If you observe any group of dogs that are happy to be in each others company, you will find one or two dogs that will try and lick the mouth of another dog. This is simply an inherited trait and is totally natural, but when the pup relates this to his human pack members, it needs to be brought under control and this can be achieved through dog obedience training.
A puppy jumps up for one simple reason. To lick your face. Face licking is a puppy’s way of showing it is subservient to you. You are seen as a part of the pups pack and you hold a position higher in the pecking order.
To reach your face it obviously has to try and jump up. And it is here that we need to start doing some basic obedience training to show the dog that (a) it is not necessary to lick your face and (b) there is no need to jump up on people.
Using the click and treat system we need to click and reward the dog for sitting down quietly when we sit down near them.
We start this obedience training exercise by sitting down on the ground or on a low stool with the pup close by. Do not let the pup near your face by using your hand to hold him off, the pup will eventually stop and sit. Immediately click and reward.
If the pup gets bored and wanders off, call him back and have a tug game with him. Put the toy away(up your shirt or behind your back or on a nearby shelf). He will try and jump on you to find the toy. Hold him off and wait for him to sit. Click and treat and have a game.
When he gets up, keep him off you until he sits. Click and treat. Keep repeating this until he understands that when you sit down he will get a reward when he sits down too.
The secret is to be totally consistent at ALL times.
It is not going to help the pup to understand what you expect when you allow him to jump all over you one minute but then want him sitting down quietly the next. When you are having your game with him, make sure you keep him from jumping on you.
A similar training programme will stop him jumping on you when you are standing up. When he starts jumping up, put a hand out and push him down. Keep pushing him down until he sits. Click and reward and keep repeating until he stops jumping.
If you use the flat hand, horizontal to the floor to push the dog down, this will, in the dog’s eyes, transfer into a solid hand signal that tells the dog “STOP NO JUMPING UP”.
Having shown the dog that jumping up on you is unacceptable, you need to now train him that jumping up on strangers is also not acceptable.
You can in list the help of friends here and ask them to come to your front door. When he starts jumping up to say hello, you use your flat hand signal and push him down. Keep this up until he sits – click, reward and repeat.
Taking this method of dog obedience training to the dog club or a dog park, you can now stop your dog jumping up on strangers and you will start receiving compliments on how well trained and obedient your dog is.
Author Resource:
Nev Allen is a dog trainer with 30 years of experience and he is now sharing this experience to help you make your puppy a good, happy and well trained obedient dog. Visit my blog for more detailed dog obedience training and clicker training articles. http:www.dogobediencetrainingblogs.com
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