Dogs are very good at being dogs – the dig, bark, chew on things and delight in all things doggy.  Unfortunately, what is often totally acceptable in the dog world is often socially unacceptable in the human world.  So it is our duty to teach our dogs the rules and then enforce them.  Remember though, dogs don’t come knowing the rules; they have to be taught them.  We need to show them what is okay to do and what is not okay.  Every moment your dog is breathing, your dog is learning.  Use every interaction with your dog as a way to show her what’s expected.

1. Reward good behavior.  So it seems obvious, but if you’re trying to eliminate jumping up during greetings, reward for “Four on the Floor” when you get it!  If you catch your dog quietly chewing on his bone, rather than a shoe, praise him!  Humans are notoriously terrible at pointing out the good in life and instead focusing on the bad.  TELL YOUR DOG WHEN HE’S DOING SOMETHING RIGHT!  Don’t make him guess!
2. What’s the payoff?  Any behavior that is repeated is being rewarded in some way.  A dog that jumps gets attention.  A dog that steals from a countertop gets a tasty snack.  A dog that pulls on leash gets to go somewhere faster.  The first step in eliminating an unwanted behavior is finding out what the reward is.  Once you figure that out, you can create a plan to prevent the dog from being rewarded.
3. Redirect inappropriate behavior.  Substitute an unwanted activity for an acceptable activity.  “You can’t chew on the coffee table, but you can chew on this toy.  What a good boy for chewing on the toy!”  “You can’t chase the cat, but you can chase this Frisbee!”
4. Replace the unacceptable behavior.  Teach an alternative, incompatible behavior that your dog can do instead of the unwanted behavior.  If a dog is sitting, she can’t be jumping.  If she’s got a toy in her mouth, she can’t be barking.  If she’s lying in her bed, she can’t be begging at the dinner table.
5. Remove the ability to make the mistake.  Sometimes it’s just easier or wiser to manage the situation by removing the ability to misbehave.  Some activities are age-dependent (house-soiling) and some are maturity dependent (getting into the garbage).  House soiling can be prevented by crating or confining the dog; garbage raiding is solved by removing access to the garbage (putting it in a cupboard or dog-proof trash can).  Management can also be useful while in the process of training an alternative behavior.  For example, while teaching a dog to sit for petting, prevent it from jumping up by holding onto its collar or stepping on its leash when encountering people who encourage jumping.
6. Extinguishing a behavior.  Remember that a behavior must be reinforced or rewarded to be repeated.  So some behavior can simply be ignored (so long as it’s not self-reinforcing) until the dog gives up on being rewarded.  Attention-seeking behavior (like barking, or pawing for petting) can simply be ignored until the dog realizes the behavior will not be rewarded.  When using the technique of extinction, be aware of extinction bursts, however.  Extinction bursts are a temporary increase in the behavior due to previous reinforcement.  If you got water from a well every day by pumping on a handle, the first few times you didn’t get water, you would probably try pumping the handle a little more vigorously, a little longer.  Only after repeated failures at getting water would you give up.  The key to using extinction is to outwait the extinction burst.
7. Time-outs.  Time-outs are another technique to discourage unwanted behavior.  The instant the dog misbehaves, say “Time Out,” grab the dog’s collar and escort him to his time-out space.  Do not talk to him on the way, and leave him in isolation for 30 seconds to a minute.  The time-out space should be safe, dog-proofed and boring – laundry rooms and bathrooms work well.  Avoid using the dog’s crate, as we want that to be associated with good things only, not punishment.  Time-outs only work if you catch the dog the instant he misbehaves.  Late punishment does not work and can make the situation worse.