Stop Pomsky Dog from Jumping on People

Does your pomsky greet you and your visitors by jumping up at them? You might like this enthusiastic greeting, but people who visit your home might be surprised by your dog jumping up at them. Learn the best ways to stop your pomsky dog from jumping up on people by using positive reinforcement and consistent training.

Why Do Dogs Greet You by Jumping?

Your dog likely learned that when they jump up at you, they get a big reaction from you whether it is a positive or negative reaction. We understand that it is so hard to resist a tiny puppy that is excited to greet you. Many people look forward to their dog running up to them when they get home from work or school, so it can be difficult to focus on training this behavior when you and your dog enjoy this moment.

Problems with Jumping Greetings

Although your dog is happy and excited, their jumping greeting can lead to injuries and can become a real problem when your dog is full grown and they jump up on people that are not expecting it. If your dog jumps too high, they could land on an object or on their own legs and injure themselves. People who greet the dog could get scratched, have their clothing ripped, or even get knocked over depending on the size of the dog and person.

Train Your Pomsky from the Start

When your pomsky is a puppy they will learn what they should and shouldn’t do, based on the attention and reinforcement they receive from their actions. For example, your puppy will learn to be potty trained by receiving treats and verbal praise such as “Yes!” and “Good girl!”. Similarly, you will want to train your pomsky puppy how to greet people in a calm manner right from the start.

Avoid telling your dog what they can’t do such as “down!” or “stop that!” because your dog will still view this as attention, and the behavior might continue because of the attention they received. Teach your pomsky that when you greet them, they should wait for you to kneel down to their level, rather than jumping up at you. If your dog jumps, ignore them and wait for them to be calm before giving them attention.

Replace Jumping Behavior

It is important that you train your pomsky dog to learn a word for what they can do instead of jumping. For example, you could have your dog sit or stay, rather than jumping. If you want to train your dog to sit instead of jumping, you will tell them to “sit” as you approach and only approach if they are calm and stay sitting. If they stand up or start to jump, turn around and walk away. The best way to teach this skills is by having two people training, with one person holding the pomsky’s leash while the other person approaches the pomsky. The person holding the pomsky’s leash can provide treats each time the pomsky stays sitting and waits for the person to approach them.

Consistency is Key

Once you have trained your dog to sit or keep all paws on the floor when you approach them, make sure each member of your family requires the same behavior. Your pomsky dog will be confused if they can jump on some people and not others and will not learn the skill well enough to generalize it to meeting new people. In general, make greetings with your dog calm rather than frantic and high energy.

Anticipate when your pomsky dog might get excited to see someone and be ready to have your dog sit and stay calm. You can also coach the person approaching your dog to stay back and wait, while you ensure your dog is focused on you and following your commands to sit.

Summary

Prevent your pomsky dog from jumping up on people by training them from the start while they are just a puppy. Make your greetings with your dog calm and stay consistent when requiring your pomsky dog to sit instead of jump, across all people and places. Training your pomsky dog to not jump up on people is easy if you set clear expectations and use positive reinforcement.