The majority of dogs will show a tendency to jump up on people. How often they jump up will vary from breed to breed and dog to dog. Some dog trainers think that the dog who is jumping just wants to get close to the person's face and the intent is not to attack or scare but to interact with the person.

One of the ways to deal with a dog jumping up is to bend down and meet the dog on its level. Allow the dog to investigate your face, but be aware of the dog and watch out for aggressive behaviour. It can happen that a dog will bite a person who bends down so it is important to pay attention.

Further more if your dog is from a shelter or is unpredictable your should take the necessary precautions when meeting the dog on its level. A collar should be put on the dog and a firm grip on it, this will allow for control over the dog at all times just in case it gets agressive.

When restraining a dog that has become agressive try not to pull backwards on the collar, the reason for this is because a dogs neck muscles are strong but the throat gets bruised very easily.

Off the leash dog training can also work to stopping jumping, but before trying the off leash approach be sure to work on the sit and stay command just incase. So if the dog tries to jump up on someone then you can use the sit command to stop the behaviour.

Normally your can see tension in the dogs body before they are about to jump, so that would be a good time to use the sit command to prevent then from jumping. If the dog jumps anyway then lift your knee and allow the dog to jump into your knee, this won't hurt the dog but it won't feel nice.

The point of raising your knee into the jumping dog is not to hurt the dog, but is to put the dog off balance and discourage repeat behaviour of jumping.

If you have another person you can work with, leash training could be useful in more severe cases. As the dog begins to jump, have the other person jerk sideways as you say the off command. You should give the command, not the other person. You need the dog to focus on and obey you.

You can still use the leash training without another person but it makes pulling on the leash and issuing the commands more difficult.

Another technique you can use is positive reinforcement. Use a dog treat and hold it out and slightly behind the dogs head when it jumps, and this will distract the dog from jumping on you. Follow this up with a sit and stay command to encourage the dog to sit and stay on command.

The key to stop a dog from jumping is repetition and consistency. You have to be patient and consistent with the dog and in time it will learn to suppress its natural instincts.