The "Off" Command

I have mixed feelings with this command. A lot of people will use it to get their dogs to stop jumping. Here is my take on it...I think it's worthless but understand why people would use it-it seems logical to have a command to get them to stop.

When dogs jump, they are excitable and sometimes overwhelming, so to me, jumping is ALWAYS unacceptable regardless of the situation. Therefore, why would you teach them a command that tells them WHEN to stop? By using this command, you are telling the dog that he can always jump UNTIL you say "Off".

The way I deal with it is by saying "NO" accompanied with a correction right when the dog jumps. I do not give a command, he automatically gets a correction to let him know that it's NEVER acceptable.

Now, when you are teaching this...this means your dog can't jump on you either. Tons of people make that mistake. They allow the dog to jump on them because it's cute to them, but when the dog jumps on someone else it's unacceptable...you can't have it both ways. It's either the dog can jump, or not. He can't distinguish when its the right time or the wrong time. BE CONSISTENT.

Tags: jumping, commands, off