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Livingroom Football

Written by dogtraining  |  08. September 2000

Sing along.. "It's the most won-der-ful time of the year..." Remember Staples great advertisement? Dad is doing back to school shopping while the kids have sad looks on their faces? Many parents loved it. It ran for several years. Fall is a great season. Football, the kids are back at school, the leaves are turning pretty colors and... (Gasp!) I almost forgot....the holidays are coming!!!! That means....guests!!! Thanksgiving Day Football The car pulls up in front of your house. You bring the family into the huddle. Tommy take Uncle Joe, Sara, you take Aunt Betty, and Jake (the dog) you get Grandma. The doorbell rings, you open the door. Everyone steps in (over the scrimmage line) the family rushes the guests. Jake plays beautifully. Through Aunt Betty's legs, ducks Uncle Joe's grab, and lunges gleefully, paws out and sacks Grandma at the front door. She's down!!! Good play Jake! Most people prefer to keep Thanksgiving football on TV and out of their living rooms. Grandma and the kids can get hurt, and the other guests will be really annoyed. Teaching your dog how to greet guests is one of the best gifts you can give yourself and your guests. This is different then teaching, "not to jump". Teaching how to greet is a replacement behavior that almost assures Jake he'll get attention. Put Jake into a sit. Have the leash on him. Have someone he likes come to pet him. When his butt comes off the floor, they need to back away and NOT pet him and you immediately put him back into the sit. Don't even allow him fully stand. Your helper needs to watch him and step back. You need to watch Jake and not your helper. When he's sitting, try again. Repeat until he sits and stays sitting while being pet. This simple little greeting exercise usually does not take long. When practiced in many places, with many people, Jake will learn to greet people nicely. Practice in the home, near shopping malls, and at your neighbor's house. If you start now, you will have plenty of training time between now and Thanksgiving. Have a great week.

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