My Labrador Nova has just turned 3, and was spayed just over a year ago. She's a great family dog, such a softie around my two children (4 and 6) and as friendly as anything. She knows a wide range of tricks, is fairly reliable off-lead, and is just a great all-rounder... apart from one problem - when other people come to my house!! When we have house guests, Nova literally goes insane - and I don't just mean when the doorbell goes and the guests initially enter, but i mean pretty much the entire time the person/people are in our home, she will not give them - or us - peace. I know Labradors are full of beans, but there seems to be something about guests that just puts her into hyper mode - when it's just us in the house, she is incredibly laid back and will just plod about and snooze. She gets over an hour of off-lead exercise every day without fail, and we work hard to wear her out with a tennis ball, swims in the river, running with my husband etc. so I know a lack of exercise isn't the issue. The last time I had a friend to visit, my husband took Nova out and was gone for well over an hour, and she had been running long distance for the tennis ball the whole time (her activity tracker had racked up over a full day's worth of points from that walk alone, so I know she was well worn out!) He brought her home, and as soon as she spied my friend she went into full-on loopy mode, which consists of initially jumping up at the guest, this stops after a minute or so of being ignored/removed. But then for the next couple of hours she was pacing, panting, repeatedly returning to my friend and attempting to climb on her, breathing heavily, bringing her toys, barking... she just would not settle, and this is pretty much the case whenever we have people around. We always tell people not to reinforce the behaviour by just totally ignoring her, but there's only so many times you can ignore 27kg of Lab jumping on your lap. It's embarassing, because I always tell people what a superstar she is (and she really is! in the absence of visitors she will do whatever she's told - stay in her bed, wait to eat her dinner, etc.) but when other people are in our home it's like she's so excited/stressed her self-control goes out the window. What can I do??
Hi Lisa and welcome! I just recently had a lovely visit with another Forum member who is working with her dog Tatze (also a 3 year old female) on her excitement over guests. So @Boogie may be able to share the finer points with you, but she had me stand on Tatze's leash, loaded me with treats (just kibble really) and Tatze only got attention or treats when her backside or all four paws where on the ground. As the guest (and a dog-loving one at that) this was actually a real challenge for me, as I'm used to immediately fawning over a dog BIG TIME. But it may be more successful for you if you use @Boogie 's technique instead of just saying "ignore her" as it gives your guests something positive to do and reinforces good behaviour from your pup.
Welcome to you Lisa from Mags, Tatze and Mollie Tatze is my pet dog, a black Lab three years old. Mollie is my fourth Guide Dog puppy, a black Lab and she's nine weeks old. My Guide Dog puppy supervisor taught me the method. My brother is the person Tatze gets most excited over. I tried the lead standing thing with him - it was really good, it's all in the timing but she was better than she'd ever been before with him and we've tried everything. You give them enough lead to jump up but not enough to reach your face. So they choose to jump or not - treats for not jumping. It's the fact that they choose which makes all the difference. The visitor does the lead standing and treating - I have them ready by the door. Once the treats run out (about 15 of them) I give Tatze a filled Kong which also helps. My supervisor says it will take several visitors worth of practice before she really gets it. We'll see! ...
@LisaB87 - I have this exact same problem with my 2-year-old male. I thought it was just me but clearly not. He literally goes insane and it's even worse when he's ignored. I've noticed if the guest pets him and initially gives him some attention, he will leave them alone for the most part. He's gotten so much better with the jumping outside of the house and is reliable enough off-lead when there are no dogs/people distractions. He is a good boy in the house too. I've also noticed he is definitely worse with certain guests. I would be interested in the answers you get lol. I've heard from a trainer and other people to keep the dog on a leash when there are people in the house until they realize to greet people, they need to calm down. I've tried it once with success.
No, there isn't - there is no limit as to how long a person training a dog can ignore 27kgs of Lab. There is a limit as to how long the average visitor can resist it. That's different. Physically stop her from jumping on your visitors - by either using a lead (with your foot on it) or a crate. And do some training with people that will ignore your dog. Completely. For hours (if necessary). Also reinforce your dog - heavily - for going to a mat. Try to do short sessions working up to 20, 30, 40 minutes of settling on a mat. Then use this behaviour as the point to reward. Everytime a paw hits the mat, reward and build up to having the dog lie on the mat, then properly settle on the mat.
Are you referring to the 'Place' command? As far as the lead training goes, I assume you have your foot on the lead and give the dog enough slack to stand or sit but not to jump? @LisaB87 - If you put her on her bed as JulieT suggests, I've found providing an engaging toy or bone can help keep my dog occupied when a guest is over.
