Very upset - my dog accused of biting an elderly man

[PamNY]

I don't know ANYONE that thinks jumping is cute except for the owner of dogs who don't correct it. Why do people keep saying it's not so bad? Is is just me that thinks a jumping dog of any size is ill-mannered?

You misread my post. I did not say that jumping up is "not so bad" and I did not say I think it is "cute." I did describe behavior that I have observed many times over a period of decades -- which is people tolerating and sometimes encouraging jumping up by a dog. This is a huge issue if you use positive reinforcement to train, as I do.

It is extremely well-documented that random reinforcement is powerful, and this is exactly what happens when people reward a dog for jumping up. Even a single instance can cause delay/failure in training the behavior you want.

The OP said: "He walked close enough to us that my dog, who is extremely friendly (overly so at times), jumped up on him. It happened so fast, but I pulled the leash and got her off him immediately, apologizing profusely." She goes on to describe using her training method of choice to immediately achieve heeling. It is not logical to deduce from these statements that the OP regards jumping up as desirable behavior.

Further, it is illogical to assume from my post that I think jumping up by a dog is desirable; if I thought that, would I be discussing in some detail training methods I use to extinguish the behavior? And would I be complaining about people who interfere with my training methods?

The main point of my post was that a bite is a serious legal issue; jumping up, while undesirable, is an entirely different matter. I did not state that discussion should not ensue; I did intend to encourage that the discussion include logic and careful attention to detail.