pilates + angus = pain

[Liberty]

Red.. I need some training help!!  Roxy is a 7 month old Saint/Newf mix. She is a very sweet and gentle dog...but... when anyone comes over she dances around their legs so close that she almost knocks them over. She is big so her head is at or above their waist. We have been working on this for what seems like A LONG TIME!! We keep her on a leash and the visitor ignores her totally until she calms down. It usually only takes a couple of minutes but it is very annoying. Will she EVER "not care" about the people that come into the house?

[RedyreRottweilers]

Probably not.

But you can do 2 things that will really help.

Teach her dog attention with the methods I describe to the person who has the cat chaser.

And target train her.

Put down a towel or mat each night, and insist she stay on it for 30 minutes. Each time she gets off the mat, put her back. Each time you put her back, say AH AH! Get on your bed.

This training method is different from many things in that you can and should repeat the command, and NO rewards are offered.

The dog shall stay because you say so.

If you are consistent, and you put her back each time, and if you gently praise her for staying when she does, your dog will stay on a target consistently after about a week.

When guests come, she will need reminders, but she will get better and better.

Once you have her at a point where she will stay on the target when guests arrive, once she is calm and quiet, you can work on polite visiting behavior.

I will cover that for you in another post, but it will be tomorrow, as it's bedtime now.

[GYPSY JAZMINE]

Okay then, let me rephrase since some want to refute the notion that dogs dont' understand sometimes.

Dog's don't understand someone who is the leader SOMETIMES, and not others.

If you are not the day to day LEADER FIGURE, if your dog decides to behave like a butthead and you step up to the plate to THEN be the leader, your dog is not likely to recognize that fact.

Particularly some dogs who may be "social climbers" within the pack structure.

If you want the respect of your dog in highly charged situations, you must be the clear leader all the time, not SOME of the time, and especially not just when the doo doo is deep.

Ya know, it's kind of like with kids.  If you ever notice, the ones who are bouncing off the walls, hanging off the guide ropes in line at the post office are the ones whose moms are  saying,  "no no no no hehe aw come on" without ever following through. 

First off Nicks...AHAHAH AHAHAHAHAAA!!...LMAO!...I can just picture that!...It's easy to laugh when it's your dog & not mine ...lol!...& Jen & Rick you are right...You have to follow through with your threats....Tha t's why I never threaten to kill my kids or dogs...lol...B ut, they are all pretty sure if they really screw up I will kill them...Never really did anything to make them think that though...I think it's what my dear departed wise grandpa called "puttin' the fear of God in 'em"!...lol!

[GYPSY JAZMINE]

I think it's what my dear departed wise grandpa called "puttin' the fear of God in 'em"!...lol!

My uncle called it "puttin' the fear of God and mama in 'em"--seems especially appropriate in this case. 

Yes it does...I'll remember that add on...lol!

[greek4]

Rocco will lay beside me when I attempt to exercise.  But if I tell him to go lay somewhere else he sadly will.  Maia usually could care less if I am on the floor unless I am on the floor talking sweetly to her then she comes over for snuggles.