What It Means When Your Dog Jumps Up on You, According to a Pet Trainer

A dog expert has revealed what it means when your dog jumps you and the answer is a little more complex than you may have thought. Dog owners love their four-legged friends and the feeling is largely mutual. A 2015 study published in the academic journal Science found that both dogs and their human companions experience a surge in oxytocin when looking at each other. Oxytocin is the same hormone released when mothers gaze at their children and plays a key role in the development of the maternal instinct. Most dog owners probably see their canine's attempts at jumping up on them as an extension of this. To their way of thinking, it is as if their dog is trying to say hello. That can be true to an extent but, according to Bronagh Daly, an expert dog trainer, it could be a little more complicated than that. She's been an agility instructor for dogs since she was 16. "It was my own dog Razzle who had the biggest impact on me expanding to working with dogs experiencing a wider range of behavioral concerns," she told Newsweek. "At a young age, Razzle developed a deep fear of strangers. I had never experienced anything like that at the time. It was...the experience of working with him, to help him feel more comfortable in the world, that made me want to expand my knowledge and do the same for others."

Now in her late 20s, she runs Five By Five Canine, a dog training business, and regularly posts videos to TikTok offering guidance on various aspects of canine care. Her latest clip focuses on why dogs jump and whether it is a play for affection or an attempt by the canine in question to alert their owner to something about the environment around them that they are not entirely comfortable with. In the video, she provides the examples of Oz and Tig. While Oz appears happy at first, Daly is able to highlight the various subtle clues in terms of his expression and repeated use of his paws that hint at an overarching anxiety with his surroundings. Tig, by contrast, is in a calmer, more affectionate place, only too happy to receive pets as he relaxes at home.To the untrained eye, it might be difficult to spot the difference but Daly believes our canines present plenty of physical clues as to what is going on psychologically. "A big thing to look for when a dog is jumping is whether the dog's body language is loose and soft, showing more tension, or somewhere in between. How they approach you before jumping, and if that changes when they jump up, can be a great determining factor," she said. "For instance, a dog who's going to jump up to say hello may have loose and wiggly body language, their tail will have sweeping or circling wags, their face will be soft, eyes bright, ears neutral or lightly folded. That won't change when they jump up. Daly continued: "Whereas a dog who's jumping up to communicate that they're concerned about something may have a lowered tail and head carriage, lower carriage tail wags (or none), slightly pulled back or folded ears, more tension in their eyes/face—and when they do jump, will be more inclined to have more frantic paw movements at first, press their body into yours, and look over to what they're having feelings about." She added: "A dog who's jumping up as a testing behavior may initially show appeasement behavior, then will grow stiffer and often start sniffing the person's face and/or giving test licks after jumping up." Daly said it is common for pet owners to miss a dog's shift in body language. "For instance, a dog who's unsure about an interaction that they're having with a person may initially walk towards their owner with loose body language that looks like they want affection," she said. "Then when they jump up, the dog starts to look over to the person of concern and then starts licking their owner's face."

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In her experience, this can often be interpreted as a show of affection, when actually the dog is trying to say "hey, I need help." The crucial thing to understand in all of this, according to Daly, is that just because a dog jumps up doesn't mean they want to say hello or engage. "I see this a lot with dogs who aren't fully comfortable with people and like to use jumping up as a testing technique to gain more information about a person," she said. "The dogs may look 'excited' to see a person, but are actually just throwing appeasement signals to indicate they don't want conflict and aren't feeling fully comfortable." Ultimately, the best way of understanding how your own dog feels is through what Daly describes as "consent tests." She said: " If you're not sure what your dog is communicating, test out petting them or comforting them etc. and observe how they respond. Dogs are pretty good at letting us know when we get it right." Do you have funny and adorable videos or pictures of your pet you want to share? Send them to life@newsweek.com with some details about your best friend, and they could appear in our Pet of the Week lineup.