Quote Originally Posted by Irulan View Post
Back in ancient times when we were doing obedience work, we were taught to knee a dog in the chest or face to discourage jumping. Not as the dog handler, but as someone being approached by a jumper. What's the thinking nowadays when you see it coming?
The handler/owner tells the dog to sit.

Obviously, I wasn't there and I'm not making excuses for anybody BUT - if the man had a stoop, it's possible the dog misinterpreted it as a gesture to interact. We've all seen how people interact with a small dog - they stoop over.