A puppy that jumps up on its owner may be a cute sight at first, but this behavior can become a nuisance. As the puppy grows, it becomes larger and when jumping up on people, it might knock them over, possibly causing falls and injuries. This breed can be aggressive at times and harsh, force-based or negative reinforcement training methods are not recommended. You must use positive reinforcement training to stop boxer puppies from jumping up on people.
Things You'll Need
- Small dog treats
Instructions
Begin introducing the down command to the puppy. You need to teach the boxer puppy what you want it to do. Say "down" in a firm voice and point to the ground.
Reward the desired behavior immediately. Positive reinforcement training focuses on rewarding good behavior rather than punishing bad behavior. The second the boxer puppy gets down, change your tone to a happy, positive one and praise the dog.
Avoid petting the puppy when it jumps up. Puppies are exuberant by nature and petting them when they jump up actually reinforces the bad behavior because they think they are getting rewarded with affection. Instead, pet the puppy only when it gets down. This will help reinforce the positive behavior.
Reward the boxer puppy with dog treats when it gets down on command. Food rewards are often useful in beginning training stages and help reinforce the command. Most puppies are food driven and these treats will help them learn the lesson more effectively.
Add the "stay down" command. Once the boxer puppy is obeying the down command, add the word "stay" to it. This will help it learn that it cannot jump up at all and will not receive a reward if they do.
Reinforce the training lessons as necessary. Puppies have short attention spans and when excited, they may forget their past training lessons. Stay positive and reinforce the lessons as necessary by repeating steps one through five until the puppy consistently remembers to stay down.