Some dogs just can't handle themselves when their people come home! We're all about the love, but only the craziest of us actually like having a dog jumping at our face as soon as we open the door.
You've probably tried scolding, raising your knee, telling doggo to sit; while these MAY work, a dog who is that excited can be a very poor listener!
There are a number of reasons your pup might jump - the most common reason being that they feel it's been FOREVER since they've seen you and just want your attention SOOO BAD, consequences be damned!
Jumping on you is like a dog version of hitting a slot machine...no matter what happens next they already got what they wanted: that fix of your attention.
Not a lot is certain for a dog living in a human world, but one thing is true for every dog - if they jump on you, they will get some kind of attention.
But what can we do about this self-rewarding yet unwanted (and dangerous!) behaviour?
1. Management.
Keeping your pup in a crate or creating a barrier between the door and your pup, this gives you the option of waiting for calm before any interaction. Don't look, speak, or acknowledge a crazy canine!
Once you see a calm cuddly creature with four paws on the floor, ask for the behaviour you want and give generous praise.
2. Take away the reward.
When Jimbo jumps, turn around and walk back out the door. This can be a pain, but is really effective especially with more intelligent dogs with a lower arousal level.
Repeat this until Jimbo nails it, preferably sitting and waiting for your return! Once again, reward the behaviour you are looking for.
3. Teach Jimbo to Jump!
Wait, what?
Let me explain. It's SO much harder to teach Jimbo not to do something it wants to (and is likely instinctively driven to do) than it is to TEACH HIM TO DO SOMETHING HE WANTS TO DO!
Obviously, but how does that help?
Once he knows to jump on command, you can teach him WHEN it is ok to jump (and when its not) and most importantly you can teach him a command to get down. Pro tip: If nothing else works, you can always try to make him sick of jumping by repeating it till he's no longer having fun!
Do you have a jumper at home? What have you tried that worked or didn't work?