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How To Stop Your Poodle From Jumping on People: 15 Effective Tips

Last updated on November 22nd, 2020 at 08:17 am


Poodles are athletic and energetic dogs. As puppies, you may be enthralled by their loveliness and cuteness so much that you do not correct a few bad behaviors. Now, your poodle is grown and has a habit of jumping on you, your children, and friends. `Old habits die hard,` a saying that refers to man, also applies to poodles.

If your poodle has a habit of jumping on people and you want to know how to stop her, you are in the right place. 

Poodle jumping on people can be dangerous especially if your poodle is a standard poodle. Standard poodle grow up to be very big (up to 70 lbs!).

If you do not stop your standard poodle from jumping on people as a puppy, the consequences can be dangerous if your poodle continues to jump on people as an adult.

Why Do Poodles Jump on People?

Dogs are not so different from us. They get excited; they love rewards; they love physical touch and emotional gestures; they can be playful—like a child in a mall for the first time; they are happy when you get back home—and why won`t they be? You left them all alone for hours.

Moreover, poodles are very loving dog. They love people. My poodle for example, thinks every human is her friend, and she gets excited whenever she sees someone: the mailman, the doordash delivery lady, to mention a few. She shows her excitement by running to these strangers and jumping on them. This is a behavior that has to be checked.

Your poodle, just like most other dogs, has grown to see jumping on people as a good habit because:

  1. You may have encouraged it: Maybe when your poodle was a puppy and jumped on you, you felt affection. I guess the paw did the trick—or the cute face; whatever the reason, you made your puppy felt like jumping on people was acceptable.
  2. You rewarded her lousy behavior: Every dog enthusiast knows that treats are an essential part of dog training. Whenever your poodle jumps on you, and you give her food, toy, or whatever excites her, you stimulate her subconscious into thinking that jumping on people is an acceptable and rewarding act.
  3. Excitement: Your poodle will most likely jump on you or anyone when you are back from work. It’s almost the same with children. Poodles get lonely also, and they miss their owners. Even if you leave your poodle with your partner and go out for an extended period, she will still jump on at your arrival. The same will happen if your partner goes out and comes back.
  4. Your children or partner encourages it: When you have a family dog, there should be an agreement on what behaviors should be considered acceptable. Are you trying, without success, to train your puppy to stop jumping people, yet she consistently refuses to learn or listen? It could be that your children or spouse are unknowingly encouraging her habit. If your kids reward jumping with treats, she will think jumping on people is excellent. You may have to talk to your kids, partner, or other family members about the situation so that everyone will be on the same page.

Now that you know the possible reasons why your poodle is a bad-boy/girl, it`s time to unlearn his/her bad habits.

15 Practical Tips to Stop your Poodle from Jumping on People

Before we begin on the tips you can use to stop your poodle from jumping, you should know that:

  1. It’s never right to become verbally abusive to your poodle—or any dog. You can, however, be stern when you need to be.  
  2. You do not consistently call your poodles’s name or repeat a command. It may confuse the poodle. For example, dont say “STOP STOP STOP STOP….” if the command you are giving is “STOP”. Poodles are smart and obidient enough that they do not need you to repeat commands.
  3. If your poodle jumps on people, as it happens in rare cases, aggressively or with an intent to hurt, you may need a professional dog trainer.

#Tip1: The Lock-Up

The lock-up should not be taken as a means of punishment. No! Rather, it should be used to cast boredom on your poodle. If your poodle jumps on you, take your poodle to the bathroom, lock it up for a few minutes, and then let it out. If your poodle jumps on you still, lock it up again. Ensure that there is no playable toy or toilet rolls in the bathroom. Do this a few times in a day— every day. Also, it does not have to be the bathroom. Any small, bland, and boring space should do.

#Tip2: Go and Come

`Go and Come` is efficient dog recall training, and it can also be used to teach your poodle not to jump on people. Throw a kibble as far as you can, and your poodle will run to catch it. Hold a more desirable treat, like food, when she comes to you; of course, she will be excited and may attempt to jump on you. If it does, tell her to sit and give her the treat.