Hi There, Welcome to the Forum...Nova sounds quite the girl,and pretty typical . My Husband and I live abroad from a lot of family and friends...we have a LOT of people passing through our house ,staying for weeks at a time....a well mannered dog in our home was critical for me and I spent hours on it ,I drove people mad the first year ....It used to be ages before I said hello to anyone properly when they arrived because I was managing Dexter.It was quite common for me to give a briefing on the front door step and order 'ignore him' 'turn your back' ' don't touch him ' before I said 'Hi' ......and I can't tell you how much up and down from the dinner table there was rewarding Good behaviour while we ate.... We found with a big walk/run Dexter would be harder to settle if we were having guests .....he was pumped up and panting from running about when he got home so if he had a walk ,it was more of a training walk that made him use his brain....loose lead walking drills,hand touches, stay practice etc that worked better for us. Our 'make yourself at home and help yourself policy ' for guests really came into its own as it gave me the chance to concentrate on Dexter .......now behaving in other people's houses still can take management but in our own he's a well mannered boy ,you can get there with Nova x
Thanks so much for this! I never thought about the fact that a long energetic walk might make things worse... perhaps I'll try some trick-training and brainwork instead. I think the people who come into my home really don't help either but honestly I've tried explaining so many times that they need to IGNORE her behaviour but what happens? My Sister-in-law comes in, the dog jumps at her and she immediately starts shouting at the dog "NO! I'M IGNORING YOU! I'M TOTALLY IGNORING YOU WHEN YOU DO THAT. I'M NOT GOING TO TALK TO YOU UNTIL YOU SIT DOWN. SIIIIT!!!" All the while she's pushing at the dog and touching her, even petting her!! So this is her version of ignoring the dog - fab. And honestly, I've told her a million times, shut up and ignore the dog, but she won't!!! My Dad has had surgery on his back, so despite his best efforts at ignoring the dog, he can't really because he's terrified that she'll knock him over, so he pushes her back constantly and tells her to go away. I need to get some visitors who can help!
Thanks for this - I always give her a kong or a bone, but after 15 mins... she's back!! Haha! I'll try using a lead again. (Last time I did this, getting her to sit calmly beside me, she actually chewed through it while I was talking to our visitors because I stupidly failed to notice!!)
Thanks, I'll try getting her crate out again. My husband and I have persistently ignored her, and like I said, she doesn't jump up at me or anyone in my family - it's only visitors. Visitors who are useless at ignoring her. Literally. My Sister-in-law for example, comes in, the dog jumps at her and she immediately starts shouting at the dog "NO! I'M IGNORING YOU! I'M TOTALLY IGNORING YOU WHEN YOU DO THAT. I'M NOT GOING TO TALK TO YOU UNTIL YOU SIT DOWN. SIIIIT!!!" All the while she's pushing at the dog and touching her, even petting her!! So this is her version of ignoring the dog - fab. And honestly, I've told her a million times, shut up and ignore the dog, but she won't!!! I've even said to her - in the moment - "You are not ignoring her, you are talking TO HER! You are giving her epic amounts of attention right now!" But she doesn't get it. I guess I'll try and work on a strong down-stay in her bed, or bring her crate or lead back into play. Or find a decent volunteer visitor that won't lavish my dog with attention whilst ignoring her??! Haha.
Thanks so much for this - I will definitely give this a go! She's such a bright girl and she never jumps up at any of us, but visitors are just another story, because they've all reinforced her so much for doing it, despite everything I do or say! I mean, I have some people who come in and deliberately wind her up, because they're 'dog-lovers' and they think they're being nice to her by joining in with all her excitement... it drives me insane!! I'm going to rack my brains for a few volunteer visitors who might be able to help with this. Fingers crossed!! I would love to have a relaxed household with visitors again!!
My brother tries hard to not reinforce it, but just lifting her legs off his knee is reinforcing for her! So we have the lead on when he's sitting down too and he has a pocket full of treats. It really is starting to work. He lives with us three days a week - so quite a lot of practice ...
I know, I so know. My Dad is the worst for this. The thing is, if you can mostly get your dog to not jump, then visitors find it a bit easier to cope. I don't train a down-stay on a mat (although my down and wait cues would work on a mat of course) for things like this - you need your dog to stay on a mat for a long time, and it's an awful lot to ask to train as a working active cue. I just massively reinforce being on a mat, so my dogs just tend to go to their mats as default behaviours. I train 'settle' on mats. So a relaxed down, with a hip over to one side, and food just gets quietly dropped on the mat when the dog relaxes. Try not to let the dog see you drop the food.
Where are you @LisaB87 ? I wonder if there are any forum members nearby who would be happy to help with her visitor training? Most would be more than happy for tea and cake, I think
I understand your frustration. I think everybody here can attest to having those guests who only make things worse. The worst for me are the guests who hold their arms up, fists closed (think T-rex) and tell him to, "Shoo!". They're always surprised when he jumps on them to sniff at their hands. Actually, I amend that... my best friend is the worst. He has an incredibly deep voice (which dogs respect) but does he tell my dog to 'Sit!' in an authoritative tone? Nope. He just swats Teller away while half-heartedly saying, 'Sit down' or 'Go away'. Should I add that he's 6'4"? And I know T would listen to him because I had him make the dog sit before and reward him with treats... The best time was when he turned around and broke wind at my dog thinking that would calm him down. It did not. Hahaha, we should hand out awards for the absolute worst houseguests. My grandmother is also like your sister-in-law. "Shoo, leave me alone! Why are you so crazy? I won't pet you until you calm down... Sit! Why won't you listen? SIT!" And the best part is that all of these enabling guests blame you and your training lol.
I can totally relate to this thread and the way people react/things they say when a dog jumps at them. To start with dogs have a fairly limited vocab and all they will hear is blah blah blah. When friends call I tend to take Milo out for a walk so he is ready for some chill time in the kitchen alone anyway. This is avoiding tackling the issue though so after reading the comments and advice here I intend to try - with the help of OH - to start some training when people call, using the lead on and clicker. Our cocker had a tendency to climb and greet people which wasnt ideal but he was so much slighter and just lay down after being stroked for a while. Milo is more it is all about me as are a lot of labs I guess! When it is just us he is perfectly calm most of the time. Doesn't jump on us. Has a bit of a love of running off with cushions but my son reinforces the chasing thing by doing when he is home from uni. Time to clamp down.
