I am wondering if its too late to teach my puppy not to jump on people. He is a Wired fox terrier and will be 6 months old next week. How do i go about training him not to bother people. He doesn't see a lot of people so he goes nuts when he sees them. Thanks in advanced.

Hi,
It's never too late to train a dog. Because of the breed, I would suggest that you keep your greeting very calm and quiet, no raised voice to say hi etc.... the minute your dog starts to jump, turn your back on him and stop all attention - dogs jump because it is a self rewarding behavior and we enforce that by giving attention. The minute he stops jumping, pat him, give him attention and reinforce this behavior with "good boy" , if he jumps again, start all over again, turn your back, stop giving attention etc.......

When you have practised this with him and he get's it meaning he doesn't jump 9 times out of 10, maybe you could take him to a Petco or Petsmart and introduce him to strangers, for sure you will find someone who will want to pat your dog, tell them if he jumps, they are to turn their backs and stop giving attention.

You could also teach him to sit so when he starts to jump you can him the sit cue. Once he had mastered sit, you could practice by having a friend come over, ring the door bell and with you on the other side giving your dog the sit cue.

Set your dog up to succeed, dogs are smart and they learn fast. Don't forget to give treats once he gives you the behavior your are looking for - if he sits on cue, give him a treat, it motivates.

Let me know how it goes
Brigitte

When he starts to jump up, ignore him and lift your knee up and bump his chest area (NOT HARD,DONT KICK HIM!)- Just lightly bump him, so he has to get down and once he is down, then greet him and reward him. He will soon learn that jumping is not going to get him closer to you and greeted.

Thanks so much i will try all these suggestions. I sure do appreciate it

I agree, put your knee up when your dog jumps. Be consistent with your dog, though, or else he will get confused and never learn.