Originally Posted by gspsplease

The puppy jumps up because it is excited and to get attention -- so any action you take to push the dog down, knee it, tell no etc is giving the dog attention (even though to our eyes it's not nice attention!)So you need to ignore the dog when it jumps up by turning your back to the dog -- just keep turning away. As soon as 4 feet are on the floor, praise and reward. All this may be hard to do when your dog is going crazy because you are just home from work, so also teach an alternative behaviour that is rewarding to the dog. Try a tug toy that is only given to the dog when you first meet it --just push the toy into the dog's mouth, tug around and then release the toy. Nearly every dog will then race around, shaking and "killing" the toy for a few minutes, then call the dog over, give a treat and put the toy away until the next person comes home. (It is important that this toy is not left around for the dog to play with whenever he wants, or the toy will lose its value) Eventually, if you have taught a solid sit command, and your dog has matured, you will be able to get him to sit for a pat, but it's expecting a lot from a young puppy to exercise this sort of self-control. Incidentally, check that no one in the house, especially children, encourage the dog to jump up "because it proves that he loves me!" All your training can be undone if everyone is not consistent. Keep a spare lead and some treats near the front door, and slip lead on when visitors arrive. Using the treats you should be able to get your dog to sit to say hello, and then walk the dog outside using the lead. (It doesn't matter if the dog only sits for a split second and then stands up--just keep doing sits and rewarding -- it just gives you more opportunites to practise sit and reward your dog when visitors come. Try to regard this as a training opportunity rather than a nuisance!