teaching off/not to jump

Question
We have a 6 1/2 month old australian shepherd mix - male.  He is a very good dog...a little shy, but great dog.  He loves to jump on people when they come home or someone comes to our house...he will be doubling in size, I'm sure and I do not want this to happen.  We have been trying to get the kids (4, 6, and 7) to make him sit before they pet him (hopefully approaching "sit on approach").  They are quite inconsistent, but he does much better with us.  A friend, who trains shelter dogs, taught me "off" with a leash correction.  This worked well and almost immediately for the shelter dogs we practiced on.  Would this correction be appropriate for our puppy?  Do you have any other suggestion to teach our puppy "off"?  Thanks for your help!

Answer
Dear Anne,
Thanks for he interesting question. First, attach a leash on him and never let him practice jumping up.

Personally, I rarely teach clients how to teach dogs "not-to-jump" via leash corrections. There are too many variables and too many situations in which leash corrections fail miserably.

You personally may be able to effectively teach a specific dog not to jump on you. You may be able to teach that dog not to jump on anyone as long as a leash is attached and you are nearby.

How does that translate to 'no-jumping' when no leash is attached, when your arms are full of groceries(or kids), when your great great grandmother approaches on a walker?

In addition, some dogs start mouthing the leash or learn to avoid 'having a leash attached' or simply avoid the trainer altogether.

Success depends on the handler's motor skills and timing, the dog's level of motivation, the dog's size, et cetera.

Let's say you succeed and the dog doesn't jump up on anyone anymore. Now there is a void. What is that dog going to do instead of jumping? You still haven't taught the dog which behavior is acceptable in that situation. He may bark, nip and grab clothing/shoes, mount their leg or any number of other obnoxious behaviors.

You could spend days 'leash correcting' all the wrong choices when in fact, you could focus on teaching the dog to sit or spin or fetch or roll over or shake or any other specific behavior that would be helpful in many other situations.

I prefer to teach dogs an alternate acceptable behavior to perform in whatever situation that causes them to jump. In the interim, I use a leash as a short-term interrupter to prevent/interrupt the behavior by having my foot on the leash.  

Visit http://www.howsbentley.com to get free instructions about Jumping Up.

Happy Training!
AT