This week I shared a social media post about the importance of teaching your dog what they should be doing. I used jumping on guests as an example and that seemed to really resonate with folks, so I thought I’d elaborate on that training process here. Below is a breakdown of things to think through and work on when trying to help your dog overcome a bad behavior.

First and foremost, I recommend crating your dog for safety reasons. A dog who is loose in your home while you’re not there to supervise might make good decisions—or might not. It is not at all uncommon for people to get away with leaving their dog loose in the house… until they don’t. There are so many things that could go wrong! Your dog could get into the trash and eat something toxic, swallow a sock and create a life-threatening blockage, dig out from under your fence and get lost (or worse), cause damage to your home and belongings, get into a scuffle (or worse) with the other animals in the home, develop behavioral issues like excessive barking, etc. Don’t wait for problems to start; be proactive and crate your dog!