It’s important that dog owners do not encourage bad dog behavior. Dogs jumping up on people is one of those behaviors that people often inadvertently encourage. Sure, it’s cute when the dog is still a puppy, but when Fido grows up, the cuteness is gone and the behavior can be annoying or dangerous.

As a responsible dog owner, you must train your dog that jumping up on people is not acceptable behavior. Training your dog while he is still a puppy is obviously best, but even older dogs can learn to behave.

The techniques to teach your puppy or dog to not jump on people are quite simple.

First, when the puppy or dog jumps up on someone, gently place his feet back down to the floor. While he is standing there, praise him for staying down. Never praise him while he is still standing up on the person.

Second, if you’re puppy or adult dog tends to get so excited that he can’t seem to control himself, give him another way to show his excitement besides jumping up. Get down to his level and teach him to shake, or spin around, or something that will let him release some energy.

As with all dog training techniques, the most important thing you can do for your dog is be consistent with your dog training methods. If you have a family of four and you are the only one teaching your dog to not jump on people, he will be getting mixed messages. Everyone in the family must discourage this bad dog behavior, and encourage the expected behavior.

And if all else fails, and your dog absolutely, positively must have a hug… just lay on the floor and give him one. He’ll love you for it.

“Old” is a relative word. What’s old to some dogs is not old to other dogs. Generally speaking, you can train a dog of any age. Sure, dog training might be a little tougher with a dog that’s 8 years old than it is with a dog that’s 3 years old, but it’s probably more of a challenge for the dog’s trainer than it is for the dog.

The fact is, most people get rid of dogs because of dog obedience problems. Every dog needs basic obedience training, and if you’re not spending time training your dog, even your older dog, your neglecting your responsibility as a pet owner.

So how can you teach an old dog new tricks? With patience and persistence. Without getting into actual dog training techniques, let me tell you a story…

A man in North Carolina had a dog for 7 years. The dog had NEVER been inside the man’s house. Never! It just lived outside, roaming the property, sleeping in his dog house for 7 years.

One day, the man died, so the his niece decided to take care of the dog. The dog was a mutt, by the way. She took the dog into her house and after 6 weeks of consistent training the dog was completely housebroken and had learned to sit on command.

If you’re looking for proven dog training techniques, click here a complete dog training guide.

First, let’s think about why dogs lick. There are several reasons why your dog licks you:

• He may be telling you that he wants your attention and that he likes you.
• You may have “trained” him that when he licks you, he gets a reward
• He thinks you like it and he’s trying make you happy. Or, the licking just makes him happy. Do you know any people who just like to hug and kiss everyone? Some dogs are the same way.
• He likes the taste of your skin, or a cream or lotion that you wear.
• This might sound gross, but it’s possible that you just need to take a bath, and he’s helping you out. Dogs like salty, sweaty skin. Yuk!

So how do you make your dog stop licking you?

You need to train him that’s it’s not acceptable for him to lick you excessively. If your dog has developed a licking habit, you need to teach him another habit.

Sometimes, all you need to do is let him get his licking done and over with, then he’ll be satisfied and not do it any more. The best way to do this is to have a “licking session.” This is a time where your dog is allowed to lick you as much as he wants. You teach him the word “lick” while he’s doing it, then you bring the dog licking session to and end by saying, “No lick.” If your dog learns there is a time for licking and a time for not licking, you’re on your way to a lick-free home.

If your dog is licking for attention, then teach him another (better) way of getting your attention. Sitting, shaking, rolling over, etc. are great tricks for your dog to learn when he wants your attention. The key is to ALWAYS give him attention with that “attention-getting” trick.

Other times, you might need to apply something that tastes bad to dogs (lemon or hot sauce) and let him lick that. That will teach him that licking your skin is gross.

Other dogs will respond if you act like it hurts you when your dog licks you. If you say, “Ouch” or “Don’t lick” every time your dog licks you, your dog may respond by not wanting to cause you pain.

As with all dog training, it will take time to teach your dog to stop licking. Be patient and consistent. Your dog want to make you happy, so teach him how to make you happy.