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Dear Yvette

Please help. Our dog Scruff jumps on people. It was cute when he was young, but now he weighs over 60 pounds and it hurts. We are worried he will hurt someone. Even if he doesn't, it makes for unpleasant interactions with visitors.

Helga

Young puppies who jump are hard for most people resist. Many people give into the temptation to pet a bouncing pup. Even when owners want to start out right, friends coo in delight. Training can be undermined with a chorus of, “I don't mind if he jumps.”

Time passes and the puppy grows up. As the size of the animal increases, the voices change. Owners get an earful of, “You should really do something about that.”

In order to be successful, the owner needs to set the boundaries from day one. This means that jumping must not result in attention.

This can be difficult. Not all rewards are clearly defined. Some body strong animals enjoy wrestling. The simple act of pushing at the animal can result in a wrestling match the dog may enjoy. Despite mounting frustration on the part of the owner, the dog is still being reinforced.

In order to avoid this problem, new puppy owners need prevent problems. Training programs need to encourage behavior that is expected from an adult animal. No matter how cute a puppy is, it is far easier to teach polite greetings from day one.

Adult dogs can learn to sit for visits, but the task requires consistency. The animal is not at fault if his behavior is being rewarded. The dog has simply gotten bigger. It is the owner's rules that changed.

Owners must also find their voice. When friends and family reward unacceptable behavior, someone needs to step in. You need to find a way to politely end it.

Finally, owners must take control of the situation. It is not difficult to teach a dog to sit when home alone. Behaving around distractions is something that needs to be practiced.

Some owners make the mistake of loosing focus when distractions happen. High levels of training occur when nothing of interest is happening. Then, as friends approach, the owner sets training aside. Conversations and pleasantries overshadow the behavior of the dog.

The dog begins to jump and the owner steps in frustrated and embarrassed. Instead of acting, the owner reacts. Good behavior was ignored. Ultimately, the dog learns that obnoxious behaviour successfully gets attention.

When working on polite visits, keep control of the entire situation. Ask your dog for a sit – stay long before they begin to jump. This increases the chance of success. Make sure the animal is on leash if required.

If visitors are undermining the training, speak up. End unwanted reinforcements. Ask visitors for a moment to settle your dog. Most people are happy to help you create a well manner pet.

Reward your dog for doing the right thing and continue to reward them. The end result of staying focused on training is well worth the effort.

Yvette is an award winning pet writer and pet behavior columnist. She also is the author of Meeting Milo, a North American dog bite prevention program to reduce the approximately 2 million children bit by dogs annually. She is the owner of AwesomeDogs.ca and works as a behavior consultant in London, Ontario.

This column was originally featured in The Londoner
See more of Yvette... www.awesomedogs.ca
www.meetingmilo.com

Yvette has 2 dogs of her own, KIKI and KAYA. Take a look...

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