January 22, Answer Your Cats' (and Dogs') Questions Day!

Now this has been Answer your Cats' Questions Day as long as I, Marvelous Marv, can remember, but our hairy slobbery sister has a question that she wanted answered and I told her that she could ask it today!

 Mom,  why don't people like me jumping up when I am greeting them? 

Nutmeg! Jumping is NOT good!

Not only do you invade people's space, but your paws are dirty, your nails are long (and scratch).

You are not a heavy dog, but 25 pounds of dog, pushed by those 2 paws, well, sweetie, you knocked me down, think of what you could do to some other poor little old lady! Not only is it uncomfortable, but for me, now that I can't balance very well, its scary. 

Why DO you jump?

Mom, because I am a dog, I NEED to get closer to your face for nose-to-nose contact, this is how puppies greet their mommies, plus you know seeing people always makes me happy and excited to see them! AND, I get a kick out of how people react!  

Well, I think you like getting excited and you want attention! AND that gets reinforced when the people you jump on react, and the poor people you jump on inadvertently reward it with petting, eye contact, or vocalizations, even negative ones! 

Well Sweetie, it's a BAD habit and one we will have to stop. Your pal Val (who takes you for walks when I can't) and me are working on 4 on the floor I found out how it works at the American Kennel Club! But if any of our blogging friends have a solution, we would LOVE to hear it! 

OK Mom! If it involves Cookies, I'm all in!

Now this is the kind of Jumping that's OK!