Stop Your Dog From Jumping—Today

00:00 — Kati Peppe introduces Off Leash and Unfiltered and Diamond Canine’s specialization in e-collar training.

Welcome to Off Leash and Unfiltered Trigger Warning. I'm Kati Peppe, delivering the Truth in Dog Training.

Hey, this is your host, Kati Peppe, owner of Diamond Canine Dog Training in Biddeford, Maine. For those of you that are new here, we specialize in e-collar training. So we help dogs listen off leash and around distractions. Or if your dog's being an absolute total jerk, well, we can help with that too. We do it all and we do puppy training too. This podcast is just my way of sharing. Well, everything with you guys, the good, the bad, the ugly. And I will always be honest about how to fix the problems you might be dealing with with your dog.

So we're not your average super floofy dog training podcast. We are real and honest around here. What you can do is hit subscribe, hit subscribe so that you don't miss an episode, and so that you can help support the podcast. Every subscribe or follow helps us so, so, so much so I can keep putting out this content.

We appreciate you and without further ado, let's jump in. So today we're talking about jumping, right? It's like the number one problem everybody we meet is dealing with. Um, and you know, ironically, it's like the easiest thing to stop <laugh>. So I titled this episode, what does it mean if your dog is jumping or something to that effect? I don't know because I haven't actually named it yet, but that's, that's where I'm going with it. Um, so before we actually tell you what it means, let's talk about why your dog is jumping. Uh, one, because they're normal.

<laugh> jumping is a very normal natural behavior for your dog too. Uh, number two, they're obviously overexcited. Um, usually in uh, a friendly way, although not always, right? So overexcited really just means over aroused. And so they're jumping up, right? They have like this buildup of energy and they jump, um, but it's not always out of like quote unquote happy excitement, right?

Like happy greetings, like I'm happy to see somebody. It can also be, um, a very pushy thing to do. It can be a dog trying to get up into somebody's face, right? Um, I remember when I volunteered at the shelter <laugh> for an ever so brief time because um, they just don't have any interest in actually helping dogs. But <laugh> don't let me get off on a side rant. Um, uh, there was a doberman mix there, actually, I think she was a doberman. She just wasn't, wasn't, wasn't a super well bred Doberman. So, but she would pull very hard on the leash, excuse me.

And of course, uh, I couldn't convince them to just put a damn prong collar on the dog and use some leash handling skills. So I was stuck with, uh, a leash and flat collar or maybe a slip lead and you know, you can still use some leash skills and get some traction.

So I am using pressure and release, I'm using leash pops and that frustrated the dog a great deal, <laugh>. So because you couldn't get where she wanted to go, she couldn't go as fast as she wanted to go. And so what she did was she would turn around and she would jump up and then she would like punch me with her paws. So there's lots of different reasons dogs jump up, but your dog is normal. Um, and really I think <laugh>, you know, the big thing when it comes to jumping, like I said, is it's so easy to stop that there's just no reason for people to be suffering and struggling with this behavior.

And, uh, one of the things that we really hate to see is if we run into one of our own clients. Um, and this is rare, but you know, it does happen, um, because different folks, you know, different abilities and different personalities and, and things of that nature, which, you know, that's gonna tie into our next episode.

Um, next week we'll be talking about, uh, softness. And if you have a soft personality and a soft nature about you, how to kind of overcome that <laugh> and start using, uh, start being more effective in your communication with your dog and start drawing clearer boundaries and, and issuing clearer consequences. And, and that can be a real, uh, obstacle for people that that doesn't come naturally to. So we're gonna talk about that next week. Um, I got off track so I don't remember what I was saying or what my point was, <laugh>. Um, but oh yeah.

So we will run into people occasionally who were clients who are, like I just described, kind of are the type to have a, a difficult time drawing real boundaries and, and issuing actual consequences. And you know what we hate to hear about something as simple as jumping is, well, we're working on it.

Oh my God, it is the worst, worst. Don't be those people. You don't have to be those people guys. Um, yes, there are some behaviors that like it takes a little bit longer and you're chipping away like, 'cause you're really dealing with like nervous system stuff, you know, fearfulness reactivity, aggression. Sometimes it's like, but something as simple as jumping up on people or jumping up on your counters, like digging holes in the lawn. Like these are simple, simple behaviors and we teach all of our clients how to be very efficient and very effective at stopping these behaviors.

06:00 — She argues dogs continue jumping because nobody has clearly told them not to.

And you can stop them right away. It does not take long. So the reason really that your dog is still jumping if they are is because no one has told them not to. And so, I know most people don't view it that way because from from the human perspective, we are telling our dog not to.

