When I bought my first dog I had a very clear picture in my head of how I wanted my dog to behave. Probably the biggest criteria I had set for this dog was no jumping and not on the furniture. From the day Yukon came home he was rewarded for jumping up and immediately taken off the furniture. It worked, as an adult dog he didn't jump and didn't get on the furniture until later in his life with a lot of convincing.
My last dog was allowed to jump on anyone and everyone and sleeps on the bed or couch all the time.
Neither of these dogs are badly behaved they are just products of what I have allowed. My life is not the same as it was 20 years ago when Yukon came into the picture. Now my life is all about dogs and most of the people that come into my house are the type of people that not only allow the jumping but enjoy and encourage it.
The problem is when you want dog A some of the time but some of the time you allow dog B. Your dog doesn't understand that he is allowed to jump on your friend coming over but when your mother-in-law walks in he should remain calm and never allow his feet to leave the ground. He doesn't understand that it is perfectly OK to sit on someones lap when they are sitting on the couch and put his tongue in their ear sometime but not when it is the mortgage broker or insurance salesman.
Whenever I am in the situation that I want dog A, I think maybe I will work on this with the next dog or even retrain dog B (much harder to do than if done right at the beginning) to control himself with company. Then I have someone come over who so appreciates and enjoys the tongue in the ear and I think no he is fine the way he is.
My solution for now is management. I don't want to correct a dog for behaviour I have allowed on a regular basis. Instead I can keep them on leash or put them behind a gate or in a crate. This prevents the behaviour when it isn't acceptable and still allows them to love up the company when it is.
My last dog was allowed to jump on anyone and everyone and sleeps on the bed or couch all the time.
Neither of these dogs are badly behaved they are just products of what I have allowed. My life is not the same as it was 20 years ago when Yukon came into the picture. Now my life is all about dogs and most of the people that come into my house are the type of people that not only allow the jumping but enjoy and encourage it.
The problem is when you want dog A some of the time but some of the time you allow dog B. Your dog doesn't understand that he is allowed to jump on your friend coming over but when your mother-in-law walks in he should remain calm and never allow his feet to leave the ground. He doesn't understand that it is perfectly OK to sit on someones lap when they are sitting on the couch and put his tongue in their ear sometime but not when it is the mortgage broker or insurance salesman.
Whenever I am in the situation that I want dog A, I think maybe I will work on this with the next dog or even retrain dog B (much harder to do than if done right at the beginning) to control himself with company. Then I have someone come over who so appreciates and enjoys the tongue in the ear and I think no he is fine the way he is.
My solution for now is management. I don't want to correct a dog for behaviour I have allowed on a regular basis. Instead I can keep them on leash or put them behind a gate or in a crate. This prevents the behaviour when it isn't acceptable and still allows them to love up the company when it is.
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