# How to take the next step?



## isshinryu_mom (Mar 23, 2008)

Background... Roxie broke her leg at around 15 weeks, was in a cast and confined to an expen for another 4 weeks, then limited activity for a couple of weeks. She is now six months. She was in puppy classes before she broke her leg but obviously had to drop out. 

So, on my own I have been working on basic obedience commands (sit, down, stay, come) while looking for another trainer and/or class. She is doing really well (are all havs as smart as she is? :biggrin1::biggrin1. She sits, goes down, will stay and allow me to walk all the way across the yard. She will also do these commands for my sons and hubby (maybe not quite as well as for me but pretty wel). "Come" is still a work in progress.:suspicious: Anyway.... the problem is she cannot control her excitement AT ALL around other people. I try getting her to sit before they approach, after they approach, in the middle of their approach.... everything. But she just goes nuts with happiness! She jumps, spins, lays down and pees, RLH even on a leash (it's hilarious... round, round, round she goes). As soon as her cast came off I started taking her out and about as much as possible so she could get back to meeting people and experiencing different situations. We go somewhere every day and I try to take her lots of different places. 

What can I do? I want her to sit when people come up to her so she can be petted and then play if the person would like. My neighbors think she is insane.  In a good way, of course. Will she just grow out of this exuberance; do you think it is just her personality; or is it her lack of socialization? Am I doing the right things? :frusty:Help!!


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## Jill in Mich (Feb 24, 2008)

Since I'm in the same situation with Cody - I'm hoping the answer is consistency and persistence. Some days I can get him to sit very nicely and not bark at people and other days I swear he looks at me, knows the right thing to do and purposely does the opposite!:suspicious: His new name..."You Little S***"


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## ama0722 (Nov 28, 2006)

I think Jill is right on with



> I'm hoping the answer is consistency and persistence.


While I definitely think you have to take their personality into play every dog can be taught to behave. Some just take a lot longer than others and you have to go slower. Dora just came to me as a sponge who loved to learn and listened. She was my gift after having a few years of Belle.

I also really try to not let the situation you are in be self rewarding. My crazy people dog is Isabelle. Nothing makes her more happy than meeting new people. Even though she is little I want and expect her to behave so if we are out and about. I will just kindly say let's have Isabelle sit and you can pet her (this helps later on as it becomes the natural position to get pet!). If Belle breaks, I just ask them to wait and hang on as we are learning- also trains the people to not approach like crazy and do silly baby voices. Nothing is worse than someone rewarding Belle at the wrong time cause trust me she remembers! We led up to doing sits and downs at home, when she was able to do them for long, I would leave the room- go for a quick second in the kitchen. Then we did it when out- at the dog store, on our walk, etc slowly adding in the distractions. Then you add in the people. This will take quite awhile and definitely isn't overnight for a lot of dogs, especially the hyper people loving pups.

Dasher is 7 months and I haven't been working that hard with him on sits/stays. He is about a 15 second sit/stay.

Amanda


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## Jill in Mich (Feb 24, 2008)

ama0722 said:


> I will just kindly say let's have Isabelle sit and you can pet her (this helps later on as it becomes the natural position to get pet!). If Belle breaks, I just ask them to wait and hang on as we are learning- also trains the people to not approach like crazy and do silly baby voices. Nothing is worse than someone rewarding Belle at the wrong time cause trust me she remembers!
> Amanda


I like that idea Amanda. Thanks! I'm going to start doing that tonight. Maybe it will even help Miss Tess with being so timid.


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## ama0722 (Nov 28, 2006)

Jill- it will probably help more with a timid dog than even a hyper one. Dora is pretty timid as she wasn't well socialized as a puppy. That is how we did a lot of training. As long as Dora has something to do- a trick or interaction that she know, she concentrates on that and not on the person touching her, etc. In obedience, one of the games is to have a judge go over a dog as Dora is very submissive and they stand over and some are rough, this was something we really had to work on. It was just simple interactions at first and now she thinks of it like a game and just gets thru the people interaction. She is completely different dog when it comes to people she knows well- we call them her family. Everyone else is a stranger and really is only good for a cookie!


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## Havtahava (Aug 20, 2006)

ama0722 said:


> I also really try to not let the situation you are in be self rewarding.


This is such an important point. Dogs live for the most rewarding situations. If sitting and waiting is like punishment to them, but the stranger is going to rub on them and talk in an excited voice and love on them, guess which one they will choose.

Make sure the reward for the wanted behavior is bigger than the reward they would get for doing something of their own accord.


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## michi715 (Apr 8, 2008)

Just to add to what's already been said, our trainer suggested using treats to get them to sit when they are excited about people to make sitting more exciting than the person. In addition, she suggested picking up the pup and turing them away from the person so they can't see them. This way they understand that all that excitement = loss of contact. But presistance and consistency for sure!!


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## RikiDaisyDixie (Apr 15, 2008)

*Group obedience classes are nice*

We have a trainer who has outdoor obedience group classes with long sit and stays, up to five minutes. Riki just did it because they other dogs were. He also loves the trainer.


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## RikiDaisyDixie (Apr 15, 2008)

*consistency and persistence*

Riki and Daisy are five and four...and we still do a little training every day. Gives them a job. I make sure they remember boundary training like not going over the curb or out the front door. They still get tiny treats when they go to the bathroom out the doggy door on their own.


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## EstrellaVila (Nov 30, 2007)

I would definetly recommend keep doing what you are doing and just keep working at it. Tito is a crazy loon, and I just keep practicing with him. He is just too friendly for his own good sometimes. It is just their personality. There are lots of books and classes out there too that can always give new tips and ideas. Use treats and just take it slow, you are on the right track!!


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## isshinryu_mom (Mar 23, 2008)

Thanks for all the suggestions. I will keep working on it. It is hard to make the neighbor kids understand how to act with her. Perhaps I'll try teaching them how to make her sit, down, etc and enlist them as junior trainers.


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## Me&2Girls (May 11, 2007)

I love the idea - just fill their hands with treats and teach them to reward intermittently after she gets the idea. Oh by the way, I heard a neat idea. You start with the hand commands first and once they learn, then you add the word for the command. They learn much faster that way since they speak dog and not English.


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## ivyagogo (Sep 11, 2007)

My trainer recommended this method: use a long lead and put the end of the leash around the handle of a door and close the door so the leash is in the door. Walk up to the dog, but not so he can jump on you and then walk backwards. Keep getting closer and treat when the dog no longer jumps. Keep doing this until the dog no longer jumps up when approaced. Enlist houseguests and friends to help in the exercise.


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