How can I train dogs not to jump up on people?
Okay, first, never get aggressive with your dog. Ignore all advice to show “dominance” which requires grabbing collars, hitting or other physical acts. Dogs see this as signs of play and this will only encourage rowdy behavior. Here’s what you do — this is from my wonderful dog trainer: Get a towel, blanket, dog bed or any other surface you know your dogs are able to sit on without chewing on it. Stand with your back to it and throw a few pieces of dog biscuit or smelly, chewy treat onto the surface while still standing in front of it with your back turned, and say, “PLACE!” They will likely run to it and eventually learn to stay there, anticipating treats every time you say the command. Do this when people come over.
Yeah, seconding dilettante’s suggestion. It’s more difficult to get a dog to not do something than it is to get them to do something. We have a golden retriever (photo here) who is more than a little bit rambunctious. He gets crazy excited whenever he sees somebody new – he jumps up all over them, and he runs around their legs maniacally until they’re all tangled up in his leash. We would tell him “No” and “Down”, but he would be so over-excited that he wouldn’t listen. What we found worked was to give him something to do instead of jumping up. We got him to sit, and offer “Shake” or “High-five”, and when he’d do it, immediately reward him with a treat, and lots of extra attention. Something similar would probably be a good idea to try with the dogs you’re looking after, but if their owner doesn’t continue the practice, the dogs will probably lose the habit eventually. (On preview, what RustyBrooks said).
Keep in mind, as spockette said, if the owner doesn’t keep up the training then your progress won’t last. I’ve had dogs my whole life – they always listen to my dad and not to me. So my dogs *can/could* be trained. I have come to firmly believe that “dog training” is in large part training the owner, more so than training the pet.
