Hi there, A friend has a pretty excitable lab, but she has begun training and the dog is learning how to respond in various situations. I was wondering whether anyone could recommend how I should approach entering their home in a way that will be helpful to keep the dog calm? So, for example, after ringing the bell and being let in, the dog usually comes up to me all excited. I don't want to enter into fussing etc. And would rather wait until the dog is calm before doing so. To be honest, it makes me feel a bit anxious when the dog gets overexcited, and I'm not sure what to do to keep things calm What steps should I take? I am particularly interested in advice as the next time I will be visiting, I'll be going with my friend who is visiting and has not encountered the dog at all before and we want to be as helpful as possible! I hope you can help!
Hello and welcome to the forum. What a lovely thing to do, to ask advice about how to help. Most of us have difficulties having our loved ones do as we ask when greeting our dogs, so it's wonderful that you're actually seeking out advice. Kudos to you!!! The best thing to do is completely ignore the dog until he is calm. Cross your arms, or cross your hands in front of you to block his view of you face and stop him jumping up, but don't talk to him or make eye contact at all until he has all feet on the floor. Then, make a fuss of him. If he gets daft again, resume the previous position. It may take a few goes, but he'll soon learn that, if he wants attention, he has to be calm. If you want to be really helpful, you could go out and make your entrance again after ten minutes or so, so the dog gets more practice goes. The more he gets the chance to be successful, the quicker he'll learn. Good luck and let us know how you get on
Oh my goodness I could so do with some friends like you!! It's been the major issue with my Cassie who is just 12 months, lovely well meaning people wanting to share the excitement of a puppy but whipping her up into a frenzy. I echo everything said by snowbunny.
I think the best thing to do is completely ignore the dog, pretty much forever. That would definitely be my choice for people who visit my house. It does depend though on what the owner wants, so it's best to ask. The woman who helps out with my cleaning when I work just ignores my dogs. If they (as puppies) went to grab at a mop, duster or brush she was using she would just put it down and leave the room. She wouldn't do or say anything, she'd just leave. If they approached her, she would stand still and wait for them to leave. She wouldn't react to them at all - ever. Now neither of my (very sociable, excitable) dogs pay her any attention whatsoever. It's perfect. She says good morning to them now, and they'll wag their tails but not bother even getting up because they know she won't fuss them. Whereas they will go nuts for my friend who often visits my house - although she doesn't give them attention when they are jumping up, she still gives them attention. But she wants to, and that's fine, she'd be disappointed if my dogs ignored her. Dogs learning that other humans (apart from their handler) are harmless but boring is a really great thing but most humans don't want to be boring and want to interact with dogs, so...it depends.
Hi all, Many thanks for your swift and helpful replies. I will definitely try the ignore tactic! I just figured that it would be good to be helpful-my friend has mentioned her frustrations about people petting her dog when's they go for a walk etc. and getting the dog all excited when she is trying to encourage calmness. I don't want her or her dog to feel stressed and frustrated. On that subject, I've just discovered that the other friend will be bringing her kids tomorrow...I'm not sure that this will help the excitement levels! I will try to encourage them to be calm and ignore until the dog is calm. Is there anything else I can do to advise them about how to appropriately greet a dog? I remember reading something about children launching their hands over a dog's head and generally displaying bad 'manners' (if that's the right word) being unhelpful.
You're a lovely friend Yes, if the kids are trainable ( ), then they should learn to let the dog approach them, rather than the other way round, to never try to stroke his head (which can seem very threatening to a dog) and to remain calm. No flapping arms, no screaming. No hugging whatsoever - the dog shouldn't feel constrained and should be able to move away from the children at all times. Ask the owner how he is with children; most Labs are fine, but some (two of mine included) really dislike kids as they are so unpredictable. Your friend sounds like she has her head screwed on, too
A great line to use for kids is "pretend to be a tree ".... a tree is really boring and you want to be boring until the puppy calms down.
When Snowie was a puppy I got the kids in our local park to practice folding their arms and turning their backs on Snowie or any other dog that came rushing up to them. Most of the kids were frightened of dogs rushing at them so they found this new skill really empowering, and they were proud to have a part in the dog training. Re the practicing part - yep, better to practice before the rushing dog arrives, build up the kids' automatic response.
Hi all, Many thanks for your replies. This evening I put your advice into practice. It was a success! Ignoring meant that the dog found me really boring. The dog tried to approach a few times in an excitable manner, but soon discovered that I was having none of this. Also, when I encountered the dog at other points throughout the evening, the dog just looked at me and although she seemed to acknowledge me, she did not launch hersel at me like an excited cannon bomb. I consider that a success! Everything was calm and under control. The same can be said about the child/dog interaction. They were pretty well disciplined. Throughout the evening though, they did get a bit more excitable, and play with the dog! But I think that's fine. The point is that they did not make an enormous fuss when they first met her.
Well done for looking into ways to help your friend when you go to their house. Last night sounds like a success and I'm sure you friend appreciated it.
My brother and SIL ignore the dogs until they calm down. The dogs are still excited, but eventually settle and sit on their feet for a fuss. Tatze is soooo licky, I blame my husband for encouraging it ...
