Foundation Camp
A 21-day board-and-train that builds solid obedience and manners, the right fit for milder issues.
Dog Behavior Solutions
Welcome People Without the Collision
Your dog can stay friendly without launching at every person. Partners Dogs helps turn front-door chaos into a greeting routine guests and family can trust.
Behavior severity
MildWhat you may be seeing
Common signs
- Jumping on family members, guests, or strangers
- Scratching clothing or making contact with the face
- Ignoring cues when the door opens
- Repeatedly jumping after being pushed away
- Escalating into barking, spinning, or mouthing during greetings
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- Knocking down a child, older adult, or person with limited mobility
- Growling, snapping, or biting when restrained or removed
- Jumping that creates an escape through the open door
- Sudden loss of body control, pain, or another abrupt change
Mild is a starting point for planning, not a diagnosis. Injury risk, aggression, or escape changes the safety plan and may require an in-person assessment.
Understanding the behavior
What is jumping on people?
Jumping is usually reinforced by contact, eye attention, movement, or access to the person. Even pushing a dog down can keep the interaction going. Excitement and inconsistent guest responses make the habit stronger.
A useful plan controls access to the greeting and teaches a clear alternative. Leashes, gates, place, and four paws on the floor give the dog a repeatable route to attention. Practice starts with predictable setups before surprise visitors raise the difficulty.
Many dogs improve when every person follows the same routine. The goal is a friendly dog who can keep their body under control, not a dog who loses all enthusiasm.
Partners Dogs has trained Arizona dogs through every kind of jumping on people case since 1997, at our Scottsdale and Cave Creek facilities. Lifetime trainer support is included with every board-and-train program.
The transformation
Before and after training
Drag the slider to see the change our programs make for a dog with jumping on people. Same dog, same home, real outcome.
Watch
How we work on jumping on people
Short walkthroughs from our trainers on the exact techniques we use to resolve jumping on people. See how the work actually looks, then choose the path that fits your dog.
70,000+Dogs Trained
28+Years Experience
4.8★Average Rating
2Arizona Campuses
Recommended path · Mild severity
The right program for jumping on people
Based on how jumping on people typically presents, here is where we would start. Not sure which fits? Take the PD360 assessment for a personalized recommendation.
Group Classes
Weekly Pet Parenting classes with our trainers, practice in a structured social environment.
The process
How it works
Assessment and check-in
- We verify vaccination records and complete pre-check-in forms.
- Your dog receives a full behavioral assessment.
- We set goals and build a personalized training plan.
- You meet the primary trainer and tour the facility.
Training and progress reports
- Multiple active training sessions every day.
- Controlled exposure and desensitization to triggers.
- Immersive socialization in a managed environment.
- Regular progress reports with photos and video.
Transition and follow-up
- Private lessons that transfer the training to you.
- Pet Parenting group classes for ongoing support.
- Access to our full Pet Parent Guide.
- Weeks of follow-up so the change lasts at home.
Not sure which program
Get a recommendation in minutes
Take our quick PD360 assessment for a personalized recommendation, or talk to a trainer who has seen jumping on people many times before.
What our clients say
“"Bella was launching herself at every person who came over. I had toddlers visiting and it was genuinely scary. After Foundation Camp, she sits at the door and waits. I've had guests ask me what we did because they can't believe it's the same dog. Honestly, neither can I."”
“"We had the most enthusiastic, impossible-to-contain golden retriever. I loved her energy but I was so embarrassed every time we had company. Partners taught us a system that the whole family could actually follow. Six weeks later, she greets people calmly. She's still the friendliest dog alive, she just keeps four paws on the ground."”
Good to know
Frequently asked questions
What program helps with jumping on people and what does it cost?
Jumping on people typically responds to Foundation Camp, our 14-day board-and-train that builds obedience and greeting manners ($3,509, discounted with membership), or weekly Group Classes for ongoing practice with real people and real distractions. A $199 PD360 Assessment, credited toward enrollment, confirms the right starting point for your dog.
How do I stop my dog from jumping on guests at the door?
The front door is the hardest place to fix jumping because the energy spike is enormous and the timing window is short. Here is the layered approach we use:
- Manage the moment. Use a leash, a baby gate, or a tether station near the door for the first 30 seconds of arrival. You are not teaching here. You are preventing rehearsal of the jumping.
- Practice without real guests. Run knock-and-doorbell drills with the dog tethered, rewarding any sit or four-on-the-floor. The dog needs reps in the actual context.
- Brief your guests. “Please ignore him for the first 30 seconds, once he is sitting, you can say hi.” Send the text before they arrive.
- Build a place command. Teaching your dog to go to a mat or bed when the doorbell rings gives you a default that does not involve the door at all.
The doorbell is one of the highest-arousal moments in a dog's day. Expecting them to be polite without training is unrealistic.
Will my puppy grow out of jumping on people?
No. Dogs do not grow out of jumping. They grow into it. The behavior gets worse as the dog gets bigger and stronger, and every month it goes unaddressed cements the pattern. A 70-pound Labrador jumping on your 80-year-old mother is not a phase. It is a four-month-old puppy whose habit was allowed to mature.
The window to prevent jumping is short. By 12-14 weeks, your puppy should already be practicing four-on-the-floor greetings. By six months, the pattern is set either way. We see plenty of adult dogs in Foundation Camp at Partners Dogs whose owners said exactly this sentence about the puppy: “He will grow out of it.”
Adult dogs absolutely can unlearn jumping. It just takes longer than installing the habit correctly from the start.
How do I stop my dog from jumping on people?
The fix is consistent, but it requires everyone in the household to follow the same protocol. That is the part that breaks down. Here is what we teach:
- Pick an incompatible behavior. A dog cannot jump and sit at the same time. Sit-to-say-hi becomes your greeting default.
- Remove the reward. When your dog jumps, the human turns away and removes all attention, no eye contact, no talking, no pushing off. Four paws on the floor unlocks attention.
- Pay the right behavior. The moment your dog sits, calm praise, slow petting, a treat if you have one. The reward only happens when paws are down.
- Coach your guests. Tell visitors at the door: “Please ignore him until he sits.” Most people will comply. The ones who do not are the reason this drags out.
If your household has multiple people who cannot run the same protocol, Foundation Camp at Partners Dogs gives your dog three weeks of consistent practice and then we teach the whole family the system at handoff.
Why does my dog jump on people?
Your dog jumps because it works. They jump, they get attention, even negative attention, even being pushed away, and the behavior is reinforced. Dogs do not care whether the attention is positive or negative; they care that they got attention at all.
The pattern almost always starts in puppyhood, when a 12-pound puppy standing up to greet you is cute. Then the puppy grows, the jumping intensifies, and everyone in the household is doing something different, the kids laugh, grandma loves it, you push the dog off but then pet them anyway. Mixed signals, inconsistent responses, no result. The dog only learned one thing clearly: jumping produces interaction.
The good news is that jumping is one of the most fixable behaviors in our entire library. It responds quickly once everyone in the household is teaching the same incompatible behavior, usually a sit-to-say-hi.
Related behaviors
Dogs with jumping on people often show these patterns too. Explore the behaviors below. We treat them all.
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Every dog and household is different. Get a real conversation with a Partners Dogs trainer who has treated jumping on people for more than 28 years. No pressure, just guidance on your dog's best path forward.