We're out socialising as much as possible at the moment or letting Luna say hello to lots of different people on walks, but how do we do this in a way that's not teaching her to jump up and mouth everyone? Most people say "oh it's fine, I've got dogs I know how sharp their teeth are!" but it just gets her so overexcited and she is nipping a lot which is teaching her all the wrong behaviours. Is the best thing to do, to tell people not to say hello to her and to ask her to just sit next to us calmly with a treat and then let them treat her calmly? If she won't, do we just walk away? Any guidance gratefully received.
The jumping is a problem for us too. People always say that it's fine, usually having approached him without asking. It really isn't fine. I have a frail, 92 year old grandmother (just one example) and I dont want him thinking he can jump on her! Our trainer has facetiously suggested that we tell people he bites. Sometimes I tell him to sit and obviously looks like I'm training him, so people at least ask before just barging up to him to say hello. I've also considered an "in training" item of clothing, but it's just one more thing to worry about before a walk, so I've never actually bought one.
I know - it's a real nuisance. I think I'll just have to be strict and risk being a bit rude if necessary.
If I remember Luna is still a very young puppy. The trick is capturing and rewarding quiet behaviour when outside, and tbh you may be going a step too far as Luna is understandably quite excitable right now. I understand it is important to socialise with Luna, however, I would avoid her meeting lots of people. Instead sit on a bench somewhere fairly quiet away from direct footfall, but close enough for Luna to absorb the comings and goings of people. Take a piece of vetbed, and reward for when she is calm. You will probably need a bit of work on calm behaviours on a bed first before you venture out, and make sure initially, you have a bit of distance between you and people. The benefit here is that you have a puppy who is learning to be calm as well as understanding boundaries. Luna will also start to realise that she doesn't need to meet "everyone" she meets. Kikopup videos are a great resource for puppies, here is a great one for learning how to teach calm behaviours Once they had understood the bed/vet bed was a great place to be, I started to use it outside.
Hi @Beanwood yes, well remembered she is just 15 weeks and has only been out walking for a week - she's attracted a lot of attention though as you can imagine Good advice - we'll socialise her more from a distance now, and perhaps walk her in quiet places where she's less likely to encounter people that will want to come up to her and give her a fuss. I've already been using the advice in the Kikopup video at home which is working well. Other than her mad hours, it definitely feels like she is relaxing into more calm behaviour when we're around and we'll drop treats for her when she's not expecting them. We'll try taking her somewhere that she can just sit and watch though and will let you know how we get on.
We have started ignoring our pup if she jumps up, same as friends and extended family. She will then sit and wait for a stroke/ hello. It's slow going butgerring there slowly. She is still an excited pup at the end of the day so there's only so much you can do at once!.
Hi @LoopyLuna , you have had really good advice from @Beanwood , so I've nothing really to add to that but only to say I know just what this is like and just what a battle it can be with well meaning puppy lovers ignoring your requests when out and about. Cassie is the first puppy that I've had that I've actively set out to "socialize", and I remember the trainer I was going to then told me not to let people fuss her as she had to learn to be ignored. Well I completely failed at that! I found it hard to tell people not to fuss her although I wanted to! And also I think Cass has a natural confidence and huge amount of the Labrador friendly mustgetinvovedgene, I see puppies being taken out and about just sitting quietly in their owners arms, backs of cars etc just looking about and taking it all in, she was never like that just wanting to get out there! So I agree that teaching calmness in other settings is a great idea.
