"On Easter Sunday I drove past my neighbor's house and glanced over to see his six-year-old daughter just as she walked out of the house in her new Easter dress. At the same time Buster, the family's big golden retriever, charged out of the garage, saw the young girl, ran over to where she stood, and jumped up to greet her.

"Down went the 50-pound girl with the 70-pound golden right on top of her, with his dirty paws on the snow white dress. By now, I was further down the street and I looked into the rear view mirror to see a crying little girl in a soiled dress and an angry father chasing a frightened Buster across the yard." Jim Keller, a professional gun dog trainer and owner-operator of Keller's Kennels near Lincoln, Nebraska, always begins his "Stop Your Dog from Jumping up on People" lesson with this story.

"Not a pretty picture," Keller says. "And not an image I would care to remember, except that I had spent some time much earlier with Buster's owner and with Buster working on the dog's problem of jumping up on people. Obviously what I had tried to teach man and dog hadn't really taken.

"Most any dog can easily be taught not to jump on people," Keller believes. "Just don't let the dog do it right from the beginning when an enthusiastic puppy jumps up to put its paws on your pants. Grab the pup's front feet, gently squeeze, and say in a soft and pleasant manner, 'No.' Squeeze the pup's feet until he 'squeaks,' lets out a yip, or otherwise indicates a mild degree of discomfort, then give the 'No' command.

"Let the pup's front paws loose, but grab and squeeze them again if he or she wants to jump again. When the pup stops jumping up, give a 'good dog' or some other praise phrase that reinforces the modified behavior. This lesson can be taught in a day or two to a seven-week-old puppy or a seven-year-old adult dog," Keller says.

"Older dogs that jump on people, however, are harder to train to stop this offensive behavior. Start with the paw squeeze, but watch out for hardheaded dogs accustomed to biting anyone who gets too physical with them. If the jumping dog wants to bite, substitute a knee in the pooch's chest when the dog's front feet are on your legs or chest.

Don't be brutal, but don't be a weenie, either. Use enough knee force to knock the dog off balance. Most intelligent dogs will get the point after a few of these knee-in-the-chest sessions." Keller says.

"For the real bonehead canine that won't respond to paw-squeezing or chest-kneeing, try lightly stepping on the dog's hind feet when the front paws are on you. Smile, tell the dog 'no,' step on a hind foot until the dog gets the idea and gets off you, then say 'good dog.' Making the dog 'sit' afterwards is a good additional command in this process," Keller suggests.