Teaching OFF

Many times people ask how to keep my dog off of furniture, jumping up on people, or chewing?  The first step is teaching OFF.  Set a treat on the floor, as your dog lunges for the treat quickly pick up the treat, and firmly command, “OFF”.   Keep repeating until your dog stops lunging and just looks at the treat on the floor.  Then pick up the treat and offer it to your dog be saying, “Take It”.  You may have to kneel next to the treat or even on your dog’s leash to prevent your dog from quickly grabbing the treat before you can pick it up.  Once your dog responds to the off then you can move to the food dish and repeat the same process.  This should take a couple of weeks, and then your dog will start to understand what “OFF” means.  Check next month’s tail tip for the next step in preventing jumping up.