Four on the floor

I'm working very hard with Hero on keeping all four paws on the ground when he greets people. He still jumps up on me occasionally, and the kids more often. We are all turning out back on him instantly when he starts to jump up. Then we turn around, tell him to sit, and reward him with a treat and praise for the polite sit. Already it's improving his behavior-- he doesn't like losing our attention when we turn our backs on him. And he has always been highly treat motivated.

I'm also trying to get him to stop mowing down the toddler. He loves the toddler (who's actually not a toddler-- he'll be four in February) and tends to greet him like an onrushing freight train. The toddler has been faceplanted into the grass more than once, which he not surprisingly dislikes. I've been avoiding this by the simple solution of keeping them separated, but sooner or later, I'd like them to be able to play together. Today I put out Hero and let him get his first bouncies out, then took the toddler out, holding his hand so he couldn't get far away, and made sure Hero didn't pounce on him. Hero actually didn't even try to jump on him, so I think he's improving on that front, too.

Hero does love his kids, though. He guards them with great intensity, and when they went back into the woods where he couldn't follow, he sat down and stared at them until they came back. And when the toddler's feelings were hurt by one of the older kids, and he sat down and howled, Hero came up to him and licked his face: Quit crying, kid, it'll be okay. I imagine dogs actually lick crying children's faces because they like the taste of salt, not in an effort to provide sympathy, but the toddler took it as a comforting gesture, and started to laugh, which made Hero's stub wag. As I said, he loves his kids!