dominant action?

Neither one of my guys has a "jumping problem", but I agree with most here that jumping in and of itself is not a pushy behavior, but it can be in certain circumstances if you take into account the rest of the body language.
 
Marlowe finds jumping up on me to be a very calming activity. He does it when he is really concerned or stressed and the proximity to me that it allows him is calming. He likes to smell my face and jumping up is something that allows him to do that.  I've put jumping up on a cue along with "off", which allows him to engage in an activity that he clearly values in his relationship with me, without having it be a problem. His jumps on me (and others who elicit them) are surprisingly gentle. He doesn't push you when he jumps and instead tries his hardest to balance on his hind legs, using your body only as a help to do that, and he's always been that way--I didn't train that. I think it's pretty clear that when he wants to jump up and when I let him, it is simply a means to getting closer to my face because he finds that contact to be pleasant and calming in stressful situations.
 
Additionally, when Conrad and Marlowe greet, they do touch noses before shifting to a more lateral greeting.

ORIGINAL: Angelique
 
However, you will not find a subordinant wolf jumping up on a more dominant wolf (outside of a bit of play initiated by the dominant animal) without getting disciplined for the action.

 
But.....
Wolves are at the same level where dogs-humans are not. If we were naturally at a dogs level (on all fours) our faces would be closer and they would have no reason to jump up provided their intent was simply to greet and not to challenge.

Cressida, I have a similar thing going with Penny. She very rarely jumps up, but when she does it's usually because she's very excited to see me or because she's very upset about something. If we're out and about and she's on lead, sometimes she'll jump up on me if she's being buzzed by biting insects. Kind of like a "get me out of here!" thing. [] She's very small and has no hope reaching my face if she jumps up, but sometimes she will to sniff higher on my leg if I've been talking to a big dog.

Good point, nern.

i have been reading a book, and the author states that if your dog greets you by jumping up on you they are showing dominance and if you let them continue to do this it will cause problems later on. i am pretty sure i have read the same or similar sentiments in at least one other book as well.

 
I think, like so many other "dominant" actions, this action by itself means nothing.  My dog will sometimes put his feet on me.  He will do it on his own volition; he will do it if I ask him.  He also gets on the sofa when he wants.  And will, sometimes, jump on the bed in the middle of the night.  Now, if that was all you knew about my dog, you may think he had a dominance issues.  But if you saw the whole picture, you wouldn't think so.  He will get off me, the sofa and the bed when I ask.  He doesn't pull on his lead when I ask him not to, does lovely heel work, complies when I ask him to do dog-and-pony tricks at the nursing home, will walk up to anyone and allow them to pet him if I ask him to, will often Q on the agility course when I have my act together, politely waits for me to put his food down, etc.  Which would indicate that he does not have dominance issues.
 
OTOH, I clean up after him, do his laundry, cook for him, chauffer him around, buy him toys, bathe him, pay for visits to the Dr, spend lots of $$$$$ on him, etc so maybe I'm not the one in charge afterall. [8D]

If I suddenly get tired of my pup jumping on me when she's 10 years old, I can train her that it's no longer acceptable

 
I agree. With Sibes, they will greet each other by jumping, licking, and generally being rowdy, as they play hard. For some time, I was training Shadow not to jump but DW didn't mind, and she's only 5' 5 1/2 ". He can place his paws on her shoulders. Nowadays, when she comes home with arms full of stuff, she doesn't want the jump. So, we command "off." And we're patient with working on that. It's not that he has to unlearn. He just has to learn a new association. With me, he doesn't jump as much any more because I am more quick to say "off" and offer my hand low for him to sniff, which keeps his paws on the ground, except for the happy dance.
 
In those cases, it is not dominance but a greeting. When he was unaltered, he would hump some, which can be a move of dominance and I would immediately change that behavior. Post-neuter and a lot of training later, which also includes just being used to hearing us give commands and what they mean, he doesn't hump.