posted 09-24-2003 05:59 AM         

jumping up can be dangerous as well as annoying. just as many owners are sued for their jumping puppy/dogs as their biting dogs. young children and elderly people can easily be toppled over and seriously injured by exuberant, friendly puppy/dogs. start now to teach your puppy not to jump up. even little dogs can cause problems and injury to themselves and others when they leap and jump around.

HOW DOES A PUPPY/DOG LEARN TO JUMP?
a puppy/dog that jumps always starts to do this when it is very young and cute. you don’t mind that a small puppy jumps on you because it is so cute when it does so. the little bundle of fur stands on your leg and whines to get attention when you get home from work or you pat your leg to encourage it to stand up on you. the puppy/dog wants to get closer to your face to greet you and you are teaching the puppy/dog to jump on you by petting it and giving it a reward. never pet a puppy/dog that does not have all four feet on the ground!

HOW TO CORRECT A JUMPING PUPPY/DOG.
the best way to correct a jumping puppy/dog is to teach it the “sit-stay” command. when a puppy/dog is sitting it cannot jump on you or others. be firm but do not strike, push or stand on the back toes of the puppy/dog! never raise your knee and hit the dog in the breast-bone. this has been known to break the breast-bone and kill the puppy/dog. yelling or screaming at the puppy/dog to get “off” won’t work either. yelling and screaming at an animal only causes fear and confusion. use a firm, not loud voice. when the puppy/dog goes to jump on you say “off” in a firm voice and give the collar a slight downward tug. when all four feet are on the ground praise the puppy/dog immediately. if the puppy/dog is running toward you tell it to “sit” before you pet it. remember that a puppy/dog that is in the sit position can’t jump up. if it still wants to jump on you from a run or simply standing in place, take a step backward so it’s paws will have nothing to land on. praise when all four feet are on the ground. if your puppy/dog is determined to jump on you use a squirt bottle filled with water to spray the puppy/dog in the face with as you say “off”. however, if your dog loves water this might not work! the command of “off” means just that. get off of a person, table or whatever it is on that it is not supposed to be on. as with all commands make sure you sound like you mean it and don’t forget to praise. keep your praise low-key so you don’t excite the puppy/dog and make it want to jump again. never under any circumstances let a puppy/dog jump on anyone no matter what they say. show your friends and family how to correct the puppy/dog and make sure that they do it. a puppy/dog is either allowed to jump on you and others or not jump. there is no middle ground. if it is allowed to jump on you then it will think it can jump on everyone. do not let the dog jump.