CANINE
Donna Savoie details a fun protocol to make sure puppies learn the important life lesson of not jumping up on visitors
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Ready to launch: puppies can be easily trained not to jump on guests
© Can Stock Photo/Colecanstock
ho doesn’t LOVE a puppy? And it is wonderful when puppies LOVE their owners’ guests. But it is also important to start teaching puppies not to jump up on guests sooner rather than later. Guests inevitably say “I don’t mind” whilst petting an exuberant jumping puppy but this strongly reinforces the jumping behavior at a very early age. Jumping up can be especially problematic later when the dog is fully-grown. The following training protocol will help the owner manage both the puppy and guest, and successfully teach the puppy that all good things happen to those who keep four on the floor. By using kibble, treats or other types of food or toys, owners can successfully teach their puppy to move away from a person or people who are entering the home. This gives owners time to manage the environment and train the puppy to not jump on people while simultaneously training him to pay attention to them. Owners can use ‘move away’ training any time they want to encourage their pup to move away from another person to prevent jumping and to reinforce four on the floor. Using the following directions, guests coming into the home will no longer be jumped on as the owner tosses food or toys to encourage the puppy to move away from them. The owner will also successfully prevent the guest from rewarding any jumping behavior. This technique starts out using a lure and it successfully teaches the puppy to keep four on the floor, to move the other way and that good things happen when people enter the house. At the same time, the puppy learns that fun games happen when guests come. Caveat: it is necessary to use a toy or treat that is of a “higher value” than that of the guests. So if the puppy is über friendly and absolutely delighted that guests have come to visit, owners may need to toss a very high-value food such as hot dogs or even pork roast, or perhaps the pup’s very favorite ball or tug toy. They will need
BARKS from the Guild/January 2015
to be prepared to toss more than one time, as it may take the puppy several repetitions of scurrying away and returning to them before calming down. If there is no food or toy that is more enticing to the puppy than guests, owners can use an xpen to prevent the puppy from getting to the guest, thus making the owners and everything that is fabulous about them the only thing available to him.
Four on the Floor: How It’s Done
Four on the floor in action
© Can Stock Photo/feedough
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Four on the Floor
1. Be prepared! Does the owner know that guests are coming? The treats should be prepared and stashed in a convenient location. 2. If the owners frequently have guests coming to the home unannounced, they will need to have food or toys available at the entrance door at all times, secretly stashed. Training happens through consistency. 3. Have a goal. Generally the goal is simply for the puppy to not jump on the guest. However, over time the owner can increase the criteria. 4. When the guest knocks on the door the puppy will probably bark and get excited. Owners need to bring the puppy with them to the door and, before opening the door, toss yummy treats or toys away from the door while all four feet are still on the floor. Owners should try to remain calm and not get the puppy more aroused with “who’s here!” or “let’s go answer the door!” 5. As the puppy is scurrying around to find the treats or toys, the owner can open the door and allow the guest in, instructing him or her not to speak to or acknowledge the puppy. When the puppy turns and notices that someone has entered the home, the owner should call his name or make some enticing sounds to get his attention and immediately toss treats again. But it has to be fast. The goal is to avoid the puppy getting to the guest and jumping up. The puppy should then go scurrying away again to find more treats or toys. 6. Repeat this procedure several times until the puppy is scurrying around and then returning to the owner fluidly. The