And it's very frustrating to a lot of folks because you know, they are saying no to their dog. They are even getting frustrated and they have an angry tone about them and their dog knows that they know they're displeased and I have no doubt about that, but that's true. Um, sometimes they are putting a leash on the dog, sometimes they're doing that stupid thing other trainers say to do like stepping on the leash. So when your dog jumps, like they can't actually jump up dumb, so dumb, there's just no good reason to do that. Someone's gonna get hurt doing like gymnastics.

And it's like you're still, you're just avoiding having the conversation with your dog. It's like just tell your dog not to do that. So we're gonna talk a little bit about that too. But ultimately the reason your dog's jumping is because no one has told them not to.

You haven't had a conversation with them that actually says, Hey, don't do that. You might think you have but you haven't. Um, and so that's really, really common. And so I wanna make it really, really clear exactly what those steps look like today. And sure every dog is different, but they're all the same in a sense, right? So the way dogs learn really isn't very different from dog to dog, right? Consequences shape their behavior. What's going to change from dog to dog is the value that they assign to the consequence, right? So if we're just talking about the e-collar, I might be able to correct one dog at a 10 and it sticks forever.

I might be able to correct another dog at an 80 and I have to do it again 10 minutes later or the next day or whatever. So that's really where the variation comes in with dogs. But you'll never convince me that there are dogs out there that don't learn from punishment. It's just not true.

Um, and that is one of the counter arguments from the purely positive world is saying that punishment isn't teaching and that dogs aren't learning and that is just blatantly, utterly false because learning consists of not only learning what to do, but also learning what not to do. Those are both learning, sorry to tell you. And if you have both of those things telling your dog what not to do and what to do, then you have the strongest, highest chance of success. That's how you get the best results is creating that high level of contrast with your dog.

So people tend to create, I've talked about this before, a very gray experience for their dogs. And this is a really good example of that where from the human's perspective, they think they're telling their dog not to jump up, but from the dog's perspective, not much is really happening, right? So person comes in, dog gets excited, you're probably barking commands at them or whatever, um, but they're not really listening or they listen for a second and then they get up again. Dog jumps up. You might be saying no. So you're still barking stuff or maybe you're barking more commands, but you're not issuing any consequences.

10:00 — Repeated verbal commands fail when owners provide no consequence for jumping.

And so that whole experience is just kind of like blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. And nothing actually happens. And then we can do it all over again the next time, the next time, the next time.

So you might think that your dog knows what is and isn't expected or that you're telling them what isn't isn't expected, but from your dog's perspective it's just a bunch of blah blah blah blah blah and there's nothing happening. So if you wanna be effective at stopping jumping, you have to make things happen, right? And I'm fine with asking for alternate behaviors like sit or down or place, although I prefer you don't because we want your dog to just learn to be polite, right? The truth is, in that situation, most people don't really care if their dog is is actually innocent or down or on place or on the other side of the room.

They might even want their dog to be up there and involved with what's going on. Kim was saying hi to people, but we use those commands because we're afraid of what the dog will do if we don't, right? So fix that.

Teach your dog to make the right choice on their own, which probably has nothing to do with sit or down or place. It's just don't jump. That's the conversation. Have that conversation. So then you don't have to tell your dog to go sit or go to place or lay down. You don't have to put him on a leash. You don't have to do anything at all. You don't even need to look at your dog. You don't need to utter a single word because your dog just knows not to jump. What a novel idea. And here's the thing guys, it's so easy <laugh> like it's so easy.

So let me just walk you through what that looks like with an e-collar, which of course is our preferred tool for pretty much everything because it's so practical, it's so efficient, it's so effective and it's so versatile. Like there's just no reason not to use one.

And for something like this, it doesn't really matter what kind you're using, although I still prefer the mini educator or other eco technologies models because they're very reliable and consistent. So I don't trust the cheaper models because they're inconsistent. And that was my experience when I used one a long time ago. Um, so I like these and I recommend them and I sell them. If you want one <laugh>. But with an eco, all you're gonna do, and this is the hard part for people, is like let go relinquish control. Let your dog make the mistake.

So humans operate from a prevention frame of mind. Okay? Hank, you scratch, itchy over there, Hank there go. Um, the thing is, if you always prevent your dog from doing the behavior, if you're managing them so that they can't really do the behavior, then you can't have the conversation like you are actually shooting yourself in the foot. So let your dog go jump. That's right. The first step in stopping jumping is to let your dog go jump. So I did an episode on the freedom, um, or the magic rather of allowing your dog to make choices.

