Jumping on things is one of the most preferred things to do of Yorkshire terriers. Jumping on things could be the way how Yorkshire terriers show their excitement and extra enthusiasm, but it also can be the way for them to release their extra energy. But it could be harmful in many ways especially when you have young kids and seniors in the household. You certainly don't want the Yorkshire terrier to, for example, jump on your granny or your child.
Why Yorkshire Terriers Jump
In their reality, jumping is a sign of endearment and a way to parlay excitement when someone comes back. Puppies will jump up on their mom when they are young and their mother returns, and as a result, that behavior translates to greeting the master or a new person in the household that excites them. In a number of cases Yorkshire terriers will also jump up to exert dominance over another dog or another person. If you've ever seen a Yorkie jump onto the back of another dog's neck, this is what they are doing 'showing that dog that they are higher-ranking.
Stopping the Jumping
Jumping can be stopped in a number of ways. However, many owners don't utilize the proper techniques, instead giving their Yorkshire terrier attention they don't need and reinforcing that jumping behavior. You should be thinking about this issue like this. If your Yorkie were able to talk, they'd be saying "look at me! Pet me! When they jump on you they are saying "play with me!" When your Yorkie jumps on you and you pay attention to them in some ways, what you are really doing is that you are reinforcing this bad behavior, motivating them to do it again.
When your Yorkie jumps on you, the last thing that you want to do is to grab them away or pet them, since it's ineffective and will only reinforce the behavior. This way they know that all they have to do to receive extra attention is that they need to jump on you. When it comes to yelling or showing anger, you'll only confuse your Yorkie and in some cases, create potentially dangerous situations when a they don't know how to greet a stranger in the house. Showing anger is the worst strategy to manage any issues with your Yorkshire terrier.
Ignoring Your Yorkshire Terrier in a Smart Way
Like many other forms of attention seeking behaviors in Yorkshire terriers, jumping can be solved by ignoring and not paying attention to the Yorkie, no matter how hard it is for you to do. Don't pay attention to them and continue with you do ignoring them completely. Don't talk to them or make any eye contact, or touch, or pet them when you come back home and your Yorkie is jumping on you. This can be very hard to do, and if you have a family, you'll need to lay down strict rules about how to greet the animal, avoiding that anxious, jumping behavior. For many Yorkshire terriers, that early attention can even breed separation anxiety, causing them to react when you leave or come home.
You don't have to ignore your Yorkie for the rest of the day of course, but only until they stop moving in a crazy fashion (jumping, etc.) and relax. After a minute or two of you ignoring them they usually sit or lay down somewhere and now it's a perfect time for you to pet them or otherwise reinforce it, so they know they only can get your attention when they are relaxed and calm. Once they've given you their calm attention, you can reward them softly. Make sure that you don't get them super excited and too active again, just give them a bit of attention and that's about it or they will forget that what you want for them is to be in the relaxed state when you leave or come back home. The goal here is to teach them that your attention will only come when they are calm and patiently waiting for you.
Why Yorkshire Terriers Jump
In their reality, jumping is a sign of endearment and a way to parlay excitement when someone comes back. Puppies will jump up on their mom when they are young and their mother returns, and as a result, that behavior translates to greeting the master or a new person in the household that excites them. In a number of cases Yorkshire terriers will also jump up to exert dominance over another dog or another person. If you've ever seen a Yorkie jump onto the back of another dog's neck, this is what they are doing 'showing that dog that they are higher-ranking.
Stopping the Jumping
Jumping can be stopped in a number of ways. However, many owners don't utilize the proper techniques, instead giving their Yorkshire terrier attention they don't need and reinforcing that jumping behavior. You should be thinking about this issue like this. If your Yorkie were able to talk, they'd be saying "look at me! Pet me! When they jump on you they are saying "play with me!" When your Yorkie jumps on you and you pay attention to them in some ways, what you are really doing is that you are reinforcing this bad behavior, motivating them to do it again.
When your Yorkie jumps on you, the last thing that you want to do is to grab them away or pet them, since it's ineffective and will only reinforce the behavior. This way they know that all they have to do to receive extra attention is that they need to jump on you. When it comes to yelling or showing anger, you'll only confuse your Yorkie and in some cases, create potentially dangerous situations when a they don't know how to greet a stranger in the house. Showing anger is the worst strategy to manage any issues with your Yorkshire terrier.
Ignoring Your Yorkshire Terrier in a Smart Way
Like many other forms of attention seeking behaviors in Yorkshire terriers, jumping can be solved by ignoring and not paying attention to the Yorkie, no matter how hard it is for you to do. Don't pay attention to them and continue with you do ignoring them completely. Don't talk to them or make any eye contact, or touch, or pet them when you come back home and your Yorkie is jumping on you. This can be very hard to do, and if you have a family, you'll need to lay down strict rules about how to greet the animal, avoiding that anxious, jumping behavior. For many Yorkshire terriers, that early attention can even breed separation anxiety, causing them to react when you leave or come home.
You don't have to ignore your Yorkie for the rest of the day of course, but only until they stop moving in a crazy fashion (jumping, etc.) and relax. After a minute or two of you ignoring them they usually sit or lay down somewhere and now it's a perfect time for you to pet them or otherwise reinforce it, so they know they only can get your attention when they are relaxed and calm. Once they've given you their calm attention, you can reward them softly. Make sure that you don't get them super excited and too active again, just give them a bit of attention and that's about it or they will forget that what you want for them is to be in the relaxed state when you leave or come back home. The goal here is to teach them that your attention will only come when they are calm and patiently waiting for you.
About the Author:
If you want to learn about how to train a Yorkie go to how to train a Yorkie. If you want to learn how to potty train a Yorkie puppy go to how to train a Yorkie puppy.
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