Welcome back to the ACI Newsletter. In our Summer 2002 edition, we'll cover how to prevent your dog from jumping up on people, teaching the "speak" and "quiet" commands, some tips on how to review your obedience, and a quick training treat made out of chicken bologna.

Please send your favorite treat recipes, stories, pictures or contributions to our editor at
editor@dogskool.com. We really enjoy getting feedback from our readers.

Jumping on visitors is a common problem, especially with active dogs who are playful and like people. Jumping, barking and racing around the house turns into a game they play every time someone comes through the door. These dogs thrive on attention and some of the techniques suggested for getting them to stop jumping may actually make the situation worse by giving the dog more attention. Saying "No," yelling at the dog, or trying to push him back down are really ways of giving the dog more attention and may encourage the dog to try harder. Even if your dog obeys commands most of the time, the prospect of meeting someone new may just be too overwhelming, so commands like "off" or "down" may be ignored.

For decades it was believed that the only way to prevent your dog from jumping up on people was to jam a knee into his chest or to step on his back toes. This treatment is cruel and unnecessary, but several positive alternatives exist. Many dogs jump up because their owners have taught them, perhaps inadvertently, that this behavior is okay. By offering any physical contact, like petting or even pushing the dog off, the dogs interpret it as praise or rough play, which they like.

Here are some of the most common reasons for this behavior:

Canine Greeting - Dogs want to greet you at face level. As puppies, they jump up at their mothers and lick her face to get attention. When you leave your dog at home for a long period of time, he will be very excited to see you upon your return. This is especially common with nervous dogs.

Pack Position - Some dogs will use jumping up as a way to test you to see if their position in the group is dominant or subordinate to yours.

Your voice - If you talk to your dog in a high-pitched tone, he will likely respond excitedly and jump up to get closer to you.

Affection - If they are encouraged to jump up as puppies by new owners who enjoy the expression of affection, the behavior will continue when they become adult dogs.

Playtime - If they are taught to jump during playtime to catch balls and other objects, or when they are offered handfed treats as rewards, they are encouraged to jump in other situations. Watch dogs playing together; they love rough contact.

The first step to teaching any behavior is to help the dog discover how to get the reward on their own. We use the bad behavior in training to teach the dog difference between the two behaviors, so the... (continued next page)

A door is what a dog is perpetually on the wrong side of.
      - Ogden Nash

Online training advice is a very sticky area, since every dog, owner and situation is different. Everything written in the ACI News merely offers suggestions to get dog owners thinking. We encourage all dog owners to take obedience classes, talk to their vets, and work with professional trainers so that their relationships with their dogs can be everything they should be.