14:00 — Owners must allow jumping opportunities because constant prevention prevents them from directly addressing the…

I don't remember the episode number, um, but I'll put it in the show notes.

And this is a good example of that. You have to let your dog make a choice. If you want to teach them to make different choices on their own, that requires you allowing the dog to make a choice. Love the podcast. Well, I have great news. We are now offering an inexpensive subscription where you can get access to our new premium content. This content isn't available to our general listeners, it's made just for you. It includes all kinds of behind the scenes stuff, all the obstacles and how we're overcoming them with our board and trained dogs.

And the most difficult part of our job, how we deal with overcoming obstacles with our clients. So all kinds of new cool interesting stuff for you to get out of those episodes. You can jump down into the show notes and there will be a link to our support page where you can sign up and start listening right away. Thanks for your support. Enjoy the rest of the show so that then you can attach a contingent consequence to that choice. You can't possibly do that without allowing your dog to make a decision. So put 'em in the situation, let 'em go jump.

Okay? The second they are about to jump. Now don't overthink this, okay? You can do it while the dog is jumping. You can do it as the dog is just starting to jump. If the dog is bee lining over to somebody, no. All right, that was Hank, he got off place. So definitely had to correct that. Um, you can do it as while the dog is jumping as they are about to jump. Or even if the dog is super excited, right? Their ears are up, their eyes are big, um, and they're running over to someone.

And you know, from just knowing your dog and their history and what their normal repertoire is, you know that that is the beginning. They are going to jump. You can do it then.

So you can do it early. Early is much better than late <laugh>, okay? But what you're going to do is you're going to say no. Now this sounds really easy, but most people are very, very bad at it until they've practiced some. So pay attention to that. You're going to say no at the beginning or very early on in the sequence, right? So your dog starts running over to somebody, you can say no, then your dog starts to jump up. You could say no, then your dog is actively jumping. You could say no then, right?

But in my mind, the earlier the better, right? Because you're gonna insert that roadblock earlier in the sequence, which is more effective, more effective at keeping the arousal down. It's more effective at stopping the brain from going down that path in the first place.

18:00 — Early corrections lower arousal and block the brain’s developing pathway toward jumping.

So think of a behavior such as jumping, as being like a path in the brain, right? And they're traveling up this path. And wherever you say no is where the roadblock gets inserted. So the earlier on you can do that right at the beginning of the path, the faster you're gonna be able to stop this behavior. 'cause the brain is gonna start bypassing that path altogether instead of going halfway up. And I've seen this firsthand 'cause I had a crazy dog who used to basically treat my husband like a toy and she would aggressively go jump on him and tear at his clothes when she saw him.

Um, no doubt she would've done the same to me, right? But we had a little bit different of a relationship because I was home with her all day and I was the disciplinarian for that reason. He was gone all day and then he'd come home and she'd be, oh, there's someone I can go tear apart for fun, <laugh>. Um, I would say no and correct her, but not until she was already jumping all over him tearing at his clothes. And the result of that was the next step she would run and jump. She wouldn't quite jump on him or tear at his clothes, but she would still do part of the sequence and then just kind of stop at the last second and run away and then maybe come back and do it again.

You see what I'm saying? And eventually that behavior is just like it.

Let's say I was like, okay, well that's good enough. Eventually that behavior is probably gonna regenerate 'cause her brain's still going down that path and eventually the arousal is gonna get to be enough, especially if it's a confident dog. And she was, that that behavior is gonna come back again. So the earlier on in that sequence, you can insert your correction, the more effective you're gonna be and the less chance that the behavior's gonna regenerate. All right? So you say no, you say it early in the sequence. Here's an important piece. After you say no, I'm gonna say that again because this part of the punishment process is done incorrectly.

Like 98% of the people we meet even after we give the instructions. So I'm gonna say it one more time after you say no, not when you say no, certainly not. Before you say no, after you say no, then you deliver a real correction guide, a real correction, not a tap at a five. I don't care if your dog listens to a five when you're doing the place command, I don't care. This isn't the place command, it's not obedience training. We're not looking for their working level, we're not looking for a motivating level even. I'm gonna go a step further.

21:00 — Jumping requires a meaningful correction rather than the low working-level signal used for obedience…

We're not even looking for the level. That's enough. You want the level that is more than enough.

