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Jumping is a behavior problem that any professional dog trainer can solve in a matter of minutes. In Part One I elaborated on several fad techniques which are often recommended but seldom work. In this article I will cover several methods of correcting the “jumping problem” which professional dog trainers use and the secrets that get results! The secrets used to get results are consistency and the proper application of the technique.

     Technique: The “knee to the chest” trick.  The conventional application of this technique suggests that as the dog jumps up; quickly bring your knee into the dog’s chest.  In theory, your dog will receive a negative motivator for jumping  and won’t want to jump anymore.  When the conventional application of this technique DOESN’T WORK it is due to improper application.  As you bring your knee up, it must hit the dog’s chest squarely in the center, making a hollow “thud” sound instead of pivoting to the side or leaning in to your dog.

     Correct application of this technique will mean that you will be giving the dog the same type of knee to chest that you would on a soccer ball.  If the correction isn’t motivational this technique will most often not work.

     Next, lean back and tap your chest while you tempt the dog to jump again.  This is the most important part.  You want your dog to think for himself that it is better to sit and receive praise than to jump up and get a correction.  If the correction is motivational, you’ll only have to repeat it three or four times.  For best results, have another person perform this technique on your dog.  Do this at the park, in the house, in the back yard and on the street.  Anywhere you can create a situation where you think your dog might jump, use it as a training opportunity.

     An interesting by-product of this technique – you will notice that your dog will probably start sitting and looking straight up at you.  He sees this as an alternate method of getting your attention.  When your dog does this praise him.  Soon, anytime he wants attention, he’ll make the choice to sit like a gentleman until given praise.

     Alternative technique:  The “snap the leash downward” trick.   The conventional application of this technique suggests that as the dog jumps up, quickly say “NO!” and snap the leash downwards.  When the conventional application of this technique DOESN’T WORK it is because the correction wasn’t motivational.

      If a police officer gave you a ticket for speeding at 145 MPH, but the ticket cost $2.00, you’d be given a correction – but the correction would have no meaning.  In short, if you don’t get results with this technique, it’s probably because your corrections aren’t motivational.  A professional trainers’ application of this technique would be to do whatever you have to do to make the correction motivational.  If you administer a leash correction, and immediately tempt the dog to jump, and he does, then you can be sure your correction wasn’t motivational.

Alternative technique:  The “grab the dogs’ toes and pinch as he jumps up” trick.  This trick is popular with many trainers.  However, as with the other techniques we have covered, it is important that the correction is motivational.  For many dog owners, I have found that it is very difficult to give a motivational correction using this technique.  With any of the techniques that we have discussed, it is very important to be consistent all the time and be certain that whatever correction you give to your dog is motivational. If your dog persists in jumping, your corrections are not motivational.