Puppy raising
How to stop a puppy from jumping
The puppy that jumps is the most forgivable dog in Houston and the one that becomes the seventy-pound problem on every other page of this site. Our trainers teach the greeting rule in the first session of every puppy bundle, and here it is.
Last reviewed September 11, 2026 · by the Best Dog University Team
Why it happens
A puppy jumps to reach a face, and the face laughs and pets it.
A puppy jumps because faces are where the attention is and it is short, and because every jump in the first months is rewarded by a laugh, a pat and a voice, which is everything the puppy wanted. By four months the jump is a habit, by eight it is a fluent greeting, and by a year a big dog is putting its paws on a grandmother's chest and the family is saying no and pushing it off, which is more attention. The rule that prevents it is simple and has to be universal: the puppy gets nothing while its paws are off the floor and everything when they are on it. The hard part is not the puppy; it is the visitor who thinks the jumping is sweet.
- Faces are where the attention is
- Every early jump is paid with a laugh
- A habit by four months, fluent by eight
- Nothing off the floor, everything on it
- The visitor is the hard part
The method
Six steps, from the first week, for every person who meets the puppy.
Teach the sit with a lure in the first days so the puppy has something to do instead of jumping. Then apply the rule at every greeting, starting with the family.
Paws off the floor: turn away, hands up, no eye contact, no voice, until all four paws are down
Paws on the floor: turn back, mark, pay with a treat at the puppy's nose height and a calm greeting
Ask for a sit before any greeting, pay it, and greet while the puppy is sitting; any jump ends the greeting and the sit is asked for again
A leash on the puppy before the door opens for visitors, for the first months, so the rule can be enforced when a guest forgets
Place with duration built daily and used for arrivals: the puppy on its bed while the door opens, released for a calm greeting once the guest is in and seated
The rule announced to every visitor at the door and kept by everyone in the house, because one person who pays the jump keeps it alive
The mistakes
The knee, the push, the shout, and the guest who says it is fine.
Kneeing a puppy in the chest hurts it and is attention; pushing it off is a game and attention; shouting is attention. All three pay the jump. Turning away and going still removes the pay, and the sit that gets paid gives the puppy the alternative. The guest who says the puppy is fine and lets it jump undoes a week in an evening, which is why the leash at the door exists and why the rule is announced before the door opens. The other mistake is inconsistency inside the house: the teenager who lets the puppy jump on the bed and the parent who does not have a puppy that jumps on the teenager and learns that the rule depends on the person.
A puppy that jumps and mouths, or that cannot come down after a greeting, is over-aroused, and the settle on place is the bigger project; the calm-in-the-house guide covers it.
- No knee, no push, no shout; all are pay
- Turn away and go still
- The leash at the door for the guest who forgets
- One rule for everyone in the house
- Jumping and mouthing together is arousal
Proofing around Houston
Big households, a lot of guests, and the store aisle with a stranger every ten feet.
Houston households are big and a puppy meets a grandparent, a cousin, a neighbor, the lawn crew and a delivery driver in its first week, each of whom wants to greet it, which is a lot of chances to pay the jump and a lot of chances to teach the rule. The pet and hardware store aisles along 290 are the proofing ground our trainers use: a stranger every ten feet who wants to say hello, the puppy asked for a sit before each one, paid, and greeted sitting. The holiday season is the exam, with thirty people through the door, and a puppy taught the rule in spring holds it in December. The puppy bundle teaches the rule with the children present in the first session.
- A lot of greeters in the first week
- The store aisle as the proofing ground
- The holidays as the exam
- The children in the first session
When to call
A puppy that jumps and mouths hard, a big puppy that has knocked a child over, or a family that cannot agree.
A puppy that jumps and mouths hard, grabbing sleeves and hands, is over-aroused and needs the settle and the mouth rules alongside the greeting rule, which the puppy bundle at $550 or $750 in-home covers in the first two sessions. A big puppy that has knocked a child over needs the leash at the door and a gate or a crate for arrivals today, because the next fall matters more than the timeline. A family that cannot agree on the rule has a puppy with no rule, and an in-home lesson at $220 with everyone present usually settles it. An adolescent with a fluent jump is a Gold case at $2,500, where place and the greeting are built in the training home and proofed on field trips.
The programs
Programs that teach the greeting rule.
The puppy bundle with the children present, Gold for the adolescent with a fluent jump, lessons at home to get the household to agree.
Asked and answered
Questions people ask about this.
How do I stop my puppy jumping on me?
Turn away, hands up, no eye contact and no voice until all four paws are down, then turn back and pay with a treat at nose height and a calm greeting. Ask for a sit before greetings and pay it. Every jump ends the greeting. A puppy learns the rule in days if nobody pays the jump.
Should I push my puppy off when it jumps?
No. Pushing is a game and attention, and both pay the jump. Go still and turn away instead; a puppy cannot jump on a back that is not looking at it. The sit that gets paid gives the puppy something to do instead.
How do I stop my puppy jumping on visitors?
A leash on the puppy before the door opens, the rule announced to the visitor at the door, a sit before the greeting, and place with duration for arrivals once the puppy has it. The guest who says the puppy is fine is the one the leash is for.
Will my puppy grow out of jumping?
No. A puppy that is paid for jumping at ten pounds jumps at seventy, because jumping works. A puppy taught the greeting rule from eight weeks never learns to jump. The rule, kept by everyone, is the whole method.
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