‘Kangaroo puppy’ needs a little obedience training

Dear Cathy: I have a very happy and sensitive 13½-pound, long-legged poodle puppy.

She’s so excited when she sees other people that she jumps as high as my shoulders, and sometimes the leash wraps around her legs and she falls hard on her back.

I’ve tried commands, treats and very short leashes, but nothing has worked. I’ve considered a training buzz collar. Would you recommend this? — Lorraine, Wethersfield, Connecticut

Dear Lorraine: Nix the buzz collar. Basic obedience training will help your “kangaroo puppy” keep all four paws on the ground. Get a “clicker” from a pet store and teach your dog her name. Say her name, and every time she looks at you, click the clicker and give her a treat. Do this name training 25 times in each session, twice a day.

Next, using the same technique, teach her “sit,” “stay,” “down” and “come.” When you ask her to sit and she sits, click the clicker and give her a treat. The clicker marks the desired behavior when it occurs.

Train her on all these commands until she is doing these things quickly and easily. (You also can use a reward word, like “bingo,” in place of the clicker to mark the behavior and then give her a treat. But because clickers make a clear and concise noise, they often speed up learning.)

Now you are ready to train her to stop jumping. When she jumps for any reason, ask her to sit. She will struggle with the decision, but if she is trained well to sit, she should start to sit. When you see her start to go into a sit position, click the clicker, but wait until she is actually in the sit position before giving her the treat.

If she doesn’t sit, then turn your back on her when she jumps. When you are no longer paying attention to her, she will probably drop to all fours. The moment she drops, click the clicker and give her a treat. You are rewarding her for keeping all four paws on the ground.

When she gets the hang of that, pair the new behavior with a training word such as “off.” Use the word “off” as you would “sit” in asking her not to jump. When her four paws hit the ground, click the clicker and give her a treat.

Be consistent with training, and she will learn to stop jumping.