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How to stop my dog from jumping and mouthing people when excited?

Updated On September 23rd, 2025

My dog gets very excited and when greeting people jumps up and tries to hold people's hand with his mouth, I know it is not aggressive in anyway, but it's badly behaved and I am afraid if he jumped up on a child he could knock them over. He has no intention of hurting when he grabs people's hands but it can hurt. How do I curb the jumping and the biting. Thanks

1 Answer

Most Helpful Answer

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Answered By Jennifer Summerfield, DVM CPDT-KA

Veterinarian, Certified Dog Trainer

Published on March 29th, 2017

This is a very common problem with young, friendly dogs - they become overly excited when they greet people, and can't control their jumping and mouthing. This problem can be treated effectively with good training, but it will require you to be patient and consistent since it takes quite a while for most dogs to learn to control themselves in these situations. Training for this problem involves rewarding your dog for keeping all four paws on the floor as people approach, and gradually increasing the level of difficulty to include petting and actual greetings once he is doing well. Here is a link to an excellent discussion on training for this problem, including a video demonstrating this technique: https://denisefenzipetdogs.com/2015/09/14/jumping-on-people/ If you still have trouble, I would suggest getting in touch with a good reward-based trainer who can help you in person. You can search for a qualified trainer in your area here: www.ccpdt.org

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