How to Stop Your Sheltie Jumping

By Becky Turner

Discuss This Article at our Sheltie Forums

Piper the Sheltie jumping in excitement

Is your Sheltie jumping up to greet you when you come home? Does he try to get in the face of house guests? Does he pester young children? This is common in many dog breeds - and it can become a real nuisance for some dog owners.

Jumping is rarely a problem for the dogs themselves - in fact, jumping seems to act as a reward in itself. And it needn't be a problem for owners either; Pete and I love to rough play with our Shelties and this means jumping all over the place.

However, there are times when you need to stop a Sheltie jumping - so you can avoid the likes of muddy footprints all over the couch, freshly clipped claws sinking into your skin, offended dog-phobic guests, or scared witless children...

How We Encourage Jumping in Dogs

Many owners inadvertently encourage jumping behavior in puppies: when a tiny Sheltie puppy comes gamboling up to us, wiggling with excitement and making small, clumsy leaps at our knees, it's almost natural to lean down and respond in kind. But we effectively reward the jumpy greeting by reacting with exuberant affection, hugs and petting. The puppy learns a fast lesson: jumping is good because it results in plenty of positive attention and physical contact.

Your dog doesn't understand the difference between a jump as a small, cute puppy, and a jump as a big, hairy adult. To a dog, a greeting is a greeting, and just because he's aged by a few months is no reason to stop jumping - at least, not voluntarily. You'll need to take matters into your own hands, and make it perfectly clear to your dog that jumping is not always an option.

When is Jumping Not Appropriate?

Many owners of smaller dog breeds like Shelties actually expect them to jump up. Among toy dog owners, jumping seems to be viewed as a sign of excitement and affection on the dog's behalf. The good news is that these dogs aren't likely to knock anyone flying when they're feeling rambunctious, and they're small enough that their size usually won't intimidate any but the youngest of children.

On the other hand, there's rarely a time where strangers will actively welcome being leapt up on by an unknown dog, regardless of his size. So ultimately, it's just good form to teach your dog the "off/down" command, so that you're prepared for those incidences when you're not directly on hand to stop the jumping yourself.

(For owners of large-breed dogs, the "off/down" command is mandatory. Big dogs are often taller than humans when they rear up on their hind legs - and just imagine the experience from a child's point of view! In fact, they're often heavy enough to knock smaller adults tip over tail. At the very least, a large dog's paws are heavy enough to gouge long rents in cloth and exposed flesh.)

So ultimately, any kind of jumping that involves anyone apart from yourself is bad form. Responsible owners should arm their dogs with a reliable recall to the "off/down" command - just in case the other person doesn't want your beloved butter-wouldn't-melt Sheltie jumping all over them.

Why Do Shelties Jump?

The main reason that Shelties jump up is out of excitement: it's an enthusiastic greeting, reserved for times when adrenaline's running high and the dog is happy. Many dogs don't jump at all apart from when their owner returns home after a relatively prolonged absence (like the average workday). If your Sheltie is leaping up in these circumstances, he's literally jumping for joy.

A less common, but more serious, reason that some dogs jump is to exert their dominance over you. Dogs are pack animals: they live in designated hierarchies of social rank and order. When a dog needs to assert his dominance over a lesser animal, one way of doing so is to declare physical superiority, which is usually done by jumping up: he'll sling one or both paws over the other dog's shoulders.

If you think your dog is asserting his dominance, you need to adjust your overall relationship with your dog, and brush up on your alpha-dog techniques.

How to Stop Your Sheltie Jumping

Most dog trainers point out that the most effective way for you to weed out unwanted behaviors is also the easiest. All you have to do is simply ignore your dog whenever he jumps up. Give him the cold shoulder. Withdraw all attention, even negative attention (so don't yell, shove, or verbally correct him). Since dogs understand body language a lot more clearly than the spoken word, use your posture to convey the message. Fold your arms, turn your back, turn your face away from him and avert your eyes.

This is where a lot of people make a mistake: they confuse ignoring the behavior with ignoring the dog. Don't carrying on petting the dog and pretend the jumping isn't happening. You have to ignore your dog full stop. He'll catch on very quickly.

When all four paws are on the ground, you can praise your very clever Sheltie! Don't be confused by the proximity of the positive reinforcement to the negative. Dogs have a very short training memory, and only associate a reaction from you with whatever behavior they're exhibiting at the time of your reaction. So, it's perfectly OK to react with wild enthusiasm the very second that his paws touch the ground, even if you were cold shouldering him the split-second before.