#Dogs

Nope, I don’t think so.

Our wheaten terrier, Farley, arrived at our house when he was 8 weeks olds. The first command we taught him was SIT. We did this in a gentle manner.

• Watch the puppy.
• Right as he starts to sit, say, “Sit.”
• Praise the puppy with a calm pat to the head.
• He’ll figure out the meaning of the word in no time.

But how does this stop him from jumping up on people? Make the dog sit before petting him – EVER.  This will teach the dog not to jump on people. You need the help of your friends and family. A new puppy is cute, and who doesn’t want to pick him up. But, he has to learn he can’t jump on people, so before your friends, family or strangers pet or pick up your pet, make sure the animal sits first.

Wheaten Terriers are well known for jumping on people, but even a Wheaten can be trained not to jump. I believe this is as important for small dogs, as it is for large dogs.

I also used the SIT command to stop my pup from begging. When he first arrived in our home, and we sat at the table to eat, he was told to sit. We never feed him from the table, and he doesn’t beg. This makes it easy to bring him places, like happy hour on the beach, and he won’t bother other people.

The trick is consistency. It’s hard to resist the cuteness, but if you can, you puppy will become an easier to live with adult dog.