Whether your dog is jumping on you, on guests, on the couch, on countertops, or anything else, Off is the cue to use.

Some people use Down for this, but if you use Down for anything else you need to be careful that each cue only has one meaning. If Down means to lie down on the floor, then you should not use Down to mean remove your feet from the person, furniture, etc. If you choose to use Down instead of Off for your cue, that's fine. Just be sure to use some other cue for the other behaviors.

With any cue we use, we want to set a very clear expectation so that we know exactly what we want and make sure everyone has the same understanding. Including the dog!

In this case, Off, means that all four paws should return to the floor. If all four feet are up on the couch, and I say Off, then all four feet need to get back on the floor. If two paws are on a person, and I say Off, then those two paws should join the other two paws on the floor so that all four feet are back on the floor. If one or more paws are on something other than the floor, all paws need to return to the floor.

When practicing this, I will mark and reward once all four feet are back on the floor. The dog does not need to Sit or Come or anything else. This is not a Sit or Come or Stay or Go To Place or any other cue.

Although I could reward by delivering a treat directly to the dog, I usually reward by tossing the treat on the floor to emphasize being on the floor. How and where you deliver the treat can help the dog to more quickly understand what you want.

If I am working on getting my dog off the couch, for example, I would say Off and guide them off the furniture. As soon as all four feet hit the floor, I mark (click my clicker or use my verbal marker which is Yes) and then toss the treat right in front of them on the floor. I guide them off without physically moving them. In most cases, I will either move away and get them to follow me or perhaps point at the floor and guide them with my hand.

My goal is to get the dog to perform the behavior without me physically moving the dog. I do not want to use physical force, but rather find a way to have the dog choose to move in the way I want.

If the behavior is an attention-seeking behavior, as is often the case when a dog is jumping on people, I also need to be careful how I go about this so that I am not actually reinforcing the jumping behavior. If a dog is jumping on me for attention, and I say Off, I do not make eye contact or touch the dog. I say Off while looking away and turning to the side. As soon as all four feet are on the floor, then I can reward with a click and treat (on the floor) OR I can reward with attention. Since the dog was attention-seeking to begin, I usually will reward this one with attention. Eye contact, talking to the dog, or petting the dog all constitute attention. If the dog starts to jump again, I withdraw all attention again until all four feet are back on the floor.

Look at the motivation behind the dog putting paws on someone or something. If it is attention-seeking behavior, then your actions along with your Off cue are important. If the behavior is not attention-seeking, then avoiding eye contact, extra talking or touching the dog, are not as important. Always try to consider what the dog's motivation is and it will be easier to determine what we should do along with the Off cue.

The other alternative is to give your dog a specific cue that is incompatible with what they are currently doing. Let's say your dog has jumped up on the couch and you want them off the furniture. If the dog knows a Place cue (go to your bed and lie down, for example), then I could use Place instead of Off. If my dog knows Place and goes to their bed and lies down, then by default, they will get off the couch.

If a dog is jumping on people, and we ask for a Sit, then Sit is the incompatible behavior to jumping on people. Alternative behaviors work too, and sometimes we can use them instead of Off. You can use one or the other. You could also use your Off, reward it, and then ask for another behavior to prevent the dog from putting feet back up on whatever it was on.

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