Happy and outgoing, Pomeranians can be quite tenacious when they want something from you, whether it’s food, a toy, or just to be picked up and held. When they are tiny puppies, it’s easy to respond without thinking when you feel those teeny paws on your leg. But that act soon becomes a reinforced habit and as your Pom gets older, she may end up not only putting her legs on you, but jumping in the air in front of you whenever she wants something. This is not only irritating, it can be dangerous if she trips you up. Luckily, there is a way to teach your Pomeranian to stop jumping on people.
Why Your Pomeranian Jumps On People
Dogs are opportunistic creatures. This means that if they can do something to get what they want, they will. As mentioned above, jumping up usually starts when your Pomeranian was a puppy and he put his cute little paws on you to get your attention. Understandably, you couldn’t resist. But your puppy just learned that putting his two front paws on you gets him what he wants and he will do it more in the future. So unless your Pom is jumping on people out of fear or aggression (in which case, you should seek a professional dog trainer for help), he is doing it because it gets him what he wants – attention, a toy, food, etc. The good news is that this makes it easy to stop the behavior. All you have to do is make sure your Pom is not being rewarded for it. Then, give him another behavior to do instead that is rewarded. Problem solved.
3 Steps To Getting Your Pomeranian To Not Jump On People
#1 – Stop Rewarding The Jumping
Every time your Pomeranian jumps on someone, that person needs to ignore her completely. The best thing to do is turn around and walk away. Even if they shout “down,” “no,” and/or push her away, negative attention is still attention. The trick is that every single person, 100 percent of the time, needs to do this. One person saying, “Oh, I don’t mind,” then giving your Pom what she wants will make the behavior stronger, so insist upon your rules.
#2 – Ask For A Conflicting Behavior
Most people ask for a “sit.” Your Pomeranian can’t sit and jump up at the same time. There are two ways to do this: wait for your dog to offer a sit, or give the “sit” cue and then reward her when she responds. The reward should be whatever your Pom was jumping on you for in the first place – petting, a toy, a treat, even his food dish! Anything your Pomeranian normally jumps up on you for, she now only gets if she is sitting. If your Pomeranian is very young or really overzealous, you may need to start by rewarding a calm “four on the floor” first, then work towards a sit as your Pom learns self-control. You will wait until she is standing quietly, and then reward. This takes some training and patience, but it will work because, as mentioned above, dogs repeat behaviors that get them what they want.
#3 – Management
This is the last piece of the puzzle and it’s what you have to do while your Pomeranian is learning to sit for things, which won’t happen overnight. You can help your Pom by holding them lightly when greeting new people, as long as they are comfortable with that and the attention they are receiving. Having your Pom on a leash attached to a harness can also help with jumping for a couple reasons. It’s useful when you meet that pesky person that lets (or worse, encourages!) your Pom to jump on them – you can just step on the leash so he can’t physically practice the behavior. Or maybe you are in a situation that is just too exciting for him at this point in his training to remember his manners. Again, stepping on the leash can help. Or you can lead him away from the person altogether, let him calm down, and then bring him back to try the greeting when he is more settled.