What would happen if doctors said, oh, you have a staph infection, let's look for the level of antibiotic. That's just enough. What would happen? I'm gonna let you think about that <laugh>. I'm not gonna say what I think would happen. I'm gonna let you think about that. Um, because here's the thing, how do you know? Well, you don't know until afterwards, right? And then if you were wrong, you have to keep adjusting, keep adjusting. Meanwhile things are getting messier because you are not being effective enough, right? So you're potentially strengthening the behavior. Just like not taking enough antibiotics can strengthen the infection, right?

Because the infection begins to become resistant to the antibiotic. So there, I ended up saying it, but <laugh>, but you get my drift, right? Not only does the infection potentially not go away, but now you've made it more resistant and you need to come out of the gate even stronger next time.

So rather than desensitize your dog because you're a weenie, sorry <laugh>, just tell them not to do it anymore. What do you think is gonna happen? Your dog isn't going to explode. They're not made of glass. Yeah, it's going to be uncomfortable. Say, well, does it hurt my dog? It's like, well what do you mean by that? Is it going to harm your dog? Like let's be clear about what we mean. No, of course it's not going to harm your dog. There might be some collars out there that do not. The one I use, the collar I use cannot harm your dog there.

It would have to be wildly defective in some way.

Um, does it hurt as in does it cause physical discomfort? Hell yes it does. And I'm very open about that. Why in the hell would it work if it didn't? Right now we do lots of other things that don't involve physical discomfort. Lots of things with the e-collar that are very, very subtle. This is not one of them. This is an example of we turn that level up to more than enough and we draw very clear boundary for the dog. So now we've had the conversation and we've had it in a very effective, efficient way.

24:00 — Kati states that this e-collar application involves noticeable discomfort, unlike subtle signals used elsewhere.

We're stopping them early in the process, we're marking it properly with a no first and then we're attaching a contingent consequence. That's really, really powerful.

And you know what the end result is? Dog stops jumping and then you don't have to do it anymore. Now, I'm not necessarily saying it'll be one and done, but the chances of it being one and done are much, much better if you do it correctly and meaningfully, right? If you're afraid of it and you're down there at a five, let's try a 10, let's try a 15. That's not gonna do it. Now if you're up at the other end of the dial, it's much more likely to be one and done. But a, a good number of dogs, a fair percentage of dogs are going to need to experience it more than once.

And that's normal, right? Because they need to learn. 'cause your dog is taking a picture of everything and that goes into their decision making, right? So just because that happened when they jumped on you doesn't mean it's gonna happen when they jump on the other humans in the house.

It doesn't mean it's gonna happen when they jump on the service guy that comes through the door. It doesn't mean it's gonna happen when they jump on the neighbor or grandma, right? So they might need to see, oh, this happens every time I jump, right? So you need to be prepared to be consistent and meaningful each and every time. And if you're not, then your dog goes, oh, there's some kind of a loophole, so I'm gonna keep testing, right? And I'm kind of humanizing this a little bit. Your dog isn't actually thinking in these terms, but this is what the brain is doing kind of behind the scenes, right?

The brain is going, oh, it didn't happen this time, right? So it just goes into the file as their brain tries to figure out the pattern. When does this consequence occur and when does it not?

And so every time you let it go, that's one in the file, no consequence. And your dog will continue to try to figure out what that pattern is. And so then you drag it out and they might even figure out what the thing is that predicts there's no consequence, right? It might be when, oh well when Aunt Betsy is there, there's no consequence, right? Because maybe you're afraid to do it in front of Aunt Betsy. Your dog will figure that out. But all of that stuff is less likely to happen if your consequence is very meaningful because they're less likely to test it again, right?

So if you have a dog that's not super sensitive and you correct him at a 30, that might be kind of meaningful and it might kind of work, right? But they're probably gonna test it again.

And so you have to be ready to provide a consequence because there's probably gonna be a lot more, um, a lot more instances of the behavior occurring. Now if you correct that same dog at a hundred, right, or at, you know, 75 for a few seconds or something like that, the chances that that dog is gonna test that again, even with other people is much lower, right? So basically you have fewer opportunities to fail if you are higher to begin with. Does that make sense? So if I correct something very, very high because I never wanna see it again anyway, so I might as well if I correct something very, very high, the chance of my dog testing that boundary again, even in other environments and with other people is lower.

28:00 — Higher-intensity, brief corrections reduce retesting and create fewer opportunities for future failures.

It doesn't mean they won't, but they might not.

