Polite Approaches

Continue practicing polite greetings with others by having your puppy greet someone who will immediately say “scatter” (or your choice of cues) and drop several treats on the ground for your puppy to eat. Remember: A puppy who is vacuuming the ground isn’t jumping! After you puppy finishes eating the treat scatter, cue your puppy’s name and bring them back into you.

Because you don’t want your puppy to practice jumping on people while you’re teaching them to keep all four feet on the ground, there’s a few strategies you can employ in real world situations. Treat scatters while out and about are a great way to reinforce polite greetings. If someone comes to your house, practice the same strategy- leash your puppy up and do treat scatters while the person comes in and gets settled. If your puppy is TOO excited, put them in their exercise pen, crate, or in your room so they can’t practice jumping. It’s wise to keep a leash by the front door in case someone comes over.

If your puppy does have the opportunity and jumps on you, you can try just turning your back on the puppy and taking your attention off them, which is the exact opposite of what they’re trying to create by jumping. When you get home, scatter treats immediately. If your puppy jumps on you, turn around and walk back outside and wait a few seconds before trying again.