Q. I have a 3-year-old Jack Russell Terrier and a 3-year-old German Shepherd Dog who both jump up on people to say hello. How do I get them to stop?
A. A two-dog greeting is often more than twice as high-energy and pushy as a one-dog greeting. When two dogs try to say hello at once, they compete with each other for the person's attention, making it a dog-dog status issue as well as a manners issue. It's difficult to work on this with both dogs at first, so separate them for the initial polite greeting skill training.
To greet people without jumping up on them, a dog needs to learn to restrain his impulse to greet them as he would another dog. Work with each dog, individually teaching them to hold a Sit-stay while you pet them. After they can do that one at a time, start working on the same lesson with both dogs together.
Enlist friends to help you with the training. Have your dogs sit still while different people pet them. The more people your dogs practice this polite greeting with, the more natural it will become for them. Until they're reliable about not jumping, leash them when visitors arrive. That way, if your dogs lose their self-control, you'll have a handle on them.