Poodle Behavior & Temperament Guide

Poodles are amazing dogs. When you combine their high intelligence with their nonshedding coat, they can truly be an asset to any home that has the time for them. But young poodles can be a handful due to their high energy and need for exercise, and they can really jump, which can pose its own challenges. So, how high can a poodle jump? It depends on several factors, but given the right set of circumstances, a poodle is capable of jumping about as high as it can stand on its back legs. This means that bigger standard poodles are capable of jumping a 6-foot fence if the circumstances are right. You can see how this might present some problems with your pet poodle either jumping out of your yard or even just jumping on you if it gets too excited. Do Poodles Like to Jump? Poodles, in general, aren’t more prone to jumping than any other dog, and those that tend to jump can be trained out of any unwanted behaviors. That being said, it is not as if poodles hate jumping or avoid it. There are circumstances when a poodle can be motivated to jump, whether it is the human companion's wish or not. Here are some times when a poodle might like to jump: A poodle puppy will be more likely to jump than an older poodle, just like in most other dog breeds. Some poodles are just bouncy dogs with active excitable personalities, and this could continue on into adulthood. You may find that your poodle is very playful, even as an adult. It is more likely that poodles with this personality will jump on people, which is generally seen as a negative behavior. Some poodles are trained to jump for agility courses and other canine competitions. Poodles are usually more than happy to jump in this setting when properly trained to do so. It is very unlikely that a poodle with this kind of training would jump on people or over a backyard fence because they understand the time and place for jumping. As they grow older, poodles will grow out of the bouncy nature of puppies, and as they reach their senior years, they may not enjoy jumping like they used to. Sometimes this is just due to aging, but health conditions can also impact a poodle's ability to jump as well as their energy levels. Will Poodles Jump during Agility Courses? Many agility courses have jumping obstacles, and these obstacles are a real challenge for some dog breeds to overcome. Some dog breeds simply aren’t great jumpers, or they tend to be more fearful of jumping. This is rarely the case with a poodle. Poodles can excel at agility courses because, for the most part, they live to please their owners. They are a social and friendly breed. Poodles are also highly intelligent, coming in right behind the border collie for the world’s smartest breeds. This intelligent nature can make them easy to train, which also makes them great dogs for competitions. If your poodle loves to jump and is very active, then it will be capable of running an agility course, and it will enjoy it as well. Is running and agility something your poodle would do just for fun? Probably not, but if it is something you enjoy doing, your poodle may enjoy doing it with you, just to spend time with you, make you happy, and get an opportunity to expend some energy. How to Prevent a Poodle From Jumping Your Fence Poodles, like any dog, can be motivated to jump a fence by things that are outside of your control. It may be to chase a squirrel or to play with another dog or because they’re bored, but no matter the reason, poodles are capable of jumping the fence and getting out of your yard, if you’re not careful. If your major concern is whether your dog will jump out of your backyard, then I have some tips for you! Get a high fence. Install a 6-foot wooden fence, if possible, unless you have a smaller breed of poodle. Avoid chain link fencing. Chain link is best to avoid with certain dog breeds, poodles included, as they can use the chain link to climb rather than jump. Don’t leave your dog unsupervised. Since there are people in this world who are absolutely willing to steal an animal, it is best not to leave a dog unsupervised in a backyard anyways, no matter how small your trip into town is. Train your poodle not to touch the fence. Teach your poodle not to even put their paws on a fence and by never leaving them in the backyard when you are leaving the home. Their desire to be with you may be strong enough to override any training you have given them. Give your poodle a way to get back to you. If you do decide to opt for a fenced-in yard, it is best to leave a way for your poodle to be able to be with you should it choose to. Poodles are highly emotional and can suffer from separation anxiety if left alone of separated from you. This can cause them to jump even a 6-foot fence or find a way to climb high enough to get over it. What Does It Mean When Your Poodle Jumps on You? Dogs may jump on you or your guests for a variety of reasons; poodles are no exception. Typically, a poodle will jump up on people out of excitement or as a way of greeting