If I correct something very, very low because I'm afraid of it or because I panic and rush so I correct it, very, very low, the chance of my dog testing that again, is much higher, right? So you impact your own chance of success. But I like the antibiotic analogy, I use that a lot. Um, and it's like if you leave any vestige of the behavior in there and you don't go after it and address it and knock it out, it's probably gonna grow back again. But that is the entire sequence. Now, inevitably people take that sequence, which is a very simple sequence, and they, they do this human thing, humans do <laugh> and they over complicate it.

Um, and they mess things up. So just to reiterate real quickly what our sequence is at the beginning or as early as possible in the sequence, when we see our dog starting the behavior we don't like, we say no, we say it nice and loud so they can hear us. After we say no, we provide a very meaningful consequence, which my preference is on an eco, I turn it way up, I hold it down for a couple seconds, that's my consequence. That's it.

Now, one of the major pitfalls of this, one of the ways people complicate it is they say, well, I said no and the dog stopped cold in their tracks, so I didn't need to do it. No, you didn't need to do it. Where in that sequence did I say, only do it if nowhere, right? People just insert that themselves. So don't change the rules and don't question them. If you say no, you have to follow up and provide a meaningful consequence. I don't care what your dog does at that point, it doesn't matter. Yes, there's a reason for it <laugh>.

Not just because it sounds good, but because your dog started the sequence, right? They started down that path in the brain and now you're starting the process of providing a consequence, but you're not finishing it just because the dog didn't finish the behavior, they still started it. You need to provide the consequence if you want the behavior to go away. Otherwise you are stuck with a dog that still starts the sequence every time. And you have to say no every time. And guess what? Eventually that's not gonna work anymore. And I don't wanna have to do that.

I don't wanna have to say anything to my dog every time. I just want them to be good.

But people are so resistant to doing the things that need to be done to make that happen even when it can be done so quickly, right? Jumping is like a one day thing or can be, and then I mean literally the next day, like you won't have to say anything to your dog, nothing, right? But only if you follow the sequence. But wouldn't that make life so much better? Like you don't have to think about it, you don't have to stress about it, you don't have to manage it, you don't have to be consistent because you don't have to do anything <laugh>.

It's not what we all want. Um, yeah, just, you gotta follow that sequence guys.

Now, if you don't have any caller, here's the thing, you can use whatever you want, right? As long as it doesn't cause any harm to the dog. But it has to be very meaningful. And so your other options, um, the other options that we can get behind is something like a bonker, which is a rolled up cotton towel. You bonk your dog on the head firmly, um, or even a leash pop. So you could have your dog dragging a leash, have it attached to a prong collar. So when they begin the process of going to jump on somebody, you say no.

And then you grab your leash and give them a good firm leash pop, right? And for some dogs, that's gonna work really well. Um, and for other dogs who aren't real sensitive and it's real hard to get a good leash pop on there that they care about, it's not gonna work so well. So again, it's like what value does that dog assign to that consequence? Because that's up to the dog, not you, right? The value on the e-collar that they think is intolerable, that is totally up to the dog, not you. So you might think 45 is absolutely terrible and painful and awful and it should deter your dog from doing, but it might not.

Some dogs don't care that much about 45. A lot of dogs don't. It's not up to you, it's up to the dog, right? You might go over and give your dog a little wrist flick leash pop and think that, hey, that's me drawing a boundary. That's me providing a consequence. But your dog probably won't. Maybe if they're super sensitive. Some dogs it might be you've got both hands on the leash popping with all of your strength and they still might not care. We've gotten those dogs, those dogs are not that uncommon. We have dogs that'll pull you like a truck through a prong collar.

Like it's not, it's not that meaningful. And leash pops aren't always that meaningful either, at least at first.

Um, so it's just up to the dog, what's meaningful and what isn't. But you can use anything that your dog finds intolerable so long as it doesn't cause them actual harm, right? But intolerable and safe are the key words there. Those are the two things you have to keep in mind. But the same, the process is exactly the same, right? And if you're using a leash on a prong, like they can drag the leash or you can hang onto it, whatever makes you feel more comfortable, but the sequence just has to be the same. First you say no, then you can walk over.

You can even take your time, walk over, grab the leash firm, leash pop, okay? But again, we love the eco because it's just so easy, it's practical, it's safe, you can do it from a distance. Um, so that's what we find our clients have been super, super successful with. Good luck guys. Now get down to business and stop your dog from jumping. We hope you enjoyed today's episode. If there's a topic you'd like to hear discussed, you can send that to me directly at Kati at Diamond Canine dot com via email. So I will link to that email address in the show notes.

35:00 — Kati recommends a firm leash pop or a reliable e-collar such as the Mini…

Thanks for joining us today, guys. Thanks for supporting the podcast and I look forward to the next one.