#Tip3: Praise Your Poodle Only When She Does Not Jump on You

Words like `good girl` and actions like `rubbing your poodle`s fur should be used to reward good behavior. Your poodle knows that you pet her because you love her, and she`s a good girl because you call her a good girl; therefore, apply reverse psychology. When your poodle attempts to jump on you, turn around and ignore her completely. If you are with other family members, ask them to turn around also. If you turn around while they go ahead and reward her with affection and praise, your training becomes counter-productive.

#Tip4: Train Your Poodle to Understand the ‘sit’ Command

Another way to discourage your poodle from jumping on people is to train it to understand and obey sit. Whenever your poodle tries to jump on people, ask it to sit.

#Tip 5: Do not Reward Your Poodle`s Jumping

Many people make the mistake of consistently giving their poodles treats—regardless of the poodle`s behavior. A dog must be trained to attach boredom and a lack of treats to bad habits. If your poodle jumps on you, do not give her treats. Do not look happy or excited and walk away from it.

#Tip 6: Leash it

If your poodle meets a person or is in a place that excites her so much so that she forgets her manners, place her on a leash. Suppose she tries to jump on the person (if the person encourages jumping), step on the leash, restrain your poodle or take her away from the situation until she is calm enough to remember her manners.

#Tip 7: Come Down to Its Height Level.

As with most dogs, poodles like to lick and touch. When your poodle is over-excited, it may attempt to jump on you; however, if you bend down to its level, some of the excitement may fade, and it will have no reason to jump on you. Remember that you should be on the same face-level with the poodle.

#Tip 8: Teach it to Stay

While teaching your poodle to sit is an excellent way of limiting her jumping, you can also ask her to stay. Stay is a command that means `remain on four feet; do not jump.` The stay command is an excellent way to drain the excitement of your poodle while still allowing her to stand and move around you.

#Tip9: Jump on Hind Legs

Your poodle loves to jump, right? Train her to jump and stand on her hind-legs. Launching from all fours will mean she has to jump on someone or something; however, training her to jump with just two legs will mean she has to hop, and while you are at it, do not let her touch anyone or anything as she learns to jump—or bounce.

#Tip10: Wait for Your Meal

When your poodle sees her food bowl, the next instinct will be to eat. Hold her food bowl in your hand and if she tries to jump, order her off; tell her to sit, and if she is calm enough, reward her with the food bowl. 

#Tip 11: A Food Bowl without Food

Hold your poodle`s food bowl in your hand. Your poodle will get excited and attempt to jump; tell her to back off like you mean it and give her the empty food bowl. Immediately, offer her a treat for her good behavior.

#Tip 12: Reward Good Behavior and Reprimand Bad Behavior

Generally, if your poodle is good, reward her. If she misbehaves or acts impulsively, reprimand her.

#Tip 13: Put Her on a Leash

If you are taking your poodle out to a place with many distractions, put her on a leash. A leash acts as physical and psychological restraint. Impulse control strategies include taking your poodle to a place with many distractions, like a park with so many other dogs and toys, and then restraining your dog from partaking in activities. If your dog is taught to obey commands when her self-control is thoroughly removed, she will abide by your commands— even more, when she is calm.

#Tip 14: Teach her to shake hands

When a dog is taught to perform intellectual activities, her natural excitement erodes. As your dog grows, if she is given intellectual tasks to perform, she will become mature and a little bit reserved. Poodles are very smart. They can learn a lot of tricks. Teach your poodle to extend one of her forelimbs to visitors when they meet for the first time. You can allow her to get excited; however, before she does anything, she has to shake hands.

#Tip15: Go wild, Sit.

It’s important for your poodle to learn impulse control. One of such is to teach her to go wild, run back to you, and sit. This activity is important because your dog expects that you should be excited just as she is after playing a go wide game; however, she must learn to be calm and sit once you order her to sit, regardless of her excitement, she should sit. Ensure that you do this activity for your poodle at least seven times a day.

Final Thoughts

Poodles are wonderful dogs, but they can get overly excited and act impulsively. With these tips, you are sure to find some tips that will help you keep your poodle in check and stop her from jumping on people.