Teaching Your Dog Etiquette

"Get off me you ignorant oaf!" is a common phrase people shout out in frustration. To avoid this aggravation that your pet dog gives you, training your dog is an essential step for your mutual understanding.

The reason puppies and older dogs jump on people is obvious – they are excited and happy to see them. Many people are reluctant to discourage this exuberant behavior, but it is important to redirect that happiness and energy in other ways. Many well-meaning owners, family members and friends inadvertently encourage this jumping up behavior by picking the puppy up, kissing it or otherwise providing encouragement.

This type of inconsistency is anathema to proper dog training. In order for the dog to be trained not to jump, every member of the family must recognize and accept the importance of the training. If one member of the family allows the dog to jump up while other family members do not, the dog will understandably become confused and frustrated. The training must be firm, kind and consistent in order to be effective.

One way to redirect the dog's happiness is to teach him to lift his paw when greeting you. This "shaking hands" posture is an acceptable way for the dog to show his happiness and his respect. Many people even teach their dogs to do simple tricks, like rolling over, instead of jumping on people.

A responsible dog owner would never dream of allowing his or her dog to roam the neighborhood freely. Allowing a dog to roam on its own is irresponsible, dangerous and probably even illegal. Most towns have ordinances that prohibit dogs from being allowed to roam around free. You could be in legal trouble if your dog is found wandering the neighborhood unattended.

Of course sometimes that wandering dog is not the owner's idea, and many dogs perform amazing feats of escape when left on their own. It is much easier to prevent escapes than to recapture a loose dog, so let's talk about some preventative measures every dog owner can take.

Removing the motivation to escape is a big part of the solution. A bored dog is much more likely to spend his day plotting the great escape. A dog that is surrounded by everything he or she needs, like lots of toys, a soft bed, and plenty of fresh clean, water, is more likely to spend his or her day contentedly sleeping or playing with toys until the owner returns.

In addition, a dog with lots of pent up, unused energy is likely to try to escape. Try incorporating several vigorous play sessions with your dog into your daily routine.  Make one of those play sessions right before you leave. If your dog has a chance to work off his or her energy, he or she will sleep or relax much of the day.

This all won't work if you don't have those fences to keep him in the yard. Don't place anything near the fences either as your dog could jump on it then over the fence.