One Dog Trainer · Steve Holland · What's stressing you?
Jumping works because it gets paid. Sit-to-greet gets the hands. Launching gets nothing. Whole family, same rule.
Last updated Sep 8, 2026
Guest opens the door and gets launched on. A kid gets knocked sideways at the hello. Or every person who walks in turns into a jump contest. Those three stressors on the form above — guests launched on, kids knocked over, every hello a jump — are the same movie. The dog isn’t plotting dominance. The dog found a strategy that gets paid: attention, hands, talk, even a push.
From problems #3: dogs greet face-to-face. Jumping works because most people pay it with attention — pet, push, talk, yell. All of that is still contact. From article/jumping-up: a push-down often reads as play, not “stop.” Not spite, not an alpha power play — just a behavior that keeps getting paid. One family rule beats a three-grand board-and-train for households that will actually run turn-and-freeze and pay calm every guest.
You don’t need a weekend seminar. You need one clean first move in the next ten minutes — then the same rule every human, every hello.
From problems #3 and the article: the moment all four paws leave the ground, turn your back completely. Fold your arms. No eye contact. No talking. No “off.” No push. Be a still, silent, turned-away shape. The dog may bark, paw, jump higher, grab clothes — you stay a tree. The instant all four paws return to the floor, turn around and calmly reward.
Calm praise, a treat, or a touch — only when all paws are down. You’re marking paws-on-the-floor, not paws-on-the-shirt. Four on the floor gets the touch. Launching gets nothing. That’s the whole Steve-ism on this page.
Once jumping produces nothing, give the dog a job. Sit-to-greet is the classic: sit earns the hands. Or send the dog to place / bed when the door opens — the go-to-bed substitute already on problems #3 and #50. SIA #03 paid unlock voice: sit-to-greet, one deep “no,” place reset, pay calm not chaos. Dogs with a greeting job don’t have time to launch.
From problems #50: when guests come in, they completely ignore the dog until all four paws are on the floor and the dog is calm. Ask guests ahead of time. One person who immediately pets the launcher teaches the dog that excitement works — and undoes the family rule. Leash or a second barrier at the door until the pattern sticks is management, not failure.
Same rule for every human — no “he’s friendly” exception that pets the launcher. Leash or baby gate at the door until sit-to-greet or place sticks. Teach kids Be a Tree (stand still, arms folded, look down, quiet) from the dog safety for kids guide. No running toward a launching dog. Protect the kid; teach what earns a hello. Don’t invent knock-down volumes — use that page’s approved copy.
Doorbell, knock, new smells, everyone in the house lighting up — problems #50 calls it a perfect storm of stimulation. Place (go to bed) practiced around doorbells and knocks before real guests is how you win. Guest script stays the same: ignore until four paws down and calm. Door chaos and hallway launches are one game with two costumes.
Growling, hard eyes, stiff body, or injuring people on landing? Stop DIY and call for guided help — 707-895-5859. Sudden onset or an older dog whose landing or posture changed? Vet rule-out first — pain can change how a dog greets and lands. That frame is already on article/jumping-up; no invented clinical rates here. Soft mouth, wiggly body, open happy face? You’re usually in the four-on-the-floor training lane.
Turn and freeze the second paws leave the floor. Pay four on the floor. Install sit-to-greet or place as the door job. Tell guests to ignore until calm. One soft greeter undoes the work — whole family, same rule.
Because contact pays the jump. Push, pet, talk, yell — the dog got an interaction. From the dog’s side, a push-down often reads as play, not “stop.” Remove the payoff; pay calm feet instead.
Make sit (or place) the only way hands arrive. Practice with calm approaches before real guest chaos. Manage kids with a leash or barrier at the door; teach Be a Tree so nobody runs into a launch. Sit-to-greet gets the hands. Launching gets nothing.
Turn your back and freeze the second paws leave the floor. No eye contact, no talk, no push. Pay four on the floor. Ask guests to ignore until calm. Add sit-to-greet or place as the door job — then stack the $15/week video for the weekly reps.
No. Pushing down is contact, and contact pays the jump. Problems #3 and the jumping-up article are blunt: no pushing down. Turn and freeze instead, then reward when all four paws are back on the floor.
First make jumping produce nothing. Then pay a sit (or place) before hands arrive. Practice with calm helpers. At the real door, sit or place earns the hello — launching earns a turned back. SIA #03 voice: sit-to-greet, one deep “no,” place reset, pay calm not chaos.
Same family rule — no special kid exception that pets the launcher. Leash or barrier at the door until the pattern sticks. Teach kids Be a Tree from the dog-safety-for-kids page. Pay sit-to-greet; don’t pay the launch. Supervise every hello.
Starter is $15/week for 52 weeks — choose-your-videos, one video a week. Cancel-any-week is not on Starter. Need one clip? $50 one video. Full library? $250 all 50. Prefer a human? Talk to Lucy or call 707-895-5859. Supporting watch: SIA #03 jumping. Depth stays on jumping-up. Related: nipping, barking. Back to the homepage doors. CTA stays on this URL — no bounce to /problems or /start.