had to be consistent. Every time he jumped, I had to react the same way. No mixed signals. It's still a work in progress, but we're getting there!