Why Your Puppy Jumps on You During Walks (And 4 Simple Ways to Stop It!)

Why does my puppy jump on me during walks?

You may be wondering why does my puppy jump on me during walks? We’ll discuss why this happens and 4 training techniques to stop this behavior. 

So straightforward answer to the question, “Why does my puppy jump on me during walks,” could be because of a few reasons: because of excitement, trying to be dominant, lack of training, etc.

Table of Contents

These are the main reasons your puppy jumps on you while walking. Let’s discuss each of these in detail.

You encouraged the behavior unconsciously.

As mentioned above, encouragement from the dog parent can be why the puppy starts jumping during walks. Mostly, you inadvertently encouraged jumping from your puppy by serving the treats.

When offering treats or in a happy mood, the puppy starts jumping and interprets it as encouragement.

I advise you to not react to jumping by giving them a treat so your puppy can stop associating jumping with receiving treats.

1. Excitement

Jumping can be your pup’s way of showing excitement even though it is irritating for you.

Proper dog training will help you to stop this jumping behavior of your pup.

2. Trying to be dominant.

Some puppies show aggression and want to stop you from pulling their leash. Therefore, jumping on you during walks is a way of showing dominance.

3. Lack of training

Your puppy may be jumping during walks because it simply needs some extra training to tell him not to. I suggest taking your puppy to doggy obedience training sessions. 

How do I stop my puppy from jumping and biting while walking?

Another frequently asked question by the dog parent is, “how do I stop my puppy from jumping and biting while walking”. Without wasting your time, let’s jump to a straightforward answer.

1. Avoid encouragement

Stop providing treats to distract your pup when it is biting or jumping on you. Your dog may associate the event and interpret jumping as the action to get the treat.

Puppies understand the vibes and feel your energy, so stop showing excitement. 

2. Positive reinforcement

The best way to stop your puppy from biting and jumping during walks is:

• Give your puppy their favorite treats on their walks
• Teach him to sit down on walks by giving them a treat 
• Teach him to stay for a while
• Repeat the previous steps daily and start increasing the duration when they sit and stay
• The goal is to teach your pup to sit whenever you command this so that you can stop it from jumping

3. Redirect the focus of your puppy

If possible, redirect your puppy’s focus when you feel that it is about to jump on you.

4. Make sure your puppy gets enough exercise.

Ensure that your puppy is getting enough exercise regularly so it will not have extra energy to jump on you.

How do you train a puppy not to jump on you?

A jumping puppy is going to challenge you during the walks. Even the puppy may start jumping on strangers and guests. 

For the parents who are worried about this behavior and want to train their puppy not to jump on them during the walk, the guide will be helpful.

Keep in mind that your dog is not going to learn to behave overnight. You will have to be consistent and determined to teach them regularly.

If your puppy is jumping on you in excitement:

• Show your back to the puppy. Keep in mind to be sweet with the puppy and don’t yell at it. Also, don’t push your puppy because it may get aggressive in fear.
• Never kneel down when you are not in the mood to play with your puppy. Even if it tries to jump on you, change your location. In this way, your puppy will understand that it’s not good to jump all time.
• Keep saying some commands such as “not good” to teach your puppy to stop jumping.
• Walking away from the location is the best approach because your puppy will understand it quickly.
• Start the interaction because your puppy is maybe jumping on you to get attention.

If your puppy starts jumping when you come home

Within the training session, the next one is to teach your puppy not to jump when you are coming home after a long day. Due to this specific training, your puppy will also understand that it should not jump on the guests coming from the door.

Firstly, you just have to open half of the door to judge if your puppy is ready to jump on you or if it is busy anywhere else. If your puppy is about to jump on you, close the door and hold it for 30 second

Start opening the door again and repeat the step if the puppy tries to jump. Keep repeating the previous point until your puppy is calm enough to let you in without jumping at your back.

Using cues or commands is highly appreciated when teaching some new behavior to your darling pups.

In case the puppy is jumping on the guests.

Put your puppy on a rope and open the entryway for your visitor. 

When your visitor has entered, bring your canine close enough to see them, however far enough away that they can’t jump on your visitor. Ask your dog to sit.

Have your puppy stroll toward you and ask them to sit. 

Keep practicing with your dog until they naturally sit when someone enters the home.

If your puppy is jumping at strangers

Use all of the training techniques above to stop your puppy from jumping on strangers. Do not encourage strangers to ask your puppy to jump on them. Command your puppy to sit and give them a treat when they have.