The doorbell goes and your 11 month old dog loses the plot. They weigh 60 pounds now, they land at chest height, and your guest says it is fine while brushing mud off their coat.
Nothing here is a badly behaved dog. Arrivals are the hardest 10 seconds of your dog's day: something wonderful appears, and there is nothing rehearsed to do about it.
Why shouting at the door does not help
A dog mid-jump is already above the point where they can think. Attention in that moment is still attention, whether it arrives as a shout, a knee or a hand on the harness.
Punishment-based approaches are associated with fear, avoidance and defensive aggression, and reward-based methods are what the veterinary behaviour guidance recommends. There is a practical problem too. Every guest who greets a jumping dog has paid for the jump.
Manage the door this week, train the greeting in parallel
Behaviour change is built from management plus reinforcement, not one or the other. Management is what stops the rehearsal while the training catches up.
Put a leash on your dog before you open the door, every time, for the next 2 weeks. Leash on a harness in one hand, food in the other.
Or put your dog behind a baby gate with a chew until the guest has taken their coat off and sat down. A dog who does not get to practise jumping is not getting better at it.
Text the guest what to do before they arrive. Stand still, no hello until all 4 feet are on the floor, then crouch rather than lean over.
Tonight: 4 feet on the floor, 8 minutes
You need a household member or a patient neighbour to play visitor. Do not start with a real guest, because a real arrival is too exciting to practise on.
Hold the leash and have your helper walk up and stop 6 feet away. Feed 1 treat at your dog's chest height every 2 seconds while all 4 feet stay on the floor.
Your helper steps 2 feet closer only while the feet are down. If your dog jumps, the helper turns and walks calmly back to 6 feet, without a word.
Do 6 approaches. Ask your helper to say hello only after your dog has held 4 feet down for 5 seconds, and to crouch to do it.
The rule underneath it is simple to state and hard to hold: feet on the floor bring the person closer, jumping sends the person away. 6 clean approaches teach that faster than 20 messy ones.
Train the doorbell separately
The bell is a different problem from the person. Record your doorbell on a phone and play it at low volume from 10 feet away. Scatter 3 treats on a mat before your dog can reach the door.
Do 8 reps with 30 seconds between them. Raise the volume 1 notch once your dog turns toward the mat on 4 of 5 reps. Working below the volume that sets your dog off is the condition for learning here.
Safety note
Jumping is nuisance behaviour. Growling, snapping, stiffening or hard staring at a guest is not, and neither is a dog who is frightened of visitors. Stop, and speak to your veterinarian or a qualified behaviour professional.
What to expect
Your dog will hold 4 feet down for your helper weeks before they manage it for a stranger. That order is normal. Responsiveness to your cues does come back later in adolescence, which is working in your favour. The relative who loves being jumped on is a separate negotiation.
Today's version, in one line: 1 helper, 6 approaches, 8 minutes, leash on.