you or your guests. While poodle jumping can be entirely good-natured, it can become a bad habit and may frighten guests unaware of this behavior. Common reasons: a poodle may jump on you include: 1. To Greet You You may notice your poodle jumps on you more when you’ve just returned home from work or from a vacation. This is your poodle’s way of greeting you and being close to you. The jumping motion comes from excitement and shouldn’t be perceived as threatening in any way. You may also notice your poodle greeting guests in a similar way. 2. As a Call for Attention If you’ve found yourself to be particularly busy throughout the day, your poodle may jump and paw at you. This is because he feels as though he hasn’t received enough attention from you, or he’s bored. Jumping for attention is a very bad habit that should be broken as soon as possible. The most common way to do so is by withholding your attention when your poodle behaves inappropriately by jumping. 3. To Show Dominance If your poodle tends to get nervous around guests, he may be jumping on them as a sign of dominance. Dogs often show dominance by jumping on other dogs or standing and laying on top of them. If you notice your poodle is on edge when guests come over, jumping could be his way of telling your guest, “this is my house!” Breaking this habit can be harder than simply training your poodle not to jump in the first place. https://youtu.be/kew8LJJorm4 Are Poodles More Prone to Jumping Than Other Dogs? Poodles are not more prone to jump than other dogs. poodles jump on people when excited, stimulated, or as a show of dominance. While poodles of all ages can show a tendency to jump, older poodles are far less likely to jump than younger counterparts. Like other dogs, poodles may jump on you and your guests when they’re excited or stimulated. While it may seem as though poodles are more prone to jumping than other dogs, they actually aren’t! The main difference is the poodle’s ability to jump to impressive heights, which may come across as a greater tendency to jump in general. Aside from training your dog not to jump on people, you may wish to train him not to jump at all. Because poodles are capable of jumping to such great heights, keeping your dog in a fenced yard can prove to be a difficult process. Poodles are capable of jumping over a six-foot-tall fence! How often your poodle jumps also depends on his age. Older poodles are far less likely to jump than younger poodles, as they no longer have the same strength and agility as they once did. Therefore, you may not have to train your dog not to jump if you adopt a senior poodle! You may find that he naturally stays on the ground. Training a Poodle Not to Jump on People Poodles are just high-energy. They like to jump on and over everything, including people and fences. Your Poodle may need a little extra training so that people around them can feel safe and comfortable. Jumping on Visitors Jumping on visitors can be an issue for Poodles. However, there are some simple but effective ways to stop your Poodle from jumping. Follow these easy steps to prevent your Poodle from jumping on people: DO: Have visitors turn away from jumping dogs Reward only when jumping stops, when they are standing or sitting DON’T: Reward bad behavior Give treats until the behavior is acceptable Remember, even eye contact can indicate a reward. So like Cesar Milan says, “No look, no touch, no speak.” To show disapproval means ignoring, in a sense, as you are not acknowledging bad behavior. Any type of acknowledgment can be seen as a reward. A great behavioral training course can really help when training your dog not to jump up on visitors. I found a fantastic training system called Brain Training for Dogs. I really liked the private member’s area where I was able to connect with other dog owners to get solutions to issues I had with his training. If you need any behavioral training at all for your dog, I would highly recommend this course! Check it out here Jumping on You Poodles can get excited about things like mealtimes, especially if you feed them homemade food as they don’t know what to expect other than it will be tasty. To prevent this kind of excitable jumping is similar to jumping on strangers, but you do have a bit more control in the training. DO: Reward good behavior. Keep things consistent. Make them sit for their food. Slowly extend the time from 3 seconds to up to a minute. DON’T: Quit halfway through the training. Make the rules flexible. Consistency is key. Get lazy when training. A missed opportunity could confuse your poodle and make training harder. A Few Things to Keep In Mind Whether your poodle is high energy and loves jumping, and you are trying to curb that behavior, or you’d like to train your poodle to jump as high as it can for a competition, the solution to your poodle jumping woes is in training. Poodles are intelligent, friendly, loyal canine companions, and they can be trained with a little effort on your part to jump or not, depending on what you’re after.