Why Do Dogs Jump Up On You?

Many people have more tolerance for a smaller dog jumping up on people to say 'hello' than they do a larger dog whether it's your dog jumping up or someone else's pet. Since we tend to attribute human thoughts, feelings, actions and assign human reasoning to our canine companions. What does it mean to you when a dog is jumping on you or another? More importantly, what do you think it means to the dog?

To dogs, it usually means something quite different from how many of us humans interpret the action. Ever see a dog fight begin or a dog snarl and snap when another dog comes up and jumps up on the other? In their world it means something very different to them than many humans think it means. Is that dog so happy to see you or a friend that he jumps up to say hello? Jumping is actually a dominance and pack leader behavior in dogs. When a dog jumps on someone they are establishing their position as higher in the pack than that person by showing a lack of canine respect and invading their personal space. 'I'm the boss of you'.


Do you allow dogs to jump on you? Do you find yourself allowing certain dog's to jump up and say hello? Do you allow your dog to jump on other people? What breeds and sizes are these jumping dogs? Will you be keeping in mind what it really means to a dog when they jump up on a person next time around?

 

We allow our dogs to jump on us as they way of greeting us especially wen we are coming home. We feel happy with it seeing them energetic and happy too. They would only jump to greet others who are very familiar with them like someone who always visited us and not to someone they just saw once or few times. Our dogs are usually medium sized dogs and mixed breeds.

 

Benjamas, my Poodle, doesn't jump on me. What she does is run at me at full speed, then take a flying leap into my arms. After which, if I don't hold her, she would climb up to my shoulders, heading for the top of my head.

 

I've really wondered about that. I always thought it's that they're just ecstatic and want your attention. My Coon Hound/Beagle mix can't stand it when I don't give her any attention and will keep barking if I don't even look at her. I want to teach her to be patient and that *I* am the alpha and that *I* will give her my attention when I *choose* to. The same goes with the jumping up on me. I want to teach her to stop. What are some methods to accomplish this?

 

The boys aren't what I call jumpers. They do prance around barking, wagging their tails and spin around in order to let us know they are excited. Occasionally they will jump up to make us aware of something, needing to go out, more water or they are in a mood for a snack, that's about it.


They will however, when we are watching tv, jump up and assume the position, in a lap that is. That both love a good lap to sit in. Usually just mine or the hubby's, I guess we have the perfect laps for sitting and napping.

 

I don't think that jumping on is really establishing dominance. The alpha of the pack isn't dominating at all. The only reason a leader would have to be dominating is if they didn't have full control of a pack. A trait that would more closely relate to an alpha dog is being aloof. Alphas know they are alphas and so does the rest of the pack, so they have no reason to assert dominance unless another pack member challenges them.
Jumping isn't something dogs really do when they really fight either, it's just for play. If a dog jumped during an actual fight it was having then it would be exposing its chest and belly, a very vunerable spot. When dogs really fight, they snarl, keep heads slightly down, and lunge at their opponents neck.
I would attribute the jumping to being happy to see you and generally being interested in who you are. The dog wants your attention. It doesn't matter what dog breed you have, as a human you stand much taller than them; so what better way to get at your level of attention (a.k.a. your face/eyes) than by jumping as high as they can at you?

 

I think there are various reasons why a dog will jump on you. One of course is when they are in attack mode. Another is when they are excited to see you and jump up to great you. Then there is the one I experience a lot with my two dogs and that is them jumping up to get my attention.