Jumping, nipping, darting through doors, oh my! These puppy antics can keep even a seasoned pup parent on their toes! Here are some simple training techniques that will help you get these behaviors under control!
The Puppy Academy students: Stella, Levi, Sonny, Goose & Fitz!
No matter what breed, new puppies are seemingly full of boundless energy! And when left unguided, can get up to all sorts of mayhem! Some of those staple “bad” behaviors include jumping up, nipping (bare feet and hands beware!), and darting through doorways. But these aren’t really bad behaviors as much as they are natural puppy development stages that need the appropriate leadership and training!
In short, by learning some common puppy behavior causes and applying just a few tried and true training techniques, you will be able to transform your pup into a well-mannered member of the family, just like we do with our students at The Puppy Academy!
#1. Stop Jumping!
By far one of the toughest puppy behaviors is jumping up! Whether it’s standing up to get closer to their food, water, on top of furniture, or even on your guests, puppies just seem to want to jump on everything to get to what they want. And from a puppy’s perspective, they don’t understand the difference between when jumping is okay or when it’s not, until we teach them.
If your puppy received attention for jumping up on you or someone at home — even if unintentionally, for example, a head pat to acknowledge them — or if they jumped up and grabbed a special “treat” left on the coffee table, they’ve been rewarded for their jumping and it’s actually encouraged them to do it again – so they can get that reward again.
This is why puppy-proofing is so essential to eliminate anything that may entice your puppy to jump and grab. But what about the jumping on people part?
Puppies learn fast that if they jump up when you’re walking through the door, for example, they’ll get a response from you. And your attention is all they want! So now the goal is to redirect that impulsive energy and train them to do something else instead. Having a solid "Sit" command is a great go-to command to gain back control of a situation. It also acts as your puppy asking "Please" before you give them something they want like food, water, a toy, or some rubs from you.
Regardless of what your puppy jumps up for, you'll want to teach your puppy to "Sit" first!
To teach Sit, you can do this by bringing a treat close to their nose and then guide it upwards over their head so they naturally follow the treat with their nose, and their backside should automatically touch the ground.
As they are sitting say “Sit” followed by “Good!” and reward them with a treat (or toy, depending on what your pup responds to) when their butt hits the floor to mark the correct behavior!
Repeat this training exercise often so your puppy learns to Sit really well and gets used to it.
Next, start asking for a Sit each time you’re about to give them something to play with, to chew on, to eat, before you bend over to pet them, etc. to create the association that they receive the reward they want for calm behavior they show. Keep practicing and soon this will become an automatic habit for them to Sit calmly and wait!
Impulse control training like this starts small, such as asking your puppy to Sit and wait when giving them their food and water bowls. The most important takeaway is to continue to regularly practice this training routine in any situation where your puppy may be templed to jump up!
If you puppy is completely overexcited and you have a hard time calming them down, check out our blog: How To Calm An Over-Excited Puppy!
#2. Ban Door-Bolting!
Puppies are curious about everything, so an open doorway is an invitation to a whole new world for them to run and play in! The problem with this behavior is that it poses a risk to their safety and yours. As your puppy grows into an adult dog, they may continue to think it’s fun to run out any chance they get and could potentially run into a busy street or yank suddenly on the leash and cause you to fall.
A large part of training your puppy good manners is establishing good communication and your role as your pup’s leader early on so they continually look to you for guidance. By establishing threshold boundaries and having your puppy learn to wait patiently and check in with you before crossing doorways (including the crate!), you are building upon that relationship and their trust in you. Training your puppy to be calm in thresholds involves asking them to sit, wait, and make eye contact with you, NOT charging through ahead of you!
With your puppy in a harness and leash, ask your puppy to Sit at your doorway, and get them to check in with you (ie. make eye contact). Call their name to get their attention, or use a treat to lure their nose up to your eyes to create the habit of establishing eye contact.
Slowly, start opening the door a little bit, and if they start to get up or try to lunge out, close the door again and reset. This may take a few times to get so remain patient and take your time! Repeat this training exercise over and over, until your puppy understands that at an open door they remain in Sit until you give them the next command to move through the threshold with you, like Heel!
Practice this in different settings too, not just at home, and make sure you lead your puppy through the doorway, not them leading you!
#3. Nip Nipping in the Bud!
Nipping, especially during play, is a natural way for pups to learn how to test boundaries and their own strength. The problem is when they decide to make your hands and feet their favorite target! If left without the proper training, some puppies may even continue to mouth and play this way later into adulthood when this behavior could result in more serious harm and habits.
Luckily there are certain ways to manage your puppy’s nipping and discourage it from escalating. These can be:
Using a toy to play with your puppy instead of your hands
Giving them a calm “time out” when their nipping increases (which can often mean they’re overtired)
Reducing how much time they spend in your arms and are being pet (puppies often nip out of frustration)
Having chew toys to redirect them too when needed so they understand the appropriate thing to nibble on (instead of you!)
For more details on these tactics and more, check out our blog: How to Stop Your Puppy from Nipping!
Get Hands-On Help From Our Trainers!
Jumping, nipping and calm thresholds are a major part of the training we do with our students at The Puppy Academy, and we know how much time and discipline it takes! Our goal is to make this as easy as possible for new puppy parents — and that’s what we’ve done in our Online School!
This is where you can follow our exact game plans, our tips that work, and speak 1-on-1 with our expert trainers to irradiate those puppy issues once and for all!
For more info, check out The Puppy Academy Online School here:
More Ways to Teach Your Puppy Good Overall Manners:
We covered three of the major puppyhood issues, but what about just teaching a puppy overall great manners so they’re polite no matter what situation you find themselves in? Watch our short video for more tips you can start implementing now! Heads up: We talk about using a puppy schedule which you can get here!
Have more questions about your puppy’s manners? Ask our trainers LIVE every Wednesday at 1 pm PT on our Instagram @thepuppyacademy during our Ask A Puppy Trainer Show! All replays are posted afterward, and you can catch up on our last ones on our YouTube channel or Podcast.
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