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
2 Answers
Most Helpful Answer
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
1Pet Parents found this answer helpful
Related Answers from Veterinarians
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Published on March 8th, 2017
Jumping up to greet people is a very common behavior issue in dogs - this is how they naturally want to say hello, so it's up to us to teach them how we want them to greet us. The best way to do this is to make sure that Mozzy is rewarded frequently with treats and petting for keeping four feet on the floor when greeting people - if she jumps, stop treating and petting her until she gets down. Here is a great video showing how to do this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XX58DLLLZF8&t=2s Many adolescent dogs do bite and mouth when they get excited. You can help stop this behavior the same way - by stopping what you are doing and ignoring him when he gets overly wound up and starts to bite, then engaging him again in a calmer way once he's settled down. Make sure that Mozzy also has a variety of different toys that you can use when you play with him, to provide an appropriate outlet for this behavior.
1Pet Parents found this answer helpful
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